#botanicalbri

[salafiera]

It is important to remember that you always have to meet yourself where you are in your health journey; the exciting thing is that you are only one minor adjustment away from getting closer to your wellness goals, as the saying goes, “small changes eventually add up to huge results”... keep on keeping on! You are in a long term committed relationship with your mental, emotional and physical health... it simply can’t be a fling! The process of acquiring life long health is dynamic and forever changing, try not to get too attached to any one ideology with any area of your health and loosen the grips a bit on super rigid/all or nothing approach to health, wellness and longevity What once worked amazing for you one week, one year or one minute again might not work for you currently in your health journey (even if you had wild success with a certain approach many moons ago) The state of your health is related to many factors, including the relationship of your genetics and lifestyle (aka epigenetic), how adaptable you are in general when exposed to “stress, toxins, pathogens etc” over our lifetime, the average of your daily habits and the ability to continue understand and evolve your personal health requirements When dis-ease ensues in the body, it is important that you assess not only our current state (are we in a state of deficiency or excess aka hypo or hyper, is there lack of nourishment, nutrient assimilation or decreased functioning, is there stagnancy etc?) but also what was happening in your life right before a decline in health began (was there something really stressful or traumatic that occurred, were you sleeping less, was your diet subpar, were you lacking energetic and emotional boundaries etc) #briannaapproved #holistichealth #herbalism #botanicalBri #botanicals #herbalenergetics #biochemicalindividuality #functionalmedicine #teamrootcause #longevity #epigenetics #recoveringsuperspaz #DailyD #emotionalhealth #mentalhealth (at Bradley Beach, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPFmptDVVc/?igshid=16a2aire5xj1c

[salafiera]

Did you know herbs can be divided into 12 main energetic categories based on their taste, constituents and basic effects on the body!? ✔️How herbs affect energy product: . ▪ Warming-herbs that stimulate/speed up metabolism, increase energy production and warmth, brings blood flow to tissues that are pale and cool ▪ Cooling-herbs that sedate or slow down metabolism and decrease energy production while cooling or soothing irritation and redness ✔️How herbs affect the density of tissues: . ▪ Moistening- herbs that increase the moisture content of tissues, aka they lubricate/ soften dry/hardened tissues ▪ Drying- herbs that remove excess fluid from tissue, making them more firm and dense, relieving conditions of dampness and swelling ▪ Balancing -herbs that normalize tissues that are either damp or dry, balances the amount of moisture and minerals within the tissues ✔️How Herbs affect muscle tone, flow and secretion: . ▪ Constricting-herbs that increase the tone or tension within muscles and other tissues, which stops excess flow and secretion; tone up tissues that have become overly relaxed/ weak that are secreting fluids such as blood or mucus ▪ Relaxing-herbs that relax muscle cramps and spasms, relieving excess tension in the tissues; promotes easier flow/ movement and can increase deficient secretions ▪ Nourishing- herbs that provide essential nutrients that aid tissue healing, improving tissue structure and function #briannaapproved #botanicalBri #herbs #plantmedicine #herbalenergetics #herbalist (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKbfpjDjI7F/?igshid=1n44uv0w8ylqv

[salafiera]

It is SUMMA TIME and the weather is, well hot AF, so we want to make sure we stay cool and hydrated! —— Eating seasonally isn’t new around the rest of the world and believe it or not, we can optimize not only digestive health wit this approach, but also energy levels and nutrition optimization ! Let’s not forget it is also Pitta season aka hot, fiery, dry (you know your girl is Pitta dominant aka super spaz) —— Notice that you naturally crave more “cooling” foods during the summer (no one is featuring their beef stew right now)…you maybe are upping your smoothie game (aka all the sh*t in the ninja), find yourself craving fruit salads or maybe just big ass salads (plant compounds level 1000) in general and you even see some ice team level up during the summer months (hibiscus refresher anyone!?) —— Herbs have energetic qualities based on the reactions they cause in the body (they can be cooling/heating/drying etc)...in general, many sour herbs/foods, such as lemon balm, rose hips, hibiscus, lemons, limes etc have a cooling effect on the body (so more of these in the summer!), while astringent herbs can also be cooling in nature, such as rose, raspberry leaf and even black tea (thank you tannins) —— Cooling herbs to add into your summer routine can include peppermint, chamomile, dandelion, rose, raspberry leaf….don’t forget bitter and astringent foods such as arugula, fennel, jicama, basil, broccoli rabe, citrus peel (actually where most of the Vitamin C is as well), as well as hydrating fruits and veggies such as watermelon, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, all the berries, cherries and pineapple —— #briannaapproved #summerfun #botanicalBri #bitters #pitta #summerheat #coolingfoods #hearthealth #TCM #holistichealth #functionalfood #ayurveda #shoplocal #smoothie #plantcompounds #farmersmarket (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBv2rqcDyG1/?igshid=e5hnr067k36z

