Calendula Flower Essence for Creative & Receptive Communication

Calendula is a sunny blossom, welcome here in the Pacific Northwest where we must adapt to very little sunlight throughout the year. As an herb, it is well known for its aid in tissue repair, but it is also anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and boosts immunity through increasing white blood cell production.

As a flower essence, Calendula is used to improve communication skills. It opens the heart, which both deepens receptivity and therefore listening abilities, and inspires more loving and clear speech. Calendula flower essence inspires kinder, more creative and enthusiastic approaches in communication. It energizes both the heart and solar plexus, areas in the body which may feel depleted when the weather is cooler and greyer than is seasonally appropriate.

Sunflower Flower Essence for True Radiance

In lieu of the energetic quality of the weather patterns of this summer, I'm recommending Sunflower Flower Essence as a balancing ally. Since the weather has been swinging between brilliant sunshine and a steely, grim greyness, our inner fires are alternately stoked and squelched. This makes it difficult to radiate a balanced and confident attitude. We reflect the flickering light of this Northwest summer with an inner light that comes and goes. Such fluctuation can lead to either a lack of confidence in one's own convictions, or even a lack of confidence in life itself. Sunflower flower essence transforms these insecurities into a deep level of trust, both in ourselves, and in the world.

Sunflower flower essence is also indicated for individuals who are either too self-effacing or overly ego-inflated. Such individuals either suppress their ego or over-compensate their low self esteem with too much ego. Sunflower balances the ego, so that it functions at a level of balanced, integrated strength. It teaches individuals how to stand tall, how to shine forth, and how to soak up the light that warms and embraces us all.

Flower Essence of the Week: Red Flowering Currant for feeling supported

Red flowering currant flower essence by 3 Flowers Healing imparts an awareness of abundance and nourishing support.

This essence connects one with the earth, and is indicated for individuals who feel on their own, unsupported, and unable to trust others to support them. Often, such individuals burn themselves out, and experience adrenal fatigue. Red flowering currant flower essence specifically soothes and nourishes the kidneys and adrenals.

Red flowering currant is also a good essence for those who felt unsupported by their mothers as children. This sense of not being supported in the ways one most needed to be can continue throughout life, leading to many patterns of imbalance in the body, in the mind, in the heart, and in one's life and relationships.

Finally, this is the perfect flower essence for anyone looking for a new home, especially if one has a feeling of being uprooted, and is unable to trust they have a suitable place to go.

Flower Essence of the Week: Shasta Daisy for Centering & Wholeness

Shasta Daisy is a cheery roadside weed, familiar to most of us - tall, leggy, and topped with blossoms in the archetypal flower shape of slim, white petals radiating out in a circle from a sunny yellow center.

As a flower essence, Shasta Daisy helps with synthesizing information into a holistic awareness. It brings "big picture" thinking, especially helpful to those who feel their mind pulled in many directions. Thus, it can be a helpful tool in meditation.

Shasta Daisy flower essence is also recommended as a perfect transitional tool for recently graduated students, who after many years of exploring different directions in depth may need some help in bringing all their newly gathered information into a cohesive whole. This essence can be a centering and grounding influence at any point of transition in life, especially if one is attempting to unite seemingly disparate elements of life and experience into a new whole.

Flower Essence of the Week: Violet

Violet has always struck me as an incredibly humble, self-sufficient flower. One can easily overlook it as it hides in the grass, but if you stop to look, it is enchantingly lovely. Its scent matches its visual portrait of being endearing and beautiful, yet one can go their whole life without ever actually catching a whiff of it. Not only does violet hide far from nose's reach, but it needs the warmth of the sun to activate its scent. Add to this the fact that violet prefers some shade, and you have the picture of a shy being, hiding its gifts from the world.

The flower essence of this seemingly delicate yet hardy flower is indicated for those who fit the very picture the flower itself portrays. Violet is an invaluable essence for children and adults who are painfully shy, and those who feel intimidated when entering into groups of people. It's a good friend for those with anxiety about attending parties. Also, this essence is of particular use for those who have gifts to give to the collective, but are afraid of being swallowed by the collective if they make themselves known and shown.

