Oh you rascal, Peppermint. Every time someone say "Peppermint does this!" we have to add, "Yes, but..."! Peppermint chills, then it warms. It tingles, and also it relaxes. It aids digestion, but can exacerbate reflux. It's a morning tea AND a before-bed tea. What ARE you?? (Like all the plants) Peppermint is a personality. We can't put it in a single box, any more than YOU can be put in a single box. Instead of "what does it do?" ask "how does it work?" 🌼 Menthol cools tissues, which stimulates circulation. Both of these help relieve pain and inflammation 🌼 Herbnerd word: AMPHOTERIC. Peppermint brings down high things, like energy at the end of the day, and jazzes up low things, like energy in the mornings. It normalizes levels, from any direction. 🌼 It relaxes smooth muscle. Good for full or sluggish intestines (as is the cooling/warming pairing) but NOT always so good for a full tummy. The relaxing might go up towards the esophagus instead of downward. I prefer Peppermint with nausea but bitters after a big meal. Peppermint People run to both extremes, and could use a bit of balance in their lives. Always run to one extreme or another? Balance the Peppermint with another herb- hot Peppermint + Licorice for cold people, cool Peppermint + Green Tea for hot people, maybe.
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Why am I doing this? Well, I've been hearing from a lot of people that they've been out walking since their gyms and such shut down, but it's not working out so well all the time. Basically what we've done is taken to the sidewalks and park trails the same way we would take off for the printer or the doorbell- hunched, tight, asymmetric, and unaware. Have you also taken to the sidewalks and parks since Coronavirus, using your couch-to-bathroom gait? Are you finding yourself sore, achy, tight, stiff, and uneven? Learn to walk better with me! Walk This Way is a 5 day video challenge, with daily emails to your practices, an online community sharing the #walkthiswaychallenge all over the socials, and the best part: daily worksheets done in my exclusive Graceful Stick Figures style! Ok, I'm not an artist. But you'll "get the picture". (See what I did there??) Each day of the challenge will feature a short, 5-8 minute video with yours truly teaching you a small, easily accessible movement or stretch. We'll wake up your hamstrings, mobilize your feet and hips, realign your neck, and more- all with simple lessons + herbal supports (since you might feel tired and sore- the good kind!) Are you ready to walk like a pro? Click here to sign up: bit.ly/walkthiswaychallenge Calling All Walkers! (Hey that’s funny because my friend’s last name is Walker and that’s not what I meant but Hi!!) By Walkers, I’m really referring to allllll the people who have discovered or doubled down on walking outside as their movement of choice during our Covid shutdowns. Hi everyone! Thanks for inviting me here today. How’s the walking going? At this stage of the meeting we’d share highlights of our favorite routes- seeing trees flower and leaf out all spring, making friends with squirrels and cardinals and in one case a neighborhood llama, discovering magical hidden forest paths and evil poison ivy. (I know it’s not the poison ivy’s fault, it’s just trying to not get eaten, but it does SUCH a good job…shudder) And now we get to the heart of this discussion. How’s the actual walking going? How are your feet, your ankles, your shins, your hamstrings, your hips? How about the low back, shoulders, and neck? Any soreness, tension, unevenness, inflammation, or pain? Mmm, yes, I thought there might be. And yes, I have some ideas for you. But my first one, the baseline suggestion if you will, isn’t going to be as sexy as you might like. Here it is: Pay Attention. Now, I know you already are paying attention. To your podcasts, to your step count, to your mileage tracker, to your max heart rate percentage number thingy. I’m asking you to pay attention to something even more important- you.
