This week as I've been starting into the holiday season, I find I've been finishing a lot of the bounty from the growing season.  The snow peas, so carefully frozen in June are now all gone.  The shelled peas suffered the same fate a few weeks ago, and the blueberries....well, they didn't even make it into September.  Each time I come to the end of a bag, or a jar, I have to sigh a little bit.  Not only for the deliciousness that I won't experience again until the next growing season, but for each memory tied to that particular food or medicine. 

So much of the world has lost this kind of meaningful connection with their food.  I feel so very grateful to my CSA, Riverland Farms, for working incredibly hard to feed the people of my community.  They have nourished our bodies and our souls! And truly, it gives real meaning to the celebration of the harvest.  Hope your holiday is full of gratitude, and butternut squash!

Be Well,
Kristin

p.s.  Find a CSA near you!  Sign-ups are happening now for the next season.  Check out LocalHarvest.org and change your life!

It feels like the world has been spinning out of control for the past few weeks.  Super storms, trick or treating, nail biting elections, and Nor'easters.  No wonder the kids succumbed to the infiltration of the latest virus going around school. Obviously, the Halloween candy did not help matters.

First one, then the other of my little ones got hot!  Both had fevers that went up pretty significantly.  Enough to make my mama alarm bells go off.  It's hard to remember that really, fevers are our friends.  Fever simply represents our bodies normal response to killing off the virus that is invading our bodies.  Raise the temperature of the body, and the virus will eventually die off. 

Since both of my kids are over one month old (in which case you should go to the doctor if temp is over 100.4 degrees F), I took a deep breath and did what I could to make them comfortable. Nothing quiets those alarms bells like action.  I brewed tea.  I made them rest.  The herb fairy came and sprayed lavender hydrosol and put cool washcloths with peppermint essential oil on their little foreheads to calm them. All the time pushing fluids, fluids, fluids.  My herbal ally in this fight: Yarrow.  Here's the breakdown:

Scientific Name: Achillea millefolium
Common Names: Yarrow, Milfoil
Description: Stem is angular and rough.  Alternate leaves, 3 to 4 inches long and 1 inch broad, clasping the stem at the base, bipinnatifid, the segments very finely cut, giving the leaves a feathery appearance.  Flowers white, like tiny daisies, in flattened, terminal, loose heads, or cymes. The whole plant is more or less hairy, with white, silky appressed hairs.
Habitat: Grows everywhere, in the grass, in meadows, pastures, and by the roadside throughout N. America and Europe. Horticulture varieties of various color are cultivated widely, but are not as potent.
Blooms: June to September
Uses: Diaphoretic, astringent, tonic, stimulant and mild aromatic.  Translation: Yarrow helps to raise the body temp enough to break a fever, it can help arrest bleeding, has antibacterial properties, and can even help repel bugs.  The whole plant can be used.

Truth be told, this one can taste a little bitter.  So I made a tea blend with other fever-supporting herbs like peppermint, elder blossoms, lemon balm, and even catnip. My kids drank loads of this tea, sweetened with a bit of honey.  Heck, they even bathed in a strong infusion of Yarrow, which brought considerable relief as it opened up their pores. 

Eventually they cooled down and perked up.  My mama alarm bells stopped ringing.  And as of this beautiful sunny morning, the world has stopped spinning quite so rapidly.

Be Well,
K

Well, I guess I should be calling this the pose of the Month.  My intention was to post more frequently on my favorite poses, but well, life happens.  And intentions are just that, intentions.  In Yoga we have to be willing to honor our intentions, but not judge ourselves if we need to revise them from time to time.  Life is fluid.  So with no judgement, I'm posting about a pose I've been working with a lot lately.

Anjaneyasana.  Likely you'll appreciate the common name of this one, since it's a lot easier to pronounce: Low Lunge.  This pose is fantastic for a number of reasons.  Just from the picture, you can see how this pose opens the hips, tones the arms and core muscles, and builds strength in the thighs.  These translate into the therapeutic applications of this posture for sciatica.

What you may not realize is just how well this posture opens up the heart, lungs, and chest.  With the weather turning cooler, we often begin to round the back and hunch forward to gather heat from our inner core.  Just cross your arms like your shivering, and you'll see what I mean.  We need to actively counter this tendency in order to keep the heart open and avoid building tension in the neck and shoulders.  Keeping the lungs open also helps to expel that disgusting mucus that comes with all the colds prevalent this time of year.  Yuck.

Here's the breakdown:

1. From Downward-Facing Dog, step your right foot between your hands on an exhale.  Be sure to align the right knee over your right heel to avoid putting pressure on the joint.  Lower your left knee to the floor, keeping the top of the left foot pressing against the floor. 

2. Inhale and lift the torso up as you sweep your arms up towards the sky.  Shrug your shoulders back, and lift your chest up just a bit more.

3. If your neck feels comfortable, look up slowly, being careful not to compress the back of your neck.  Reach just a bit higher, and then exhale your hands back to the floor.

4.  Root your hands into the mat.  Tuck your back toes under, inhaling.  With an exhale, step back to Downward-Facing Dog.  Repeat on the left side.


Feel free to put a blanket under cranky knees, and just work your way slowly into the full posture.  It may be your intention to express the full posture right away, but hey, it's just an intention.  Be flexible in your mind, and your body will eventually follow.

Be Well,
Kristin