There will be no flower essence of the week next week, but I do recommend you take another look at Yellow Star Tulip, from a few weeks ago. This is an important remedy in this time when it is easy to feel disconnected from the web of life, as everyone around us connects to the more ethereal web of modern communication technologies. There are other, deeper needs for connection that most of us are missing at this time: a connection to nature, and to the hearts of those around us.

Flower Essence of the Week: Deerbrush

Deerbrush is a heart-specific remedy. In particular, it gives those who take it a clear awareness of their deep needs and desires. In this way, they are able to act in accordance with their heart. When we act, speak, or make decisions from our heart, our life flows with organic grace and beauty. There is cohesion and harmony in such individuals, as their outer life flows naturally from their innermost selves, and their innermost selves are then naturally fed by their outer lives.

Deerbrush is recommended for individuals who feel their lives are not reflective of their inner truth, or for those who are unclear of what their inner truth is. It is particularly useful for individuals whose family's values are or were radically different than their own. In this instance, deerbrush can help such a person transition more easily into living by the dictates of their own heart, rather than their social conditioning.

Flower Essence of the Week: Yellow Sar Tulip

Yellow Star Tulip imparts a greater awareness of the interconnectedness of existence. This change has several ramifications. First, one feels a greater sense of unity with all of life, which imparts a greater sense of peace and security. Second, one becomes more aware of the impacts of one's decisions and actions on others and on nature. And finally, one develops a greater capacity for empathy and therefore a deepening of their compassionate nature.

This essence is recommended for individuals who often feel they are "up against" people or situations. It is also recommended for both parties in a troubled relationship. Sometimes it's just what's needed so both people can relax into seeing things through the eyes of the other.

Another action of yellow star tulip is to balance the compassionate nature of those who feel they are overly empathic to others, yet unable to find empathy for themselves. It returns such individuals' awareness of their own place in the great web we are all a part of.

14 APHORISMS
by country doctor Dr. David Loxterkamp:

1. Health is not a commodity.
2. Risk factors are not disease.
3. Aging is not an illness; death is not defeat.
4. Quality is more than metrics.
5. Doctors expect too much from data and not enough from conversation.
6. Doing all we can is not always doing what we should.
7. To fix a problem is easy; to share suffering is hard.
8. The most common condition we treat is unhappiness.
9. The most potent pill we can offer is our own happiness.
10. Nothing is more patient-centered than the process of change.
11. Community is the locus of healing, not the hospital.
12. Time is precious. We spend it on what we value.
13. Patients cannot see outside their pain; we cannot see in. Relationship is the bridge.
14. The foundation of a healing relationship is conversation, friendship and hope.

Flower Essence of the Week: Chaparral

Chaparral as a medicinal herb has gone up and down in popularity, but few know of or consider its energetic properties in flower essence form. While chaparral as an herb is contraindicated during pregnancy & nursing, and in large doses over extended periods of time, the flower essence is completely safe to use at any time, in any quantity, and for any length of time. That said, I'll compare the herbal properties with the energetic properties to give you a sense of how the two complement each other.

Chaparral flower essence (by FES) is used primarily for detoxification, especially benefiting the liver. Liver-related symptoms chaparral flower essence helps to clear are disturbed dreams, a chaotic & busy mind, and any residues of drug use, whether prescription or otherwise. Since the liver is also damaged by stress, rushing, and overly goal-oriented pushing, chaparral flower essence is also useful in clearing the effects of these modern-day realities. Consider chaparral flower essence if you feel harried, like you have a short fuse, if you're plagued by impatience you cannot resolve, if your sleep is light, easily disturbed & fraught with nightmares, and if your mind is moving in too many directions at once.

Chaparral as a medicinal herb is also used in liver toxicity, and is particularly helpful in people who have used drugs (prescription or otherwise) in the past. It clears residues. In addition, chaparral as an herb is antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and helps to reduce tumors.

In comparing these usages, you can see two main patterns of influence in both the flower essence and the medicinal herb:
1. Chaparral helps to release impurities from both the physical and energetic body, be they chemical residues, invading organisms, or invading energies and paces.
2. Chaparral reduces inflammation, whether of the mind, spirit or body.