I know- we’re so used to the outside stimulation of our earbuds and our trackers and even our walking partners, and what I’m describing here is essentially a walking meditation. Getting quiet and paying attention to the internal outputs, instead of the external inputs. This is challenging. But try it. Pick a section of your regular route to pause your phone. Spend a few minutes in quiet between songs or episodes. Investigate one new sensation or observation each time you go out. Or. And. Here’s a bigger shift you can try- wear thinner shoes, and see how that feels. Get your individual foot structures moving more. Explore texture, changing surfaces, temperatures, angles and slopes, starting with the pads of your toes. Here’s a list my Pilates clients can say along with me: There are
At least a few of them have been napping on the job, so take it easy- they’ll wake up grumpy, but waking them up is important. Strength, balance, endurance, all come down to your feet. Yes, there are lots of particulars that we can talk about with regard to things like a posterior push off, pelvic tilts, even breathing work, all in pursuit of improving your walking mechanics and thus your whole self. We’ll get to them. But first, we need to know that you’ll even notice those mechanical changes. Let’s see how much you can build your “proprioception”- your sense of yourself moving through space. I challenge you to go for a walk with more attention on your moving body, in thinner shoes, on different surfaces, and see how it feels to you. Comment below or use the #walkthiswaychallenge hashtag to show me something you did differently in your walk today. Don’t miss any of my fitness, wellness, or herbal tips and info- sign up for my email list too! It’s tough to balance how much exercise we’re supposed to be doing to stay healthy, and much we want to or can do. And one of the best ways to make sure we’re on track is with a fitness tracker, right? So I have a confession to make- I gave up my FitBit. I know, it seems counterproductive. Controversy! But here’s the argument I’d like you to consider: I had gotten so attached to the metrics on my FitBit that I stopped paying attention to my own measures of wellness and comfort, and it was doing me more harm than good. The big example I have, the one thing that made me realize just how confused my priorities had become, is my home office situation. If you follow me on Instagram you may remember my video from several weeks back that showed my new set-up- I had rearranged my office so that I now had a floor desk. Ugh, how inconvenient! Sitting on the floor sounds awful, doesn’t it? That’s the idea. If I sit on the floor, not only do I have the opportunity to move my lower body in a variety of ways, I also simply can’t stay in them very long. Floor sitting guarantees me more movement in my day as I shift and stretch and get up more often. I have a small rug, a heavy cushion, and a pair of yoga blocks to give me some texture and elevation options, but it’s mostly about changing what my hips were doing so they didn’t spend hours and hours at a 90 degree angle in a chair all day anymore. Sure enough, my daily mileage went up. I was getting up more, going up and down my stairs more, and generally getting more movement in. I was syncing that little FitBit several times a day, watching with delight as the little circle filled up and feeling virtuous. Here I’d like to mention that since the beginning of this year I’ve also been taking walks at the local park, with hills and a variety of path surfaces and lots of trees. Vitamin Nature, yum. More ≠ BetterSo what’s the problem? Well, the problem was that since I achieved my goal of moving more by changing my office around, I never checked in to assess if “more” made things “better”. I was starting to feel irritated by my setup, and not just because I was on the floor. Then, my FitBit battery ran low, and I realized I had misplaced the charger. OK, no problem, I’ll be fine. I know how many loops at the park make up my walks, I know what my normal office days are like, just keep it up and… who am I kidding. I quit my 6 months of several-times-a-day dopamine hit of validation that I was doing good things habit cold turkey, and that was HARD. But. However. And then. Within just a couple days I had figured it out. Yes I was floor sitting, good girl, but my left side was right up against my old desk and there was nowhere for my legs to stretch out. I had allocated myself this little space and never looked at whether it was a good fit for me. I was only concerned with what the FitBit told me, not with what I was telling me. This week I rearranged my floor office space and gave myself much more space to sit in, and now I love it. And now I love my walks again, too. Instead of feeling the wristband getting sweaty and wondering if it’s counting this as active exercise or am I going too slow and should I do another lap because I didn’t do all my flows this morning… I’m listening to my earbuds and practicing breathing more deeply through my nose and feeling the mulch and the rocks under my feet and smelling the cedar grove I love to visit and watching the creek fall over the old dam. And I feel good. So I’m not arguing that you shouldn’t track your metrics. Go ahead, join the 100 miles a month club! But I am sharing my lesson with you that the metrics aren’t all that, if you’re not actually feeling it and you’re shutting those messages down in favor of the external numbers. Break the MoldHow many times have you said something like:
