The Enraged Citizen's Guide to Herbs

Herbs for before, during and after the revolution.

Right now, people are pissed.

Tensions have been rising since, well forever, but the disgust has been palpable since January.

I've been saying for months, this summer is going to call to mind the summer of 2020. The protests and the rage. We will need to fundamentally change as individuals and as communities. As we have seen in the past few days in LA and SF, and in more cities nation wide, COMING SOON, we will need to put our bodies on the line.

It's just getting started.

When tensions rise, it's only natural (physiological, really) to experience the nervous system reaction of fight, flight or freeze. This is normal, and in fact a healthy nervous system response. If you're at a loud protest, yelling, feeling scared or even watching inhumane videos online, your body will go into a heightened state of reaction and your body will start operating differently.

Less blood will go to the digestive organs, and more to the heart and limbs. This will reduce digestive capacity and keep the brain on high alert. The body is getting to run away from a predictor.

This is survival mode, and while it's common it is critical that we get back to the parasympathetic nervous system mode of rest and digest ASAP.

So what?

Here's where herbs come in.

Please take good care of yourself and others around you.

Consider nervines, or herbs that help us relax are great during or after-protest herbs. Two simple ideas to make and take to a protest with you are:

• Chamomile Tincture: It's portable and easy to share if anyone's feeling overwhelmed or agitated.

• Lavender Spray: Use 1-2 drops of essential oil in a spray bottle filled with 3/4 water and 1/4 alcohol, like vodka. This is an easy aromatherapy solution for a nervous system on alert.

Taking care of ourselves is a radical act. Showing up to a protest with your body and your voice will be paramount this summer. Legal citizens of this country will need to be physically, mentally and spiritually WELL in order to do this important solidarity work.

We will need to come back day after day.

Taking care of ourselves can look like a lot of different things. It might be getting extra sleep or doing an extra long walk. It might be eating nourishing foods, or spending time with a pet or loved one.

Everyone can benefit from staying hydrated, prioritizing rest and spending time doing something you love.

We must also TAKE ACTION.

There are many ways to take action. Identifying what might be the best way for YOU to plug in may be related to your skillset, knowledge base and interests.

In other words: What are you good at?

Consider, where do you fit in? Here's a post from @gogreensavegreen to help you navigate some of the questions that might be coming up right now about where to fit in.

After attending a protest, or throughout this summer, consider taking an herbal adaptogen. Some of my favorites are:

• Holy Basil, a delicious tea, especially when blended with rose petals can take the edge off a long day.

• Ashwaganda is helpful in building endurance or help us regain energy if we feel depleted and worn out.

One big instigator of action is anger. On the Seasonal Wheel, the emotions of stress, anger and irritability are associated with the Spring season.

Now in summer, the energy of fire, passion, and heart energy is moving through us. It's a summer classic to get out and dance (or protest) in the streets. The weather can really warm up and this lights people up. It gets people together, talking, planning and scheming.

When a lot of people are angry, and activated we see protests.

Your anger might be the reason you decide to get up off the couch and hit the streets. If you do, please consider what to wear and bring with you to a protest.

If we don't express our anger, it can get stuck and stagnant. Anger is associated with the liver and gallbladder, which is a major player in digesting our food, hormones, toxins and delivering the energy to the body or filtering out the waste.

Support the liver and gallbladder with bitter herbs, this can look like:

• Dandelion Leaf or Arugula in your salad. Eat bitter greens! It's good for your liver and overall digestive fire

• Bitters Formula: Sold in health-food shops, a bitters formula is best taken 5-10 minutes before meals to support all organs in the GI do their job better and with ease. Support your body with a bitters blend and keep it on your table to share with your family and guests.

  • A few favorite safe and easy-to-find bitters are Chamomile, Dandelion Root and Yarrow.

Finally, we are navigating big changes. This means we will need extra time to integrate and process all that we witness, watch and experience this summer. Consider deepening your skills around being present and getting still. Some herbs that can help with this are:

• Passionflower: Use low-dose tincture of passionflower if you're wanting to build a greater sense of awareness around what you're angry about.

• Manzanita Flower Essence: Spend time in meditation with this California native herb if you have a sense that your anger might be disguised as depression.

• Motherwort: Use a low-dose tincture of this herb when your anger is stemming from a lack of support and community.

• Calendula: work with the live plant, flower essence or low dose tea if things feel dull and you're wanting to encourage joy and excitement for life.

Whatever herbs you reach for, or however you decide to show up, remember to get back into the rest and digest mode everyday. This is important for the long days of enraged screaming ahead of us. 🐋

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