Whether you want to support your spring detoxification program or find your own peace amidst the chaos of modern life, chaparral flower essence is an effective & noninvasive contemporary ally.

Flower Essence of the Week: Phantom Orchid

We all encounter obstructions in our path. Sometimes it's possible to find a way around such walls, and sometimes it's necessary to remove them. The healing process is one of the many paths we walk in life, so it's good to have an ally when you happen upon one of those roadblocks that just won't seem to offer a way around it, or to budge from its spot. Phantom Orchid is just the friend you need in that situation.

Obstructions can appear to be something they are not, which makes them particularly difficult to root out. As its name suggests, Phantom Orchid has no problem seeing and bursting through such illusions. When using this flower essence it is essential to intend to remove what is keeping you from moving forward, but to refrain from trying to name the obstruction until you see what Phantom Orchid eventually makes clear. With Phantom Orchid, expect the unexpected because chances are the reason you were blocked is you were pushing at the wrong thing.

Here's a hint:

The obstruction is not to be found without, but within.

Flower Essence of the Week: California Poppy

If the swinging quality of the weather, from bright, warm sunny days to grim, soggy days is sending you on an emotional roller coaster, California Poppy flower essence may be able to help you regain some equilibrium. It glows like the sun, and closes up at night, conserving itself until the warmth and light invites it open again the next day. It helps a person to open themselves wisely and appropriately, and to find their natural ebb and flow rhythm, and most importantly at this time of year, their own inner sun.

How to Love Spring

The quality of the air, light, and soil has begun to change all around us as we are fully immersed in the changeable and erratic spring of the Pacific Northwest, and while the sun only peeks out at us here and there these days, the feeling of spring is infused in everything! This is the time of year where the excitement of growing things and starting gardens is contagious and people walk around with their seeds and starts and spring bouquets held like shields against the memory of a cold and dark winter. If you are looking for a way to embrace spring and let go of winter the best way is to plant your garden... Even on the coolest grayest day, a spring garden whispers of growth and youth and potential and life. Its very difficult to be in a spring garden and not feel the bloom of hope inside of you.

Here at Rainbow we are doing our best to encourage this space, both as a healing activity and as a way to really love the moment we are in:

We now have a beautiful rack of herb and flower starts from Rents Due Ranch, a local and organic small farm that supplies various co-ops and farmer's markets around the city. Some of the staff favorites are the Chocolate and Apple Mints, Oregano, Lobelia, Strawberries, and Bronze Fennel. Its hard not to love them all, and with over 25 varieties of plants, we have had really great feedback from customers, and are seeing the little babies going to new homes all over the neighborhood!

We are expecting a special bonus from Cascadian Edible landscapes, they will be dropping off a "candy machine" filled with seed bombs (packages of hardy herbs and flowers that can be tossed into any space with exposed soil to increase our greening and beautifying of Seattle) the proceeds will all go to supporting Seattle Tilth's Just Garden Program.

For those days when being outside is just too blustery, cold, and wet, we have some remarkable new books in our book room to help inspire and motivate:

This Organic Life, confessions of a suburban gardener (by Joan Dye Gussow) this lovely book is full of anecdotal moments, recipes and inspiration for suburban and urban Farmers. Gussow weaves the complexity of life with the elaborate details of a garden. Michael Pollen is quoted as saying this book is "one part memoir, one part manual, and one part manifesto."

The Urban Homestead, your guide to self sufficient living in the heart of the city (by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen) This incredibly useful manual covers everything from how to grow your own food to canning to raising bees and chickens to foraging to water and power management. This is a must have for anyone interested in good old fashioned living off the land in the midst of the city. If everyone followed the words in this book this city would be something to behold!

The Natural Kitchen, your guide to the sustainable food revolution (by Deborah Eden Tull) This book brings the garden into the kitchen and the kitchen into the garden, helping us realizing that what we eat is both extremely important and highly political. Tull combines "the principles of sustainability into the rituals of mealtime" and comes up with insightful and useful explorations of how we use food and thereby the world, from the smallest detail to the largest global perspective.