Maybe the reality is that these things that don’t feel good make them not actually good for you! Maybe you can find other things to do, that help you meet your goal and are also enjoyable and make you feel good, even if they’re not the things you thought you were “supposed to do”. I floor sit. I know someone who does geocaching, someone else who dances while she knits (there’s some life goals right there), and many people who play pickleball instead of using a treadmill, a weight rack, or doing a single jumping jack. The point is, it’s ok to find what works for you, if it’s actually working for you. Just make sure that some of the metrics you’re tracking come from your awareness. Want more? Take my 5 day Walk This Way Challenge showcasing small, doable adjustments and additions to maximize your walks, with daily videos explaining each day's practice, and see for yourself. I’ll be sharing some simple whole-body adjustments and exercises that help strengthen and align everything from your feet to neck, and take pressure off your parts that shouldn’t be working so hard to just take a walk. Solstice has come and gone. Here in the northeastern US, summer is setting in and it’s traditionally about time for humidity, sandy toes, sunburn, mosquitos, and garden-fresh tomatoes. This year, of course, there’s extra concerns about avoiding people, breathing through a mask, and doing more to stay well on our own. Walking has become MANY people's activity of choice since our shutdowns, and now that it's summer here the weather can really get in the way. My coach Racheal Cook described her "Thrive List" this week- it's a list of the the things you need in your life to really thrive, and in looking at mine I realized I really do feel better when I move. At the same time, though, I wilt like a piece of spring mix in the heat, so I also made a list of workarounds to stop my objections before they start! These are my goals for daily walking in a Philly summer:
This is totally possible. Totally. Sigh. No really, it’ll be OK if we stick to a couple preparations and plans. Here’s what I'll do, in reverse order: Skip Crowded AreasObvs, this is a given. I have 2 solutions, one expected and one maybe not. First, go really early. Like, dawn. I’ve taken to sleeping with my curtains open so I wake up then anyway, and it really is a magical time. It’s cool and quiet, except for the birds- SO many birds! And then later, after I’ve gotten my day pretty much accomplished, and it’s the hot part of the afternoon and I start wilting (yes I have AC, doesn’t matter!) I can take a lovely nap, maybe even in the hammock. Perfect. . Second, get off the path. My local park has lovely trails in the woods, and for whatever reason people just don’t use them as much. But there’s shade and it’s cool and I love trees, so the whole thing is a win for me. Maximize My Effort
Stay CoolAgain, early. Again, wooded paths. But also, cool herbal teas… so good! Lots of herbs are packed with minerals and other nutrients and they act like electrolyte drinks without the weird dyes and overpowering flavors and ridiculous sweetness. I like things like Nettle and Red Raspberry Leaf mixed with Hibiscus and Lemon Balm and Tulsi (aka Holy Basil). It’s like that old “zingy” tea by that big company that everyone’s had, but so much better.
I have a few gallon glass jars (ask at a deli or restaurant if they have an empty glass pickle jar you can rescue) so I drop in 10-12 tea bags total, or 1-2 handfuls of loose herbs each. I fill it with hot water after dinner and put it in my back porch overnight (no sense heating my kitchen more!) Next 2-4 days, depending, I have a fabulous, tart, mineral-rich iced tea ready to sip all day long. Now it’s your turn. What are your fair-weather goals? What are your tips to meet them? Here we have Nettle, flowered and going to seed, and if you look closely👀 you can also see the little spikes that sting you! I might not have gotten the focus quite right, but there's quite a bit going on in this pic.
We talk about exotic superfoods like they must come from far flung regions to be useful, when we ignore, poison, cut down, and don't even recognize the ones that are right under our noses! As a food medicine, the all-around amazingness of Nettle is hard to match, let alone beat. Nettle draws out the superhero in all of us too, by nourishing us to our max. Who's a Nettle person? We could all be Nettle people. Do you have a Nettle patch? Meet all the Herbs I've covered so far in my free Resources Hub It's awkward to talk about selling my services. On the one hand, I want to keep reading and learning and digging into this anti-racism work since I'm late to the party. On the other hand, if I do make sales I have income that I can use for donation-based and purchasing-education support as well. So I decided I'm not selling the Chronic Stress Recovery program, instead I'm donating it to those who need it most, and I will be selling the Foot to Forehead Fix again soon. More on that later. First though, one thing I hear consistently from anti-racism educators is how exhausting it is to simply live in this system. This might be something I can help with. From my Chronic Stress Recovery page:
Hopefully this service helps ease some of the physical consequences and complications that come from chronically trying to survive in high stress environments. If you are BIPOC or LGBTQ+ and are interested in this free coaching program, read more and schedule a clarity call with me here.
