Pets as Herbal Teachers—Part 1
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I was thinking of all the teachers I’ve had over the years who helped me become an herbalist. My animals (dogs, birds, and even my fish) really taught me a lot about the power of herbs. As they are animals, there was no placebo effect. I’d like to spend the next few blogs discussing Whiner.
Whiner was a stray we adopted, a little terrier cross, 25 pounds, who lived to be about 17 years old. He was always getting into trouble. Being a terrier, he was so spunky! Whiner taught me the power of herbs in a crisis situation. I came home on a Friday night and couldn’t find him. I called and called; finally I heard him whimpering. After spotting him, I realized he couldn’t stand and could barely raise his head.
I am more of an intuitive healer. Realizing he hadn’t been hit by a car, I brought him inside. I strongly felt he needed support for his digestive system ASAP and I couldn’t wait to take him to the vet’s in the morning. I proceeded to give him capsules of marshmallow herb (a plant that is as nutritive as oatmeal) and activated charcoal every hour.
A few hours later, he coughed up mushrooms. The herbs had given his body enough strength to get rid of some poisonous mushrooms that had caused his paralysis. Whiner’s poor tummy turned deep purple due to severe hemorrhaging, but in a few days, his strength came back and in a week, he was as good as new. During this time I gave him other herbs as well, but if I hadn’t acted quickly, I know he would have died during that night. Because of this experience, I gained more confidence in the herbs to heal, even in a crisis situation.
Wendy
Being a Good Herbal Client
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Today I want to begin to talk about what I appreciate in an herbal client.
One thing I appreciate is when herbal clients don’t wait too long before contacting me. Many people use herbs as a last resort, after modern medicine has tried its best to give them back their health but wasn’t successful.
I understand feelings of desperation (been there), but the herbs can only do so much after your body has been subjected to chemotherapy/radiation/strong drugs, etc. In my practice, I never turn anyone away, even if they are close to death after treatments. I believe that only God knows when our time is, and herbs and supplements that Nature supplies will improve our quality of life for as long as we’re on Earth.
That said, if a person finds she had health issues, the sooner she should start getting good nutrition through herbs/supplements. For example, if someone comes to me right after a diagnosis of cancer, I suggest taking herbs and vitamins before starting any treatments and to continue taking herbs during the treatments and for months, if not years afterwards. Of course, I also tell clients that it is illegal for me to come between them and their physician, and that I am only giving advice. Clients are free to listen or not listen.
I never recommend that clients do herbs instead of treatment; rather, I recommend doing both. I give herbs before treatment, to build the body’s systems and prepare them for fight ahead. During the treatment, the herbal program would be more to help the body survive the treatments, rather than fight the illness itself. After the treatments are over, a different herbal program would help them build back their health and try to deal with the issue that caused the cancer/illness to develop in the first place.
Many physicians are wary of herbs now, so I caution new clients about this. For my clients who are religious, I suggest that perhaps they pray about using herbs and supplements, because they might have to go against their doctor’s wishes as is their right as individuals. Many choose not to do herbs until after all the treatments are over and I accept that without question.
I strongly feel that people are in charge of their own health and can make those decisions for themselves.
Wendy
Being an Herbalist
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Well, it’s been a busy time here in central Texas, what with the beginning of the spring semester at Texas A&M University, where I teach chemistry to 525 students. This entry is about what it is to be an herbalist.
People come to the herbs from two directions: either they love plants/herbs/weeds and then learn how to use them to improve their health. Or, like myself, they were very sick and orthodox medicine disappointed them and they turned to herbs as a last resort, at which time they learned about the plants. If people are lucky, they learned the skills from an elder in their family or a community elder. I learned from a friend.
I am a community herbalist in a smallish, conservative Texas town. A few of us got together to form LinkToWellness.com if only for moral support. I love teaching at TAMU, but I also feel driven to help people and animals with their health with herbs.
There are all kinds of herbalists or herbologists: some take formal schooling, become naturopathic doctors (NDs), others apprentice with well-known herbalists around the country, others learn on their own. I do know that people are drawn to the modality that will work best for them: massage therapy, herbs, flower essences, aromatherapy, iridology, etc.
One place to learn about different schools and resources about herbs is through www.herbnet.com. It is a great resource. As for me, I learned from my friend, Carolyn, and took workshops when I could. I discovered that I can “know” what herbs people and their pets need just by talking to them. Other herbalists have this gift as well; I think that most people have this ability, they just don’t know about it or trust it.
I totally trust the herbs to keep me healthy. My husband lovingly thinks I’m a bit “out there,” but the philosophy works for me. We don’t have children, but I use herbs to keep my dogs, birds (two cockatiels), and even my fish (two silver dollars) healthy.
Wendy
Rule #10 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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The last Golden Rule from Dr. Ritchason — Hering’s Law of Cure — is a tricky one to understand, but one that is fundamental to how healing naturally occurs.
Dr. Constantine Hering (1800-1880), the father of American homeopathy, lived in a time before the drugs of modern medicine. He observed several patterns of healing:
• Natural healing occurs from the inside out, meaning that the body works on healing the important internal organs first, pushing the dis-ease to the less critical external parts of the body (the skin and extremeties).
• Healing progresses from the top down. For example, a person with a skin rash over the whole body would more likely see relief in the upper torso first before the lower part.
