Herbal Remedies for Hernia
There are several types of hernias, and not all of them are conducive to healing with natural remedies. Hernias can be serious and should be examined by a health professional.
Inguinal hernias (groin area), umbilical hernias (near the naval), and incisional hernias (following surgery) are the most likely to improve or heal with herbal remedies. Other types may improve, but should be evaluated before beginning an herbal treatment.
This is a three part method that will support hernia recovery in 3 different ways. It begins with taking an internal herbal remedy formula.
Internal Formula–Herbal Remedies for Hernia
These herbal remedies for hernia are derived from traditional Chinese formulas used for centuries to heal hernias and other abdominal issues. I have offered here 2 different choices, for those who may have a challenge locating some of the herbs. Both of these formulas are effective.
Hernia Formula One
Hawthorn berry-2 parts (Chinese hawthorn berry)
Fennel seed-1/2 part
Grapefruit seed-1/2 part
Litchi seed-1/2 part
Mix the herbs together in a blender or Vita-mix. Mix on high until a coarse powder is formed. Put the powder into size 00 capsules, and take 1 to 2 capsules 2 times daily.
Alternatively, the powder can be made into a tea. Use 1 teaspoon of ground herbs in 2 cups of water. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes and strain. Sweeten with honey or stevia if desired. Drink 1 cup daily.
Or, use the following formula instead.
Hernia Formula Two
Hawthorn berry–2 parts
Dioscorea (wild yam)–1 part
Marshmallow root–1 part
Ginger root–1/2 part
Licorice root–1/2 part
Use the same methods as described above. You may use it as a tea or in capsules.
Plan on taking your herbal formula consistently for at least 3 months. Herbs often take weeks to show results, as they rebuild organs and tissues on a slow, gradual basis. It is necessary to use them every day to get the desired results.
Hernia Poultice
To support your recovery, you will also benefit from applying a poultice to the local area where the hernia is located.
Comfrey powder (or crushed leaf)–6 parts
Colloidal silver–1 part
Terebinthine pine essential oil–several drops
Cypress essential oil–several drops
Costus root essential oil–several drops
Distilled water–as needed
Combine all ingredients. Add only as much distilled water as necessary to moisten all of the ingredients and help them stick together. Apply enough of the poultice to lightly cover the hernia area. If possible, wrap it with saran wrap to hold it against the skin without drying it out. Leave it on for a few hours, or overnight if possible.
Apply it every day for the best results.
Targeted Exercise
The final piece of the puzzle for healing hernias, involves exercise. It is important to exercise very consciously–being certain to do no harm! Targeted gentle exercises to strengthen core muscles can be found on you tube. Always begin gently with just a few repetitions, and never continue if there is pain with any exercise.
Dietary Considerations
These dietary changes can also help support hernia recovery. Eat plain, unsweetened yogurt with live cultures (not the sweetened dessert kind), several tablespoons daily. My favorite brand to recommend is Mountain High, but the best is the one you make yourself with un-homogenized cow or goat milk. One tablespoon of home made yogurt contains more live probiotic cultures than a whole bottle of encapsulated probiotics!
Also eat smaller meals more often throughout the day. Avoid having any bloating or acid reflux, or even indigestion, by taking Ginger Drops remedy or Herbal Digestive Bitters as soon as any of these symptoms appear.
By Kathryn Sharp
It is possible to work successfully with essential oils from a purely academic mindset. In this instance, one uses information based on the science and chemistry of aromatherapy, to select essential oils for different conditions and purposes. I have seen this work well for many people.
But this was never enough for me. Having spent years immersed in Native American culture, I knew about the Great Mystery. The Great Mystery is the field of pure potentiality, which contains all things.
Some things are manifest in the physical world, but many more are not presently manifest. Yet all things that ever existed or ever could exist, are already present in the field of potentiality, or Great Mystery. This field is completely conscious, as is the whole of creation.
Earth is conscious, spirits are conscious, plants are conscious, rocks and stars and insects are conscious, inanimate objects even have a form of consciousness in them. From this shamanic perspective, everything is conscious.
For a shaman or indigenous medicine person–all things, all information, all memories, energies, places, beings–can potentially be accessed by those who intentionally engage and communicate with the field. This is is the foundational belief behind energy healing, shamanic paths, spiritual reading, and many religious and spiritual paths.
Though the training methods vary greatly, and the language may be different from one path to another, the underlying truth is the same. Human consciousness is altered in some way so that a different (yet connected) reality is accessed in order to shed light on our ordinary reality, or mundane level of consciousness.