When I'm outside and a breeze washes over me carrying a sweet, heavy, delicious scent and I know the neighbors don't have Roses, it still takes me a minute to remember Valerian.
The very same plant with it's 'dirty gym socks' roots has the most spectacularly smelling flowers! Lots of people try Valerian root because "it's for sleep problems." People, listen to me: Plants Were Not Invented For Our Illnesses! Ya gotta understand who Valerian is, not think of her like a drug. Valerian helps relax our muscles by warming them up, like an internal hot water bottle. This is NOT good if you already run hot! Sure, the relaxing effect can help promote sleep. But the heat can also keep you up all night. Match the plant to the person, not the disease. Meet all the Herbs I've covered so far in my free Resources Hub Inequality is rampant, and I'm finally doing my part to help. Anyone who has benefited from this system (spoiler alert, that’s everyone who’s not a person of color) needs to be doing the work to dismantle internal and systemic bias, not just overt and blatant racism. This is truly a “for us or against us” issue. Retreating into a familiar position of life as usual, relying on your very ability to not deal with anything uncomfortable to shield you from the daily reality of others lives, is rubbing a “too bad for you” attitude in the faces of those who can’t turn away, who live on the receiving end of racism. This is systemic. This is serious. And it takes listening to and learning from the very people who have been oppressed, whose voices have been suppressed, to learn to do better. Being actively anti-racist means acknowledging my own complicity and places I’ve benefited, at the expense of others. Don’t come to me to learn how to do this. I'll always be a student of anti-racism, because I can never speak or teach from the position of someone who has always known injustice from racism. But you can come to me to find out where I'm learning, and to learn alongside me. The rest of this post is a list of what I'm learning and working on right now. You can work on these too. Don’t come here for a performance, either. I’m not going to tell you stories about what a good job I'm doing or wave my receipts around to show what a good person I am. I’m doing public anti-racism work on my platform and I’m doing private anti-racism work to change my inherent biases and habits, and I’m sharing some of that here so that you, if you’ve also benefited from this system, have a lead to follow to help take it apart. Here is some of what I'm doing, and what you fellow white people can do to: Steps Every White Person Should Take With Me Set up regular monthly donations to support this work, and set aside extra cash for extra donations Here’s how I do it, since my income is inconsistent:
Educate yourself Read. Watch speakers on their own sites, on YouTube, on TedTalks, on streaming sites in documentaries. Listen to podcasts, follow educators on social media. And pay educators for their work. Maybe that’s a regular donation, or a quick Venmo when you’ve taken in something they shared. Maybe you pay for a training, or a coach. Buy their books, definitely don’t pirate them. Actively change the social media algorithm that follows you around by seeking out others in your professional communities that you didn’t know about, since those algorithms reinforce our biases. Reach out, and develop new relationships in your industry. There are SO. MANY. resources and lists of resources out there. Here is just one of those, by Waste Free Marie. I've invested in books and group learning experiences in anti-racism practices for both personal and professional development. I've found new social justice, herbal, and movement accounts online, and I'm making a commitment to not simply follow them but to reach out, interact, and learn from more of these teachers. Elevate Black voices How can you share your platform (the people who see you online, at work, at home, anywhere really) with the voices, experience, teaching and wisdom that have been ignored, excluded, and suppressed in your communities? Here's one specific example shared by my business coach: Are you asked to speak or participate in events because you’re an expert at something? Ask who else is invited, and if all the experts look like you, turn them down and specifically suggest Black or other POC experts who would also be good fits, but weren't invited. I am committed to learning from and sharing the words of new teachers who are not only not white, but are not working in the traditional Western/European Herbalism model I am already familiar with. I'm doing this on my social media and in my in person classes. Audit your own team- this means everyone you pay money to, including all those monthly subscriptions and fees. As a business owner I have a bunch of these, from my email system and my web hosting to my online meeting software and even that budgeting app I mentioned before. One by one, check