by Kumu Nālani | Aug 8, 2021 | Blog Posts, Healing
CAN HERBS HELP HEAL A BUSY NERVOUS SYSTEM? They sure can. Plants and herbs have been used for thousands of years to cure ailments, gain wisdom, heal the emotions and restore physical wellbeing.If you’ve never tried herbal remedies then you’ll be surprised at what herbs can offer you. Most clients comment on the lovely herby aroma in the studio and are surprised when I reveal my favourite blend is Basil, Rosemary, Lemongrass and Sage.
As well as being good for bone health, Basil (and Rosemary) are also helpful for purifying the body and connecting the mind with spiritual clarity. Much of our life stress is captured in our solar plexus which is also linked to our digestive health. When the solar plexus is over-active or under-active due to mental and emotional tension, the digestive system is impacted. Basil can help regulate metabolism and digestion at the same time as it soothes the solar plexus.
Rosemary is helpful for decreasing anxiety, stimulating a conscious mind, opening the heart and increasing energy and vitality. It assists muscle aches and pains too.
Lemongrass has the highest concentration of Citral in it compared to any other plant in the world. Citral has antioxidant properties that benefits the brain; it relieves stress and improves sleep patterns, nervous system upsets and insomnia.
Sage helps smooth muscle tension and assists breathing. It has a relaxant effect which makes it perfect for soothing the nervous system and the leaf has been used to reduce menopausal sweats. The vibration of Sage is also useful in healing the heart and of course in Indigenous Cultures it’s been used for centuries in clearing and cleansing ceremonies.
Herbs can be taken in lots of different ways – diffused as aromatherapy oils, in tonics, added to food, in lotions, potions and tablets. Prescribing herbal remedies is a real skill and takes years of training, so self-prescribing isn’t recommended. Always check with your Naturopath or Herbalist first.
Whilst herbs have powerful healing properties, protecting yourself from busy lifestyles means taking a more holistic approach to understanding your needs at a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level, is mission critical.
You can revitalise your energy and vitality levels by paying attention to your diet, having regular downtime and prioritising yourself so that you include interests that bring you joy and nourish you on every level. It’s not just about the physical – your spiritual self is just as important. Herby health is magnified when you’re in the correct Spiritual alignment. It all starts and ends with making sure there’s no separation between you and Spirit. When that is in place, everything else will be too. So if you’re out of alignment, feel stuck and out of sorts on a physical level, remember there’s alignment work to do.
Healing needs to start with the Spiritual, then the mind and body will heal too. Herbs are our happy helpers – they are our Kūpuna/Elders, members of our extended family. They willingly share their wisdom if we each learn to listen. Life’s not about being alive, it’s about being well, balanced and in harmony with everything around you.
Getting Herby: always, always start with your local Herbalist for your physical health needs – you’ll have much more success more quickly than self-prescribing. And don’t be afraid to share your intuitive wisdom about what you “feel” is happening in your physical body. A quality Herbalist will love you sharing your intuitive knowing and embrace it in their prescriptions.
by Kumu Nālani | Jul 4, 2021 | Blog Posts, Healing
The Kūpuna – the Elders, wise people – continually tell us to keep everything simple. They stress that life is simple but we make it complex through the decisions we make and the distractions (or busyness) we create. The Kūpuna encourage us to think about the world we live in and how we live in it…
They teach us that there are two worlds – one is REALITY and the other is the DREAM. The REAL WORLD is the world of our Ancestors and loved ones no longer with us, where we all come from; and then we have this world, which is a DREAM WORLD of schooling about how to learn how to become good people.
Everything in this dream world has positives and negatives and we have the ability to see positive or to see negative. And because this life is a dream, anything that you disagree with you can change. And the way you change it is to find the positive in it so that it doesn’t become part of your life anymore – too simple? Yes, it is and that’s what the Kūpuna teach, simplicity, not just the solution itself.
