It’s 6:03 p.m. and it’s been a day. Texts, emails, social media, virtual meetings. Laundry, dishes, living with a 17 year-old… The news — which may have you in tears or rage, or both. How do you stay tuned in to your heart and intuition when the noise of what you should think and feel is relentless?
So much of the information we take in is set at fear and chaos. And if you have a smart phone, it is hard to avoid the headlines! But fear is not going to guide you. Fear isn’t a state in which you’ll know your role and what you’re supposed to be doing as a situation unfolds.
By 6:09 p.m. a glass of wine is sounding pretty good, right? And an episode of something to help you forget real life for a while.
But what if your lifestyle was rooted in healing rituals for unwinding? Simple habits that could help you release the day’s events rather than numb out to forget them?
I don’t have anything against an evening of wine and Netflix, but they do know how to hook you. An hour can easily turn into a few. And then you’re waking up further depleted rather than restored.
Here’s how I know if I am on track! It all has to do with if I feel motivated to wake for one of my most favorite treasures of living on this earth! I absolutely love the ‘dawn chorus’ which is when the birds sing like crazy for a short time around sunrise.
Do you know what I’m talking about? Just before sunrise, the bird song is off the charts. You either catch that moment or you don’t.
When my evening ritual was not restorative, instead of waking up to the joy of the birds and rising sun, I just roll over and skip the glory of this part of the day.
How do you track the effects of your habits?
There is a way to relax, process the day, and find your true north without setting yourself up for fatigue. Connecting with yourself and your inner wisdom can be done in minutes or even seconds, here and there throughout the day.
When I put salve on my hands, I stop. I close my eyes and inhale the scent. I touch in with my body. I remember. Even just that one minute makes a difference.
Yes, people use healing herbal oils for many reasons: relief from joint pain, sinus headaches, arthritis, sciatica. They use them for menstrual support, improved sleep, moving lymphatic fluid, sore muscles. The list goes on.
But the reason I call herb-infused oils and salves the medicine of our times is because in this era of overstimulation and unpredictability, they are a simple and restorative way to calm the nerves and come back to ourselves throughout the day.
Sure, it’s nice to have an hour massage, a vacation or spa day, but they come too far in between. For me, it is ALL about little TOUCHPOINTS throughout the day, that bring me just a little bit closer to my center. Frequent, coming home touch points. So that I don’t suddenly emerge at 4:00pm, going, woah, where am I??
This is why herbal infused oils and salves are the medicine of our times.
Your nervous system is the gateway between you and the world. It’s the mechanism through which we sense, perceive, and act. If we nourish this system by oiling the skin — our largest organ, with countless nerve endings — we can stay grounded even in chaotic times.
Depending on which plants you infuse into your oil, you can emphasize or complement the benefits of oiling itself: relaxing muscles, moving lymphatic fluid, and increasing blood circulation, to name a few.
Your oiling routines help you stay in touch with your body and attune to your true north, our only real source for guidance during these times.
From salves to foot rubs to oil baths, herbal oils are central to cultivating nourishing self-care habits. They’re a way to bring deep healing into your home, even if you have very little time. My online course, Handcrafted Healing Herbal Oils, isn’t just about making the oils. It’s about weaving in points of healing herbal contact with yourself and others throughout the day.
It’s about cultivating rejuvenative, self-care routines that bring healing, nourishment, and grounding in tiny moments. Easily. Inexpensively.
Even if you barely have time to brush your teeth, you can keep a bottle of oil right next to your bed and rub it into your feet before turning out the light. It takes just a moment and is so powerful. The oil or salve moisturizes the nerve endings in the feet as beneficial plant compounds sink into the skin, promoting relaxation and helping you drift off.
It’s a time to decompress, process, unwind, and cry if you need to. It’s how we can wipe out the stimulation and chatter and come back to what we feel deep inside.
And these simple rituals are like seeds that grow into an herbal healing arts culture. When we have visitors stay with us, someone usually gets a foot rub. We sit on the couch and up go the feet! It’s what we do, and the oils make that moment richer.
What kind of decompression culture are you nurturing at home?
Without restorative, everyday rituals we start to go on autopilot. I saw this over the course of three decades with massage clients. You get a little numbed out. The news keeps coming in. You get more numbed out. More fear. More anxiety. Then you’re in a state that can be paralyzing. The effects cascade over time, eventually affecting our health and bringing us farther from our center.
We have to find our way home to discover the root of health imbalances and what’s really driving the body’s response. The further we are from ourselves, the longer healing takes.
These oils allow us to stay both sensitized and centered. They keep us more awake. They keep us more aware. It’s a simple practice that helps us avoid becoming numbed out, contracted, and frozen.
Foot oiling, hand oiling, massage? This is home herbalism at its best. You become more aware that your hands are healing. The oils help awaken that memory that we’re all healers.
So much of health care and self-care are things you have to do outside of yourself — another appointment to make. This brings it all right home so we can take care of ourselves daily.
Are you the medicine person for your family or community?
We need everyday healers in these times. People are afraid. It’s easy to feel ungrounded. Oil is unctuous, grounding, calming, centering. Herbal oiling rituals are the antidote to crazy times. And by connecting with and fortifying our ability to heal, we’re contributing to a larger culture of resilience and care.
It all starts with coming back to yourself.
So. How do you come back? How do you decompress? How do you find your body? How do you find your way home?
We can alter this culture that constantly taunts us to numb out! Support your herbal healing arts home culture. Learn to make and use herb-infused and change the trajectory of your family health care for generations to come.
Handcrafted Healing Herbal Oils
“This class and working with the oils has helped me reconnect back into my body and feel more grounded and calm during a very stressful time. I feel like the oils have been an incredible gateway for me to be more connected to the plants in a way that I wasn’t before.”
– Rashida, Oakland
“Kami and the herbal oils crossed my path when I was completely exhausted and in need of help with fatigue and postpartum depression. What a relief to have this one thing that can help you get your feet on the ground again, giving both relaxation and energy.”
-Tine Deceuninck, Belgium
“It blows my mind how the oils I learned about in class can bring calm to my anxious, over-stimulated nerves and mind. I’m so thankful for this course, you have taught me so much about how to do truly healthy and healing self-care.”
-N.S. Switzerland
“I had the wonderful experience of making my own fresh plant St John’s Wort oil, which was amazing! I take it each month to my massage appointment and it helps so much!”
-Bonnie Broome Reynolds, Texas