A multitude of possibilities exist for activating this shift in consciousness. It may be accomplished by drumming, singing, toning; by meditation or prayer, in dreams, astral journeying, or by communicating with helping spirits or beings who assist the medicine person.
Many tools exist to facilitate this communication, including hallucinogenic plants, rituals, reading energies or divination, prayer, and meditation.
One form that helped me immensely in my own journey as a medicine person, is dowsing. Dowsing is done with rods (as in the case of locating water or minerals, etc.), or with a pendulum.
Pendulums and rods are energy amplifiers. They simply amplify the energy that is present in a person’s nervous system circuitry. With great commitment and practice, dowsing can be a highly accurate way of accessing information for healing that would not otherwise be available.
For example, I was recently asked about the differences between two similar pure lavender essential oils; the French wild lavender, and lavender fine population.
One can begin by inhaling each oil several times through a 30 minute dry down to discern the aromatic differences. Though they are both distilled from genetically diverse or “wild” lavenders, the aroma of each one is unique. In my opinion, the wild French lavender is slightly more balanced and softer, and the lavender fine is slightly more activating, spicy, and herbaceous.
Of course, both lavenders will have similar healing properties based on the chemistry of lavender essential oil. Yet each oil, in the shamanic perspective, is a living, conscious being. They will interact differently with individuals on a spirit level.
Through accessing another form of information, such as dowsing, wild French lavender essential oil may prove to be much more effective for a person who is healing a skin condition related to stress, for example.
Another person, who is also healing a skin condition related to stress, may dowse positive for the lavender fine. Both lavenders are super effective for this condition, yet one will dowse positive for one person, and the other will dowse positive for another.
I know that when I use a tool such as dowsing or intuitive sensing to select essential oils for treating conditions, I generally have about a 97% effective rate (based on how satisfied people are with the results). When I just choose an essential oil to recommend with my mind–something I almost never do anymore–that rate drops significantly.
So my short answer to the question of what are the differences between these two very similar essential oils, is this. The oils are unique individuals that work differently on energetic and spiritual levels, with the people who are using them. Rooted in the Great Mystery, there is no way to define those differences concretely, other than to smell the two oils, open to experience their gifts individually, and access information from a higher level of consciousness.
This is the way of co-creation, the way of the shaman. It is accessible to anyone who wants to commit the time and attention to practicing this art, and a great place to begin is by simply smelling the oils and allowing your body’s response indicate which oil to choose.
What is Fermentation
When microorganisms, such as bacteria, molds, and yeasts colonize and process foods, it is called fermentation.
There are many different kinds of yeasts, molds, and bacteria. Some of them are harmful, and will make food dangerous or unpalatable.
If the organisms are properly controlled, fermentation can create food that is highly nutritious, tasty, and long lasting.
One of the most useful types of fermentation is called lacto-fermentation. This process results from bacteria called lactobacilli. These bacteria convert sugars and starches into lactic acid, which acts as an effective preservative. They live everywhere, but are commonly found in milk and yogurt.
Other common fermenters are wild yeasts. They live in the air, and are found all over common household surfaces. They make fermented grain foods, such as sourdough culture for bread and pancakes.
Health Benefits
- Fermented foods boost the immune system, helping us to remain free of disease. It supports recovery from all kinds of degenerative conditions and auto-immune diseases, including arthritis, cancers, diabetes, and more.
- Fermentation preserves food, without cooking all of the life force and nutritional value out of it. Many fermented foods can be stored for months, or even years.
- Fermentation increases the nutrient content of foods, especially the Vitamin B complex and trace minerals.
- Fermented foods increase digestibility, and more of the food’s nutrients are absorbed and assimilated. It can help support recovery from digestive ailments of all kinds.
- And best of all, fermentation enhances and improves food flavor!
How to Know if Your Fermented Food is Good
Properly fermented foods should be stored in a cool, dark place such as a basement, cool pantry or cupboard, or–if you are one of the lucky ones who have one–a root cellar.
Bad smells, slimy or stringy brine, and colored molds are all signs that the food has gone bad. White mold (called kahm yeast) is not harmful, and can be skimmed off the food before eating.
The Four Basics
There are 4 basic families of fermented foods, which all interact together to make a strong foundation for a health enhancing diet. They are
- Sourdough Culture
- Whey and Fermented Milks
- Fermented Drinks
- Fermented Vegetables
You may start out with just one or two of these families, but will eventually want to bring all four into your kitchen. These are the four cornerstones of fermented high frequency eating!