The solutions are simple. The process may be unpleasant at the time, but that’s what the schooling is about. It’s finding and understanding what the situation has for your learning not just in the immediate but for the bigger picture. In the Ancient times (we’re talking way back before Captain Cook came to that islands in the 1700’s and before him the Tahitians in the pre -1000’s), the Kūpuna understood that we’re all here trying to climb to the highest level and, because it’s a dream, what we’re trying to do is become one with ourselves – to become what is called PONO or righteous.
(Righteousness in the traditional sense it is about living right and in right alignment with the Higher Being which we call Akua but is however you know it to be for you).
But sometimes we get it wrong. In order to live Pono, you have to rid yourself of all negative memories so that when you look back at the situation and how you felt at the time you’re able to see the whole picture, and through that, the positive in it for you, which is the lesson. It’s just a lesson, but we take it personally. When you get into the groove of this kind of thinking then you understand that when you experience a similar situation again, you won’t respond in the same way, because you’ve learned. Not to judge but to understand…
Rely on your intuition and pay attention – it’s the Kūpuna, the Ancestors talking to you..
Aloha is so much more than “hello” or “goodbye” – in fact in the traditional language the word for hello is Welina and there is no word for goodbye. Like all things Hawaiian there are many layers to be understood within a simple word, but here, where we’re talking about living Aloha and Pono in the context of Manaʻo – thoughts, ideas, knowledge, the how to of the Ancestors, the purity of Aloha means living with the breath of Akua.
Take a moment right now to reflect on how can you be and live with the breath of Akua (or God, Spirit, the Higher Being); there’s something so very sacred in the simplicity of those few words. They’re an invitation to open the door of your potential, an invitation to make a decision, to give the best of yourself to yourself.
Here’s the thing – Aloha isn’t about judgement, it’s about understanding, and when you can get to understanding, there’s no problem. Both Aloha and Pono are about getting to know and understanding yourself so your relationship with yourself is in the right alignment. That’s when things start to flow and change for you.
Because time is a fantasy – it doesn’t exist in the REAL WORLD – there is no yesterday or tomorrow, there is only Now. What each of us is experiencing “now” is the outcome of the decision or choice we made before and what we will experience tomorrow is the result of what we decided/or chose today.
We have been given such immense power which isn’t ruled by the tick tock of the clock, but most of us don’t yet understand the full extent of what we’ve been given and for those that do, or have even an inkling, the understanding and kuleana (responsibility) that goes with it can be overwhelming.
Being and living with the breath of Akua means not getting stuck in the thinking of time – “I just have to get through this…“, “I’ll be happy when…“, “when my children grow up...”, “I’m too old to…“, “I have to stay until I….” NO!
Do you honestly think you are meant to stay in an untenable situation forever? NO, you’re not. You’re meant to understand it and then take action to change it and move on. That is your kuleana, your responsibility. That’s the power you’ve been given.- accepting being 100% responsible for yourself now – huge! That’s Aloha and Pono.
The majority of people are afraid to look into themselves, their lives and the choices and decisions they’ve made, to look at who they truthfully are. In the Hawaiian concept we are all both male and female. The male side has the EGO and the Ego is trying to control us, but the Ego is here to help us do what we are trying to accomplish in life. For that to happen you have to be in control of the Ego and recognise when it’s the Ego starting up driving you into fear.
On the other hand, the female side is what we might call INTUITION and we are all encouraged to develop and use it because Intuition is understood to be the KUPUNAS, ANCESTORS, ʻAUMAKUA talking directly to you. It’s for this reason you should learn to rely on your intuition and to pay attention to any thoughts, even odd ones, that come into your mind.
When you neutralise your Ego you open the gates. When you are quiet and in balance – which is Pono – you can hear their message to you. The takeaway of all this is don’t be afraid to look inside because making things right with others starts with making it right within you. Keep life simple…
We can help you if youʻre not sure how to do it by yourself. Our Path to Paʻa – Part 1, is a good starting point because it gives you the foundation and framwork. or work with one fo the Wise Guides – you can book them online.