• As a person becomes well through herbs/supplements/homeopathic remedies, symptoms appear and disappear in the reverse order that the person originally experienced them. In other words, as a person’s health declined, he or she might have experienced a sequence of symptoms that came and went. Then as the person gets better, he or she might experience those same symptoms, but in the reverse order.
As an herbalist, I always had a difficult time explaining these patterns to my clients, but when they “got it”, they really understood their natural healing process.
Wendy
Rule #9 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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“Exercise regularly the rest of your life.” The 9th Golden Rule is a mantra touted by everyone, but it still is difficult for many of us to keep up with. I know that in my busy schedule (and we’re all busy), I have tried all kinds of exercise. In my thirties, I learned to dance – jazz, tap and ballet – for the very first time. It was a great stress reliever for getting through graduate school, then I turned to Jazzercise. When I was sickly (see my bio in “About Us”), exercise took a far back seat. I started walking and finally bought a treadmill – which I really like – about four months ago. Movement is critical for good health; the pump for our lymphatic system, which moves the waste material from every cell, is in our feet. Without movement, our lymph fluid stagnates, creating swelling and pain. Walking and jogging also help build our bones.
The bottom line is: find the kind of exercise that you like and stick to it. You’ll never be sorry.
Wendy
Rule #8 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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Golden Rule 8 says, “Eat as much raw food as possible.” Basically, many of the nutrients in our fruits and vegetables, including enzymes, vitamins, phytonutrients and antioxidants, are destroyed when cooked. If food enzymes are not destroyed, they can aid our own body’s digestive enzymes so we can get more nutrition from what we eat.
There is a growing section of the pet food industry that promotes raw food including raw meat diets for our dogs and cats. A famous experiment involved raising generations of healthy cats on raw milk. When fed pasteurized milk, the cats were much less healthy. As part of my dogs’ diets (I have two rescue dogs – Sam and Petie), I feed them a raw chicken leg everyday. I heard a veterinarian speak at a natural pet conference about the importance of raw meat and raw bones for a healthy pet diet. As long as the chicken bone is raw, it won’t splinter. I wouldn’t recommend raw meat for people, but our pets have much more stomach acid than we do, which will kill all the nasty bacteria and parasites.
Wendy
Rule #4 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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Well, I’m sorry, everyone – I was so into the later rules, I missed the 4th Golden Rule: “Have moderation in all things.” Don’t go nuts, in other words. So self-explanatory, but so true. Many times clients come to me and want desperately to be put on a severe regimen for getting well; they want a hard-core cleansing program that is very stressful on the body. This is the “heroic” mode of healing. My message to them is to be gentle on your body – feed the body the nutrition it requires (and I help people sort through all the choices and help them make the one best for them at the time). When the body is strong enough, it will undergo cleansing in its own time – generally called a “healing crisis.” So have moderation in natural healing. And every so often, if you need to “cheat” on the diet – that’s OK, too. A healthy body can handle it.
Rule #7 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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“You must take responsibility for yourself and your health.” That is the 7th Golden Rule of Health. North Americans are pretty good at this rule. I’m 57 years old; when I was growing up, doctors made house calls and people didn’t have access to medical information, except through their physicians. This has changed with technology and the internet, and I think we have become more cynical – we don’t simply accept what we are told. Although doctors have their place, it is critical to take responsibility for your own health and the health of your family; you cannot leave it entirely up to others. I’m at the age where my friends are starting to have serious health issues, cancer etc. I notice that the ones who do the best are the ones who actively seek out different opinions, medical studies, and natural alternatives. Having been very sick, I can say that that’s what I did, and it made all the difference!
Wendy
Rule #6 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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“Live closer to God” is Dr. Ritchason’s 6th rule of his Golden Rules of Health. I know that everyone’s spiritual journey is different, but I believe that we are more than our biochemistry, more than the sum of our parts. Medical doctors know that a strong belief system can make a difference in how quickly patients recover. This is not a religious column, so I will simply say that many religions know that living in harmony with ourselves and others is a good thing. This belief will directly affect our mental and our physical health for the better.
Wendy
Rule #5 in Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health
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“Make peace with nature,” is the 5th rule of Dr. Ritchason’s Golden Rules of Health. People have all kinds of epiphanies. It was a major epiphany for me when I realized that I truly trusted that herbs could improve my health. For as long as people have been on this Earth, the plants have grown right beside us. It’s as though our destinies are intertwined.
Plants have always been available to provide shelter, clothing, food and our medicines. Now that most of us live in cities, we still are drawn to plants in our homes and at work. We give plants and cut flowers as presents for all kinds of occasions. Historically, Western civilization has routinely fought nature and the plants to build cities, establish and protect agriculture with pesticides and herbicides, and develop industry. Even so, the plants are still here, waiting patiently for us to rediscover the health benefits that they can provide. We think of many of these plants as “weeds” – like dandelions. Even when we are pulling them out of our lawns, they keep popping up, saying, “I’m here!! Use me!!” Dandelion is a natural diuretic that doesn’t deplete potassium levels and can also help to detoxify the body by supporting both the kidneys and the liver. The bottom line is to simply accept and make peace with nature, knowing that nature is waiting patiently to help us.
Wendy
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