Hopefully all these little gems will help to open the many possibilities and joys of Spring to all of us, and encourage us to participate wholeheartedly in the experience of growth, renewal, and nurturing of the earth, our community, and our own bodies.

Mighty Matcha!

We love matcha! What's not to love? It's green, delicious and, pound for pound, it has more antioxidants than blueberries, goji berries, and pomegranates. Matcha is finely groung Japanese green tea. Because you dissolve the powder in order to drink it, (versus steeping traditional green tea leaves) you are actually consuming the whole leaf. That means more antioxidants, more chlorophyl, and more catechins. You're basically getting more of all the good stuff, which is what makes matcha so mighty! Enjoy the sunny weather this weekend with an iced matcha latte. It's a super easy and delicious way to add some matcha to your diet.

Iced Vanilla Soy Matcha Latte

1/2 to 1 tsp Rishi Tea matcha powder (depending how strong you like it)

2 oz hot water (not boiling)

4 oz vanilla soy milk (or rice, or almond, etc)

A little bit of honey (or whatever sweetener you like best)

A glass of ice

Dissolve the matcha in the hot water and whisk until frothy. Stir in your sweetener of choice. Stir in the vanilla soy milk. Pour over ice, dust with more matcha, and ENJOY!

For more interesting match recipes, check this list out.

You have something on your face...

...and it could be doing some damage. The Good Guide recently published a couple really interesting word clouds to illustrate the ingredient exposure of two daily beauty routines that included a list of skin and hair products that were used throughout one day. One routine included standard, national brand products, while the other included a list of Good-Guide-approved products. The differences they found are really interesting. The overall number of ingredients was really about the same, but the kinds of ingredients are what makes this really eye-opening.

Daily Routine #1 (standard national brands)

Seeing as these are word clouds, the words that are displayed more prominently are the ingredients that showed up in the greatest amounts, and therefore the ones this person was exposed to most. You'll notice a few of the more prominent words are a little scary, particularly petrolatum, dmdm hydantoin, parabens, phenoxyethanol, and methylchloroisothiazolinone. They're a mouthful, for sure, but, more importantly, studies of their toxicity have shown some grim results.

Daily Routine #2 (Good Guide approved brands)

Now here is the same daily beauty routine, only the products have been replaced with ones that are recommended or approved by Good Guide. Unfortunately, artificial fragrance is still a big one. However, we'd say you're doing your skin a big favor by replacing petroleum bi-products and harsh chemicals with things like sunflower seed oil, vegetable glycerin, and hydrolized milk protein.

Rainbow to the Rescue!

Lucky for you, we have a huge selection of natural skin, body, and hair care products, along with a full line of vegan make-up. Start off clean with Wild Carrot Herbals' utterly lovely smelling Cardamom Facial Cleanser. Then, gently moisturize with some Weleda Almond Moisture Cream. Give your hair that fresh from the beach look with John Master's Organics Sea Mist hair spray, made from a whopping 3 ingredients: water, sea salt, and lavender oil. And if you're feeling fancy, we've got a whole line of natural, vegan cosmetics from Zuzu.

To read the full article from Good Guide, including a full product list from this experiment, go HERE. The Good Guide is a great resource for product ratings, as is the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Database. And, for a really fun approach to natural beauty care, check out this super fun blog about items you can find right in your kitchen, appropriately named You Have Food on Your Face.

HERB OF THE WEEK: Black Pepper

Ok, so it's already Thursday, and we're just now taking the time to blog about our Herb of the Week. But, this little powerhouse of a pepper is a good one! Black pepper seems like one of those things that's just so commonplace it's often overlooked. With so many peppers to choose from, and each recipe seemingly more fancy than the next, black pepper just isn't getting the attention we think it deserves. It has been used medicinally for centuries by Buddhists, Ayurvedic practitioners, and perhaps even the ancient Egyptians. Ramesses II's mummy was found with black peppercorns stuffed in the nostrils. We won't go quite that far, but here is our own little Ode to Black Pepper.

