Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin, Svetlana Konnikova [classic fiction .TXT] 📗

do not use any soap. It will destroy the medicinal

properties of the herbs.

118 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

For each of the following herbal bath recipes, use two to five ounces of each herb. Boil the mixture for 10–15 minutes. Steep for 30 minutes, strain, pour into the bathtub, and add water as needed.

r 29. Chamomile, nettle, oats (blossoming), heartsease, and thyme. r 30. Rose petals and leaves of black currant and strawberry. r 31. Nettle, birch leaves, heartsease, and wild marjoram. r 32. Horsetail, nettle, oats and rose hips, in equal proportions up to 100 grams or about four ounces.

Rejuvenating baths for children

r 33. Dice two ounces juniper twigs and add to one quart cold water. Steep for one hour and then boil for 15 minutes. Strain and relax in a warm bath before a night’s sleep. Take a series of 12 baths for the best results.

r 34. In a cotton bag, mix four tablespoons oak bark, one tablespoon wild marjoram, one tablespoon yarrow flowers, one tablespoon pine twigs with needles, one tablespoon heartsease flowers and stems, one pound black currant leaves, one pound wheat bran, and one pound rye flowers. Place the bag in a large pot of water (up to 10 gal ons). Simmer for 45 minutes. Use al this decoction for one bath.

Ourselves, Our Children, Allergens, and Happy Cells @ 119

r 35. Mix one tablespoon each chamomile flowers and thyme; 1½

tablespoons each wild marjoram, oak leaves, black currant leaves, and sage leaves; two tablespoons each burdock root and pine buds; one pound wheat siftings or bran; and ½ pound rye flowers. Boil 25 minutes in two gal ons of water. Strain and pour into a bathtub. Add warm water as needed. Bathe for 15

minutes. This infusion helps to treat diathesis, and children with weakened immune systems who are readily exposed to infectious ailments in schools and other public places.

r 36. Mix one tablespoon birch leaves, two tablespoons wild marjoram, and three tablespoons nettle leaves. The method of preparation is the same as in #35. r 37. Mix five tablespoons chamomile, three tablespoons black currant leaves, and two tablespoons thyme. The method of preparation is the same as in #35. This composition of herbs is a strong disinfectant. It helps to calm and restore the nervous system and stimulates the metabolism.

r 38. Combine two tablespoons wild marjoram, five tablespoons nettle leaves, four tablespoons each chamomile and horsetail. The method of preparation is the same as in #35.

Such herbs as lemon balm, borage, echinacea, evening primrose, ginseng, nettles, and aromatherapy oils melissa and chamomile can be used too as a treatment of allergies.

We do not have to go far from the houses we live in to suffer from allergies. Some common household allergens include dust, pet dander, aquarium fish food, cleaning products—the list is seemingly endless. 120 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

So what can we do? Move to the moon? Travel to Venus? Shut ourselves into a sterile box? The first thing we do is relax. The answer lies in natural remedies. It could be acupuncture; fresh air; medicinal herbs, plants, and trees; or spending time in Nature that cures our ills.

Our attitudes can also play a big part in how we perceive our suffering. Try the following suggestions to alleviate a grim outlook: r 39. Sing merry, melodic songs to yourself and to your children. r 40. Sing songs together with your children. Singing is a pleasant natural treatment for al ergy too. Our skin cel s are good listeners because our skin is a “buffer” between the human body and the surrounding world. They absorb good and bad influences like parched earth absorbs water. Our mil ions of body cel s protect us from irritants (invaders), but if we fail to take care of them, they cannot defend us from il nesses.

When we practice a proper diet and lifestyle and take time out to soak in an herbal bath, our skin cells react positively to our good actions. We may not notice that sometimes we begin to sing as our head rests on a bath pillow. Our skin cells thank us for keeping them clean, healthy, and free from illnesses. Our skin cells even smile at us. You find that hard to believe? Come to the mirror and take a good look at your children or at yourself after a cleansing, relaxing, or invigorating herbal bath. You can see how the herbs and water and quiet time have removed the lines of stress from your face and how your skin glows with a renewed radiance. You are happy with the way you look! Your children look rested and refreshed, squeaky clean, and content. Do you remember the fairy tale of the wicked queen with the magic mirror?

“You are the fairest one of all,” the mirror told the wicked queen. Then one day she became old and ugly because she did not want to do anything good—she did not even want to take a healthy and wholesome herbal bath.

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Do not wait until “one day.” Fill your bathtub with pre-washed fresh petals of red damask rose and breathe in a delicate smell of this most sensuous of flowers, praised by poets and artists for centuries as a symbol of beauty and love. According to Greek myth, Three Graces gave the rose charm, brightness, and joy; the goddess of love, Aphrodite, gave beauty; the god of wine, Dionysus, added sweet nectar to