On using plants to recover from stress & over-stimulation

This month in WEALTH: the online alchemical community where leaders come into their full power and accomplish the Great Work…

We’re doing an exercise called Plant Dieting. This process (not to be confused with dieting to lose weight or adjust body composition) is about prayerfully ingesting tea and connecting with the plant spirit.

What I’m most excited about is the guest teaching session to explain more about Plant Dietas that will be taught by one of my best friends — Hermetic Healer and Professional Herbalist Crystal Woodling.

(I’ll likely be opening the doors for WEALTH within the next few months… join the waitlist here).

As many of us are dealing with stress from the holidays and the start of the new year, I wanted to share with you today a message that Crystal wrote on recovering from our culture's over-stimulated, high-stress lifestyle using plants.

Crystal writes:

"Living in this culture, many of us struggle to "keep up."

We down coffee, sugary drinks, carb-rich foods and are constantly on the look-out for the next quick fix to feel good enough to just get through the day.

For many of us, as we age, we pay the price of overstimulation and pushing our bodies too hard, as we reach a critical breaking point.

Our bodies simply can't do it anymore. And when we keep trying, we experience adrenal fatigue, and eventually, our thyroid goes too. What does that mean?...

….It means we have trouble sleeping. We experience weight gain. We can barely keep our eyes open during the day.

As it worsens, some of us will find our hair beginning to thin. We get sick more easily. We lose our creative drives….

….including sexual desire and stamina. In short, our life force dwindles.

As I mentioned in the last email, this was me beyond a doubt.

Like many of us, the combination of too many antibiotics as a child, trauma, and a high-stress lifestyle left me crippled.

But it doesn't have to be this way….

….and you guessed it! Plants can help.

In fact, there is a special category of plants known as adaptogens that build our energy, nourish our adrenal system, and regulate your body's response to stress.

They are basically miracle herbs.

They "adapt" to your body's needs at any given time. They give you energy and calm you simultaneously.

In fact, in some cultures, these herbs were so sacred that only the ruling classes were allowed to eat them!

I'm going to tell you a little about some of my favorites now:

Ashwagandha: This is perhaps my favorite herbal ally of all time. It is referred to as "he with the virility of a thousand horses," in Ayurveda. And yes, it is a wonderful aphrodisiac.

However, it's an aphrodisiac because of its calming, nourishing, and hypnotic effect on the body.

Ashwagandha not only nourishes you, but it puts you in a very subtle trance-like state. It removes over-reactivity, gives you more space to contemplate, and more freedom to feel.

Reishi: Reishi was called "the mushroom of immortality," in China. And was one of those special plants that only the ruling classes were allowed to consume.

Chinese medicine Reishi is the only physical substance that can actually rebuild "shen," the energy that was allotted to you at the moment of your conception.

Astragalus: Astragalus will always have a special place in my heart and my diet, for one astounding reason--it can keep you from contracting Lyme Disease. Astragalus is our best deep immunity building herb. And you can eat as much of it as your heart desires!

Love,

Crystal"

I hope this gives you some interesting things to ponder as you work to make 2021 a year during which you connect deeply to nature and yourself.

best,

Carolyn Elliott

author of Existential Kink