Rosemary ~ Reconnect to your breath

It can happen anytime of year…your head begins to ache, your throat scratches and the next thing you know you feel like your eyes are sinking back into your skull.  Most of the time a flood of mucus is running out of your face.  It’s a fantastic process that feels best when you don’t have to go to work and can moan and roll around in bed.  Whether you have the flu or a common cold and get through it with over the counter medicine, herbs or sheer will power – at some point you get that feeling….a glimpse at your real healthy self.  Your head clears, math seems possible again and you crave a big meal.  This is the time to bring Rosemary into your healing process.  It helps you breathe easier and engages your sense of well-being.

Rosemary can help with colds and flus at the beginning or the end of your ride with the roller coaster of your immune system.  If you wake up with a phlegmy throat and feel a cold is coming on you can try to head it off by drinking Rosemary tea throughout the day.  It helps dry out your lungs and your nasal passages.  This has worked, but I have the best results at the end of a cold.  Haven’t you heard countless people say, “Ugh, this cold just won’t go away”?  Those lingering symptoms often keep us feeling less than 100% and prolonging our vision of ourselves as not whole.  Rosemary works best with my body after I am “better” –  just functional and back to work.  I spray 3 squirts of Rosemary Hydrosol into my mouth in the mornings and this alleviates those drips and coughs within a few days that can sometimes linger for 2 more week

I home distill hydrosols, but you can get the same results by using tea or essential oils.

Rosemary tea for drips and never ending coughs:
Pour just boiled water over 2 fresh rosemary stems
Drink when warm

Rosemary spray created with essential oils:
Use 15 drops per 2 ounces of distilled water
Spray bottles can usually be found in health food stores or online.  I like www.sks-bottle.com if you need to buy in bulk.  You can also buy single bottles atwww.mountainroseherbs.com.  Try to keep your sprays in glass bottles.  Another alternative is to check out your local beauty supply store.  They may not have a 2 or 4 ounce size, but Rosemary essential oil is fantastic for your scalp and hair – so go ahead and make a larger amount, you will use it.

The best thing about Rosemary is – it’s everywhere!  On my little street there is some growing in front of almost every house.  It grows upright and in a hanging form.  The hanging Rosemary usually has small, light purple flowers and shorter leaves.  Luckily we have a flowering Rosemary in our backyard and my parents have an epic non-flowering bush at their house that I clip from every time we are there.  If you don’t have access to a plant, your grocery store probably has fresh cuttings for sale.

What about when you are well?  Rosemary is a mood brightener and can help bring you into the present moment.  I often put a sprig of Rosemary into the water I drink during the day to open up my lungs and with more oxygen comes more focus.  It is incredibly giving of it’s medicine and can be brought into teas used for magic and prayer.  I also recommend laying down a small bed of freshly cut Rosemary and laying your Quartz crystals on top for an intense clearing.  You will see an incredibly grounded vibration off of them that is different from a Sun cleaning.