out their boards and employees. How many Black, POC, and for that matter women are in major roles? Let this guide where you spend your money. I have added this step to my weekly CEO Date, and will work my way through all my vendors and subscriptions in the coming weeks. Additional Steps I Can Take Myself I will elevate the work of non-white herbalists in my DIY Herbalism course and workshops beyond mere mentions of the fact that much more than the white, European history we’re usually taught exists. I will seek out education by Black and POC herbalists and healers, and encourage my community to share in those opportunities. I will work on a method of providing my personal Foot to Forehead Fix program to Black and POC students at reduced rates- perhaps through sliding scales or scholarships or another means. I am also offering my Chronic Stress Recovery online program for free to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people right now These Are First StepsTaking apart the system I'm part of, that I'm so familiar with, will take a long time, a lot of practice, and many many mistakes. This is just my first draft of a "manifesto to do better" and it will evolve over time as I learn and grow with this work. A Letter to My CommunityCan Chamomile cure racism? Of course not. Can exercise support people who live in fear of their very existence being taken for a crime and a reason to be murdered? Obviously not. So what’s an herbalist and exercise person doing wading into this? Shouldn’t I stay in my lane? Well, here’s another question for you- if humanity isn’t ALL our lanes, what are we even doing on this planet? This morning Kris and Tammi of Heartstone Center read these words: “To feel keenly is our necessary privilege.” (from The Book of Awakening. Watch their IGTV.) Feeling uncomfortable is necessary. Doing this dismantling work is necessary. Saying "I don't want to, it has nothing to do with me" is toxic privilege. Learn. Talk. Write. Post. Donate. Read. Share. Help. Don’t know where to start? Get educated. Put some effort into other humans. Open your heart, and examine what’s really in there. Things to watch out for: 👉Just because someone has a social media account that calls out and educates on racism isn’t a reason for you to hop on the comments and ask for personal recommendations. I guarantee that’s already been covered, so do a little scrolling. Or better yet, check their links to see how you can PAY them to teach you. 👉Buy books from your local bookstore, or someone else’s local bookstore if you don’t have one. Redistribute your money into communities. 👉“Not being racist” isn’t enough. Active anti-racism is needed. The only people who can change this world are the ones who made it this way. 👉But you’re only here for your business? @marciegoldman put it SO. WELL. “You’re not a Wellness Advocate if you’re defending white supremacy.” Get on board with humanity. 👉Thinking “But I’ve faced difficulties too” doesn’t excuse you. Others are also living those same challenges- financial, emotional, health, pain, grief, loss, all of them- PLUS fearing for their lives because their very existence makes them a target. Your life and experiences are valid, but they aren’t as hard as they could be Go ahead and drink your Chamomile to calm nerves, then sign the petitions call the phone numbers and buy the resources and have the conversations. Learn how to find and keep a neutral pelvis, so there’s more comfort walking in protests and running errands to help someone who needs it and carrying the weight of our collective involvement. We have to care for ourselves, and each other, while we work hard to heal this. It's not going away on its own. I'm not an expert here. I'm learning and coming to terms with my involvement too. But I'll link to as many of those resources as I can, and I ask you to add yours too. This state of the world is upsetting, it should upset everyone. Silence is complicity.
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Fun Fact: I'm an herbalist and a movement coach. Not a doctor, or a pharmacist, and not pretending to be one on TV.
This is a public space, so my writing reflects my experiences and I try to stay general enough so it might relate to you. This does not constitute medical advice, and I encourage you to discuss concerns with your doctor. Remember, however, that the final say in your wellness decisions are always yours- you have the power to choose, you are the boss of you. And, some of my posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them I'll earn a few cents. Thank you for supporting my work. This website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical, mental health or healthcare advice. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition. Working with us is not a guarantee of any results. Paula Billig owns all copyrights to the materials presented here unless otherwise noted. Categories
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