WHY WE LOVE IT

1. It's delicious! Paired with a dash of salt, generously shaken on meat or tofu, or as a tasty added kick to homemade chai.

2. It has long been used to aid in digestion and relieve stomach ailments from gas to constipation. Consuming pepper stimulates the production of digestive enzymes and stomach acid, promoting better food digestion and shorter gastrointestinal food transit times.

3. Well-known for its sneeze-inducing properties, black pepper is great for clearing nasal congestion or relieving sinusitis.

4. The essential oil of black pepper is used to improve circulation and treat pain.

5. And perhaps the coolest benefit of all: Piperine, a compound found in black pepper, increases the bioavailability of a large number of nutrients. So, by adding black pepper to your meal, you're not only giving it an extra tasty kick, but you're actually boosting your body's ability to use all the good stuff that's in it.

So, not only does black pepper come complete with its own impressive list of direct health benefits, it helps you benefit from a variety of other foods and nutrients as well. A true team player! It doesn't get much better than that.

Sweet Tooth Solutions

Over the past few months, we've likely all eaten more than our fair share of sugary things. The way the holidays from Halloween through Easter all tend to run together, there isn't a month that goes by without grocery shelves filled with specialty candies and dinner tables piled with desserts and goodies. Come spring, we're all about ready to crash. Oh sugar, how you taunt us. There's really no denying the profoundly negative effects of refined sugars on our bodies. And so we are left with sugar substitutes, but where does that really leave us? Many of those have their own lengthy lists of negative health effects, and a lot of them just don't taste very good. Sweet teeth, rejoice! Rainbow has sugar substitutes that are not only sweet and delicious, but they have low glycemic index ratings, (suitable for diabetics and those on candida-conscious diets) and some are actually beneficial to your health. So, whether it's your morning cup of coffee or tea that needs a better sweetener, or you're in the mood to do some baking, why not give one of these a try?

Jerusalem Artichoke Syrup from Bright Earth Foods

We know, it doesn't necessarily sound sweet and delicious. The Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke, is rich in inulin, a naturally occurring polysaccharide. Inulin is actually a fiber that is not digested in the stomach, so it enters the intestines virtually unchanged. There it fosters the growth of "good bacteria" in your intestinal tract. There is also evidence that it may even boost calcium absorption.

Try these recipes!

Coconut Nectar & Coconut Crystals from Coconut Secret

These two sweeties are made from the sap of a coconut tree. Coconut sap contains several different minerals, vitamin C, broad-spectrum B vitamins, and 17 amino acids. Both of these products are minimally processed and evaporated at low temps. Neither is subjected to the high temperatures that many processed sweeteners are, (even agave) so they are both enzymatically alive. The flavor is sweet and somewhat earthy, but not coconutty.

Try these recipes!

Stevia from NuNatural

Most of us have tried, or at least heard of, stevia by now. This sweet herb is even sweeter than sugar and has no caloric intake.

XyloSweet

Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that our own bodies produce in small amounts. It is just as sweet as sugar with only 40% of the calories. And, rather than attack your teeth like sugar, xylitol has actually been shown to prevent tooth decay.

When you can't make it to the beach...

You can still enjoy some marine moments at home. We have a veritable bounty of oceanic goodness right now at Rainbow! Sea vegetables are highly nutritious and great for detoxing and environmental protection. The vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in sea vegetables have been shown to improve the condition of skin, hair, nails, teeth, and gums while supporting respiratory, cardiac, thyroid, and metabolic function. Their detoxifying and regenerative properties are widely hailed. Species that are extra high in iodine, like our purple dulse, even offer natural protection against the effects of radiation. With all this nutrition packed into such a tasty and versatile group, why not add some to your diet? At Rainbow, we have everything from blue green algae powder to kelp fronds to Nori sheets for you to use in everything from soups to smoothies to snacks.

Here are two deliciously nutritious - and incredibly easy - suggestions to get sea vegetables on the menu in your life.

Sweet - Kelp Energy Bars

These are easy, delicious, and packed full of nutrients and energy to go. Make a batch on Sunday, and snack on these all week.

• 1/2 oz kelp fronds (Ours are from Oregon!)

