Lavender

“Lavender gladdens the heart.”

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Type: Stimulating/sedating nervine tonic

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Properties: Antidepressant, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, stomachic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, choleretic, cholagogue

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Part Used: The aboveground parts of the plant; the flowering tops.

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Preparation and Dose:
*The herb or flowering tops, fresh or dried, as a tea, up to a cup a day, before bed.
*The flowering tops, fresh, steeped in vinegar, up to a tablespoonful a day.
*The fresh flowering tops, infused in honey, then brewed into tea.
*The fresh flowering tops infused in olive oil, used externally to counter headache.
*Tincture of the fresh flowering tops; 10-30 drops 1-2 times a day.

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Lavender contains: carotenes, calcium, iron, trace minerals, volatile oils, coumarins, tannins,
rosmaric acid

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Cautions: Do not use lavender essential oil. Infusion of lavender is for external use only.
Tincture of lavender may increase the effects of anxiety/depression medications.

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Lavender helps the heart by improving circulation and by helping the nervous system work smoothly. Even the smell of lavender is effective. Bring some lavender into your life today.

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Lavender brings back memories so we can update them and allow them to flow through our heart. Lavender brings a sigh of relief and tears of gratitude, as it releases the barriers around the heart. With resistance lowered, the heart is able to work more effectively and with more ease; blood pressure relaxes and blood vessels become more flexible.

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Lavender is the herb most often recommended for those who are distraught, at an emotional pitch, unable to sleep, alternately depressed and maniacal, given to nightmares and terrors, and, in general, hysterical. Lavender works for those who are nervous and jittery as well as those who are nervous and frozen, uptight, unable to move. It unwinds and calms the tightly wound-up individual. It activates and enlivens those who are stuck, fearful, or depressed.

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Drinking a cup of lavender tea before bed has been shown to shorten the time needed to fall asleep and to lengthen the overall duration of sleep. Since lack of sleep is strongly related to heart disease and elevated blood pressure, this effect is most welcome. Try lavender tea with honey or make a lavender honey and add hot water. Lavender in any form brings calm, easy sleep and peaceful dreams. Or try a dream pillow of lavender. Just sew dried lavender into a small bag, or buy a little muslin bag and fill it with dried lavender flowers. Ahhh!

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Because lavender affects the digestive system, it is considered specific for the person who evidences tension with digestive upsets or eating disorders. A tablespoonful of lavender vinegar on a green salad before the meal is a delicious way to make use of lavender.

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Lavender baths are specific for functional circulatory disorders. Lavender baths are, of course, relaxing. Try one when you feel exhausted, ready to cry at anything, so tense you are shaking, confused, or broken-hearted. But don’t take a bath with lavender essential oil! Instead, try this: Infuse an ounce of lavender in a quart of water overnight. Strain and add the liquid to a hot bath.

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The volatile oils of lavender are released in hot water, whether as a bath or a tea. These mild volatile oils (but not the essential oil) have a variety of desirable effects on the brain and nervous system. Research shows that the smell of lavender is enough to measurably decrease anxiety before medical procedures such as coronary angiography and before invasive interventions such as angiography, without any side effects. Lavender tincture and the essential oil are too concentrated for safe use. (but not the essential oil).