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

right to wear clothing imprinted with the chrysanthemum design. The legend about Japan’s origin came from the magical characteristics of this last flower of the year, which appears during the initial days of fall. It explains why

these beautiful, feathery white flowers are as attractive

as the first autumn frost, breathing on us the first fresh air that allows Nature to fall asleep for a long winter’s

dream.

Here is another tale that was popular in our household. Again it has been revised over several interpretations and reiterations and is formed now in our own words.

212 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

In ancient times a cruel emperor ruled China.

One day he was told that a marvelous healing

flower grew on an island near China. He was told

that a magical Elixir of Life could be prepared from

the oils of this flower, but only people with a kind heart and noble intentions could pick this flower. The emperor and all his court had committed so many sins in their lives that they decided not to take the risk and instead they sent three hundred young men and women to the island to pick these chrysanthemums. The young people were instantly charmed by the beauty of the island, refused to obey his orders, and never returned with the chrysanthemums. They had fallen in love with this island and founded there—in the land of the rising sun—a new country, Japan.

According to Italian legend, chrysanthemums first appeared from paper flowers that a poor woman had used to decorate

the grave of her son. The next morning she visited his grave with new paper flowers but was greatly amazed to see that

the paper flowers she had left before had magically transformed. They had sprouted and become beautiful fresh white chrysanthemums.

Chrysanthemums became a symbol of chastity, purity, innocence, and fidelity. Thus, if you fall in love in the frosty fall, give your beloved a lovely bouquet of white chrysanthemums generously given to us by Nature. In 4,000 B.C. Egyptians distil ed the essential oils of plants such as coriander, cinnamon, and cedar for use in cosmetics, medicine, and mummification. For centuries in Russia it was popular to treat sleeplessness by using a pillow filled with dried hops, which acts as a sedative on the central nervous system. It slows the metabolism and brings about a sound sleep. Dried hops used in pillows for sleeplessness should be replaced every two to three months because aged strobiles (cones) may produce a counter effect and stimulate instead of sedate.

Trips to the Fairyland @ 213

Aromas of geranium, laurel noble, and rosemary can have a soothing effect on people with nervous disorders, shortness of breath, poor circulation, and chronic bronchitis. I know that those particular fragrances were tremendously helpful to Mama in overcoming her own health problems. One of the bright impressions in my childhood was a trip to a real Fairyland. Once in the summer I spent my vacation with Mama in Crimea, a beautiful resort located on the shores of the Black Sea. At that time Mama had severe problems with allergic bronchial asthma. She prescribed for herself a special treatment using the aromas of certain plants, which we found in an enchanting place known as Karasan in Crimea.

A park in the Crimean sanatorium, created in the nineteenth century during the reign of a Russian czar, was divided into five areas with each area planted with herbs, flowers, and trees having aromas which influenced particular human conditions. Although their gardens differed from one another, each shared a common goal—to be useful as healing plants. These sections were:

^ laurel—to stop spasms

^ coniferous trees—to increase energy and lung capacity

^ rose and lavender—to calm the nervous system

^ jasmine—to stimulate the brain

^ rosemary—to combat chronic respiratory diseases

The area Mama visited most was lush with rosemary. That hot summer we spent many hours in this memorable old park with deep shadows, cool shade, and incredible fresh air thick with the scents of herbs and flowers. So what is bronchial asthma that Mama suffered from? It is a chronic disease of the respiratory system. Its symptoms include periodic asthmatic’s fits of various intensity and duration. An episode can last from several hours to several days. An attack is characterized by bronchi spasms, swelling of the mucous membranes, and an accumulation of mucus, which begins to exude. Usually asthma attacks appear suddenly at night, when we sleep peacefully. We experience difficulty in breathing, swelling of the chest cavity, and a feeling of stifled breath. There may be a whistling to the breath, the face may become blue, and the blood vessels in the neck may swell. At the end of an asthmatic attack, the volume of mucus increases and is easily expelled. 214 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

In some cases those affected by asthma experience “prolonged asthma.” In this condition it can take days and hours to stop an asthmatic fit, but this can happen only if the sickness was not diagnosed initial y and treated properly. What to do externally to ease a sudden asthmatic attack?

r11. Open windows to alow fresh air into

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