• 2 cups sesame seeds, almonds, or hazelnuts (Or, use a tasty mix!)

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

FIRST Powder your kelp fronds in a blender. Even though you are converting them to a powder, it is best to start with whole fronds.

THEN Add nuts and/or seeds to the kelp powder in your blender and grind to a coarse mix.

POUR your coarse mix into a bowl. Add the maple syrup, and stir.

SPREAD the mixture onto an oiled cookie sheet. Press the mixture into a 1/4 inch thick mass.

BAKE at 325 for 20 minutes. Cut into squares while still slightly warm. Let them cool completely and ENJOY!

ALSO TRY using birch syrup, brown rice syrup, light molasses, or honey. Add some of your favorite seasonings like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or cardamom. You can even mix in some raw shredded coconut. Use what you like!

Adorable striped box not included.

Salty - Green Popcorn

You can make this and keep in a sealed container for up to 3 days before your popcorn starts getting a little tough.

• Popcorn (We recommend popping on the stove top in olive or safflower oil. If you are using olive oil, just be careful not to burn it.)

• Nutritional Yeast (maxi flake works best)

• Any of our fine sea veggie powders - sea veggie mix, spirulina, kelp, chlorella, etc.

• Salt

• Black Pepper

FIRST Make popcorn :)

THEN sprinkle with your green powder of choice, nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper. So simple. So delicious.

ALSO TRY garlic, cayenne, cumin, curry powder...you name it. It will be tasty! Tired of popcorn? How about roasted chickpeas for a super munchable, high fiber crunch? Toss them with oil and roast at 450 for 30-40 minutes, then season as you would popcorn. YUM.

Happy (and healthy) snacking!

when your throat is screaming….

I just got over a spring flu that ran through me like a

Changing seasons

We're approaching a time when the days are shortest and the nights are longest.  Like the rest of the animals, our bodies would like us to slow down.  In stead, we pile holiday activities on top of our already full work schedules. The patterns of nature suggest we slow down, but the patterns of our society suggest we keep on at a modern hectic pace.

How does one find balance, and therefore maintain good health, in the midst of such extremes?  Nature holds many answers to this question.  The trees have dropped their leaves, so follow their lead, and let go.  Prioritize, and take care of what's necessary, but let go of the superfluous.  The animals are gathering and bulking up, so nourish yourself well.  But before you reach for a nourishment band-aid (chocolate, for instance), you need to ask yourself, "What truly nourishes me?"  Your answers may surprise you, or they may feel familiar.

And alwa

Salt
Salt, a crystalline compound, essentially consists of charged particles that assist with the communication between  cells in our bodies.

Harmonizing with Spring

It's grim, rainy and cold out as I write, but the trees are covered in buds.  Some buds are tightly shut, while others have opened into leaves or flowers.  Some flowers are already spilling petals through the air and onto the ground.  In some places, the air is scented with cherry blossoms.  It's grey, wet and chilly, but it is Spring.

Spring is a time of bursting forth.  It takes a surge of upwards-moving energy to produce those buds, and to burst them open into the leaves and flowers they are to become.  This energy comes up from a plant's roots, from deep in the earth.

Just as the plants are in this process, so are we humans.  Now is the time to implement those ideas hatched in the dark of winter.  Now is the time, while the days are lengthening, when there is all spring, all summer and well into the autumn, to move these ideas through action into existence.

What if, however, you are having a hard time getting going?  What if you're feeling sluggish or stuck?  What if you just can't get organized or inspired to make your dreams come true?

You could seek support.  You could call upon friends or family, or you could ask for a little help from the experts on bursting forth: plants, and in particular, their flowers.

Flowers can be applied as essential oils, or ingested as teas, in tinctures or capsules, or in flower essences.  Flower essences are particular useful for emotional and energetic illnesses.  Here are a few you can use to get yourself up and running with Springtime energy:

Bird of Paradise by 3 Flowers Healing, from Hood River, Oregon:  This essence is excellent for bringing in the new, and for creating an openness in yourself for welcoming and adapting to that which is new.

