Wellness Library: Wellness Self-Care Therapies

Prepare your teas only in either ceramic, stainless steel, ceramic or unglazed earthenware. Preferably use distilled water for making teas. Avoid chlorinated tap water.

Use about 1/3 C dry herbs per 1 quart of water -- use more herbs for a stronger tea.

Herb teas are best used in combinations. Select two or more herbs that have similar functions. Use them in equal amounts (weights). Or use the dominant herb at double the weight of the supplementary herb. My book, THE SAFE USE OF HERBS, details how to select, combine and prepare herbs correctly and safely. It also contains a list of the health benefits of common household herbs.

Generally, flowers should be placed in boiling hot water and NOT cooked. Just steeped for 15 minutes. Leaves should be put in cold water and brought to a boil. Then simmer for 3 minutes. Turn all heat off and steep for 5 minutes. These two methods will give you an infusion. The flowers are a milder, more dilute infusion than the leaves in this case. To make the leaves a milder infusion, omit the simmering.

Roots and barks should be soaked for about an hour. Then cover and boil for 30 minutes. If you are using flowers and roots mixed together, after soaking them in enough water to cover the herbs (plus an additional 2 inches, bring them to a soft boil only 10 minutes. Drain the boiled tea off and set aside. Now, add twice the amount of water to the same (used) herbs and boil down to 1/2 the original amount. Mix the two teas together and drink as one.

You may reduce a tea to a decoction by then simmering the original volume until it has been reduced in volume at least 50%. Decoctions are stronger.

Drink three cups daily. If the tea is meant to improve any aspect of digestion (including mucous or phlegm reduction), drink the tea 30 minutes before or after meals. Otherwise, drink herbal teas between meals.

You may purchase your single herbs or herb combinations from www.theherbpantry.com. Vicki Vosburg will make up your requested combination. She also carries many culinary spices, herbal salt substitute and other herbal products that contribute to wellness.

The Castor Oil Pack was made popular by Edgar Cayce who recognized its value for being able to penetrate the skin and cleanse out lymphatic congestion. It is a valuable aid for reducing lymphatic congestion in the abdominal and pelvic cavities. Some practitioners and patients have found that long term use (6 to 12 months) of Castor Oil Packs helps reduce the size of some uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts and helps cleanse and improve functions of the small and large intestine (colon). It is also helpful in cleansing the lymphatic ducts in and around the breasts when applied to that area also.

What You Need to Get Started

• 1 qt of Castor Oil (at pharmacies, drug stores or healthfood stores)
• White double thickness wool or 100% cotton to cover the lower abdominal area
• A piece of thin plastic large enough to cover the wool or cotton
• A non-electric moist heat pack such as a hydrocolator pack, microwavable gel pack, hot water bottle, hot wet towels
• A large dry towel to wrap around the abdominal area to insulate the heat

How To Use The Castor Oil Pack

Edgar Cayce recommended the use of a double thickness white, untreated light wool saturated with castor oil. This wool can be kept indefinitely in a closed container and reused by the same person without ever washing it . Simply add more castor oil as needed. (Use a different cloth for each person.)

An easier (less effective?) option is to use a double thickness piece of 100% white cotton _ such as an old t-shirt _ saturated with castor oil. Or, simply smear the castor oil directly onto the skin of the entire abdominal area and then place the piece of damp cloth over the area.

Apply the castor oil (either directly onto the skin or on the dampened cloths. Place a thin piece of plastic over the cloth. Place the heat pack over the plastic. Then the large towel to insulate the pack so that the heat stays in for at least 1 hour. Caution: The heat should be moderate and comfortable. Unbearable heat will blister the skin! If the heat becomes too intense, place a dry towel between the heat pack and the plastic.

The best time to use the castor oil pack is from 5 to 7 am. However, it is beneficial no matter what time it is used. For busy people, it is often less trouble to put the pack on at bedtime and leave it overnight.

To remove the oil, either wipe it off with a dry cloth or a damp cloth soaked in water containing bicarbonate soda.

Use the Castor Oil Pack 6 days weekly. Rest on the 7th day. Or use it every other day. Use as long as necessary.

1. Hot and Cold Moist Packs -- To Stimulate Internal Circulation and Proper Organ Functions

Laying on your back, cover the entire front of your body with hot moist towels -- double thickness. The towels should be as hot as possible without burning the skin. They should cover the entire area between the neck and the edge of the pelvic bone. When the hot moist towels are in place, quickly cover them with a heavy dry towel to hold in the heat. Relax in this position up to five minutes. Then, remove the warm towels and replace them with a large icy cold towel. Leave for up to 10 minutes. If you have assistance also do these packs on the back (from the neck to just below the buttocks). An optional way to apply hot and cold packs -- especially if you do not have assistance, is to use hydrocolator or microwavable gel packs. First, cover the skin with a protective towel. Then use enough packs to cover the entire front and cover the packs to insulate the heat. Follow the hot packs with cold pack applications. For convenience, keep reusable gel packs in the freezer. Various kinds of reusable hot and cold packs are available at drugstores or medical supply houses.

2. Hot and Cold Showers -- To Stimulate Circulation

First, bathe or shower in hot water. The heat brings the blood to the surface of the skin to cool the body. Then, rinse off with a cold shower which drives the blood deeper into the body. Alternate hot and cold 3 times each. It is especially helpful to let alternating hot and cold jet streams pulsate on the head. Agitating the blood in this way stimulates circulation.

3. Jacuzzi -- Stimulates Circulation By Mechanical Massage

The water in the jacuzzi should be as hot as possible. Spend about five minutes at each one of the jets making sure to move around so that all of the body parts are massaged. It is also helpful to do gentle exercises in the swirling water. First bring your knees as close to your chest as is comfortable. You should not strain. Let the bubbles gently massage your lower back. Then turn over onto your abdomen bending at the knees so that the bubbles