Barrett's Penstemon by 3 Flowers Healing:  This essence gives a feeling of lightness and the ability to rise above.  Obstacles can be viewed from a vaster perspective with this essence so that you can see the ways around them, and also move about them with agility.

Walnut by Flower Essence Services in Nevada City, California:  This essence is excellent for letting go of past influences that keep you from moving forward, and for proceeding onwards with new certainty.

Blackberry by Flower Essence Services (FES):  This essence is good for those with good ideas, but who have trouble applying the elbow grease necessary to turn those ideas into reality.

Cayenne by FES:  This essence is good for overcoming inertia and stuckness.  It gets the blood and the energy flowing.

Olive by FES:  If you are too fatigued to get going, this is the essence for you.

Borage by FES:  This essence is for harnessing the courage necessary to make a bold leap, and to meet the challenges that lie ahead.  Often, this is all that's really needed to get something started.

Wishing you a springtime full of boundless energy and positive new beginnings.

Detoxify but don’t deplete

Even though we may be distracted by the trappings of digital and mechanized society, our bodies are part of nature.  It’s officially Spring as of 4:19 PDT today, March 20^th, 2011.  That means you can experience buds on the trees, crocuses popping out of the ground, birds and squirrels more actively flitting and scurrying about, and ever increasingly long days.  But it’s not just Spring outside.

It’s Spring inside too, in our bodies.  Just as nature awakens and bursts forth new life, so do we.  Some of the effects of this, we call “spring fever.”  You may want to be more active, spend more time outside, wake up earlier and/or stay up later.  You may want to drift about freely, without aim, and shirk the duties you’ve been burying your nose in all winter.  Go ahead!  Be alive, and enjoy life.  That’s what is happening in nature too, and the more we are in tune with nature, the greater our capacity for health.

Something else that happens in the body during spring is a natural cleansing process.  The body wants to clear out the excesses of winter to make room for the more active seasons of spring and summer.  You can help this process along in many ways, ranging from more extreme fasts and cleanses to gentler detoxification processes.  If you are already feeling tired and depleted, if you are a generally sensitive type, or if you are completely new to detoxification methods, I recommend starting with a more gentle and nourishing approach.

Begin any detoxification regimen with a few simple life and dietary changes.  Even without fasting, your body can cleanse well, especially if you stop eating by 7pm at night, and eat only a light breakfast, such as a smoothie or fresh fruit and herbal tea.  Increase the amount of fresh and cooked fruit and vegetables you eat.  Decrease or ideally cut out refined sugars, white flour and hydrogenated oils.  Night is when your body does most of its cleaning out, so you can also help move things along by getting to bed by 11pm.  In this way, your body can do its cleaning without having to process any new stimulus of any kind, including television, conversation or reading

A few herbal teas that aid in the detoxification process:  For gentle but effective liver support try milk thistle seed, burdock root, dandelion root and blue violet.  For kidney cleansing try nettles and dandelion leaf.  For cleaning the blood try sarsaparilla, red clover and yellow dock.  For cleansing the lymph, try red root, blue violet, burdock and yellow dock.

Microgreens are an excellent addition to the diet at any time, due to their high vitamin, mineral and protein content, which are all completely bioavailable.  They are also excellent detoxifiers because of their high chlorophyll content.  For a more depleted constitution, try spirulina over any other microgreen as it is the most nutritive.  For a stronger constitution, try chlorella, the highest in cleansing chlorophyll.  For an energizing mineral blast and very strong detoxification for those with very robust constitutions, go for the blue-green algae.  Cereal grasses, such as wheat or barley grass and alfalfa leaf powder are also high in chlorophyll, and are very alkalizing.  There are also many blends of various

Always support the natural elimination processes through your skin and colon during a cleanse.  For gentle colon support, try aloe very gel.  Very a more intensive colon scrub, I recommend the “Intestinal Drawing Formula” by Health Force.  Skin is the main eliminative organ of the body.  “Dry brushing,” or scrubbing the entire surface of the body with a natural bristle brush before a shower is an ancient and effective technique for removing dead skin cells.  For best results and to improve your circulation, always brush towards the heart.  Another approach is a weekly sweat.  To do this at home, drink diaphoretic herbs such as peppermint, sage or elder flower, and then take a hot bath.  Scrub your self well, rinse off, and then continue to sweat by wrapping yourself in blankets.  Rinse off again once you’re done sweating.

Maintain your chosen regimen for a few weeks, or as you are able.  A more sustained, gentler detoxification is ultimately more effective than a quick one week fast.  Such methods tend to shock the body twice – when you begin it and when you end it.  Making more sustainable changes are ultimately better for your body, heart, mind & spirit.  And ultimately, isn’t that what you’re after?

Wishing you a happy, healthy & abundant springtime!

Beauty amidst the chaos

Rainbow Natural Remedies's purpose is to provide a healing environment where you can find a wide array of natural remedies and staff who are knowledgeable and care about your health. It has been a very busy week for us as many people have expressed concern and anxiety about the disaster in Japan. Below is a message I received from a friend who lives near Sendai in Japan. It points to what really matters for us and how a crises can provide an opportunity to appreciate and be grateful life and the comfort of having community.

  Hello My Lovely Friends,
  First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.
 
Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.
 
 During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
 
Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."
 
Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
 
We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.
 
 There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.
 
Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.
 
 And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.
 
They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others.  Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.
 
Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.
 
 Thank you again for your care and Love of me,
 
With Love in return, to you all,
Anne.

Radiation Detoxification

There is a lot of fear going around about the radiation leaks from the nuclear reactors in Japan.  The radiation is reputedly heading towards   our area in the Pacific Northwest, so it is wise to take some precautionary measures in terms of radiation detoxification.The most common request we are currently receiving at Rainbow is for Potassium Iodide as a radiation detoxifier.  We do carry this item, but we are sold out until Thursday, March 17^th.  For those of you interested in taking this remedy, please note that there are some extreme side effects, ranging from rashes to fever, nausea and vomiting to general weakness, diarrhea and black tarry stools to swelling in the neck and throat.  The main cautionary word here is moderation.  Introduce this remedy slowly, and watch to see how it affects you. If you develop any adverse reactions, stop taking the remedy, and try something else. There are many other remedies for radiation exposure that lack these unpleasant side effects.  Here are a few suggestions:

Seaweed and seaweed extracts are extremely high in iodine, particularly the digitata kelp, harvested in Iceland, Maine or Northeastern Canada.  In addition to being rich in iodine, seaweeds are good detoxifiers in general, and help to keep things flowing through and out of the body.

Both Panax Ginseng, also known as red or Korean ginseng, and Eleuthro, also known as Siberian Ginseng have been effectively used to treat radiation poisoning.  They have the added benefits of revitalizing & energizing the system.

All microgreens, including chlorella, blue-green algae, spirulina, wheat grass, barley grass and alfalfa are high in chlorophyll, which helps to eliminate both radiation & heavy metals from the body.  In addition, they are excellent sources of vitamins, protein & minerals.  These are available both singly and in blends.  They can be mixed into water, juice or smoothies.  Some are also available in capsule or tablet form.

For those interested in more alternative remedies, Flower Essence Services designed a remedy specifically for survivors of Chernobyl.  This remedy, called Yarrow Environmental Solution, is designed to protect and cleanse the body’s energetic field of radiation as well as noxious environmental & geopathic stress.  As per the adage, “as above, so below,” if the etheric body is clean, the physical body will follow suit.

Other helpful radiation detoxifiers are bentonite and other clays, which can be taken internally to help draw out even severely lodged toxins from the digestive tract.  Pectin and lecithin are also helpful.

All of these supplements are available at Rainbow.  You can also pick up some high quality, non-pasteurized miso from your local co-op to help in the detoxification process.  Add some seaweed to your miso soup for a detoxifying yet nourishing meal.

In terms of health, it is also important to look at the emotional and mental state of a person.  Acknowledge but do not give into your fear.  It may be helpful to have the perspective that although this is scary, people in Japan are at far more risk than us.  Take a moment to quiet your fears, and send some good thoughts their way, that we may all experience ease, safety, peace and good health.