[salafiera]

Did you know our salivary glands produce 1.5 liters of saliva each day!? —— Many factors can contribute to the state of our digestion, including our basic constitution, stress, our actual diet etc —- Due to a variety of factors, such as gastrointestinal imbalances, HOW you actually eat (not chewing properly, or eating under stress, trolling on social media, drink beverages while eating and even consuming cold foods) many of us do not properly absorb all of the nutrients that we actually consume…and we all know, it is not just as simple as “you are what you eat” anymore, but rather, you are what you absorb —— Herbs that are considered tonics to the digestive system and generally help to support overall digestive health include bitters, carminatives and prebiotics —— Bitter tasting herbs have a direct relationship with the nervous system and the gut. When bitter taste receptors on our tongue (and throughout our digestive system) sense the bitter taste, a signal is sent (through the taste and vagus nerves) to the brain to tell the body it is time to start the digestion process —— The parasympathetic nervous system (rest/digest and feed/breed) is activated and digestive secretions (which can include bile from the liver, insulin from the pancreas, and digestive enzymes from the stomach) are released —— I love bitters so much because they not only improve the digestibility of food, but also have a calming effect on the nervous system (via the  hypothalamus and the vagus nerve aka gut brain connection) which can put is in a more emotionally relaxed state —— Bitter herbs should be taken 15-20 before a meal, or you can use throughout the day (I add mine to seltzer water for a fun pick me up!)….some of my favorites include dandelion, gentian, artichoke, chamomile, fennel seed, Oregon grape root, ginger root, prickly ash bark, yellow dock root and rosemary ——- #briannaapproved #bitters #botanicalBri #Britanicals #digestion #digestivehealth #guthealth #gutgeek #digestion #liver #liverhealth #herbs (at Juanitos Restaurant) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDnP2yjyla/?igshid=153l4oulm5grd

[salafiera]

When thinking about holistic health, we have to look at the functional state of imbalances in Vital energy on a cellular, organ/system and personal level….in herbalism we refer to this as energetics and constitutional types (which is determined by the strength and functioning of organs), in western medicine we might call this biochemical individuality, or just the concept of there isn’t a one size fits all approach to ANYTHING when it comes to your health —— When dis-ease ensues in the body, it is important that you assess not only our current sate (are we in a state of deficiency or excess aka hypo or hyper, is there lack of nourishment, nutrient assimilation or decreased functioning, is there stagnancy etc?) but also what was happening in your life right before a decline in health began (was there something really stressful or traumatic that occurred, were you sleeping less, was your diet subpar, were you lacking energetic and emotional boundaries etc) ——- The state of your health is related to many factors, including the relationship of your genetics and lifestyle (aka epigenetic), how adaptable you are in general when exposed to “stress, toxins, pathogens etc” over our lifetime, the average of your daily habits and the ability to continue understand and evolve your personal health requirements —— You always have to meet yourself where you are . . Remember, what worked for you one week, one year or one minute again might not work for you currently in your health journey (even if you had wild success with a certain approach, diet, nutrient many moons ago)…the process of acquiring life long health is dynamic and forever changing, try not to get too attached to any one ideology with any area of your health and loosen the grips a bit on super rigid/all or nothing approach to health, wellness and longevity —— #briannaapproved #holistichealth #herbalism #botanicalBri #botanicals #herbalenergetics #biochemicalindividuality #functionalmedicine #teamrootcause #longevity #epigenetics #recoveringsuperspaz #DailyD #emotionalhealth #mentalhealth (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SPy8LDPb5/?igshid=3cgx25zeonw0

[salafiera]

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Fresh off the hot mess express to talk nervines! I am sure many of you are feeling on edge right now, maybe you can’t get out of your own head, you feel your quarantine buddy quite literally getting on your nerves and your strong emotional response to everything is causing you to sleep like sh*t and feel exhausted …. —— I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU GO OUT AND BUY ALL OF THESE, THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THIS VIDEO! As per usual, you must understand what is triggering your stress/anxiety in the first place…..and of course, always be assessing your f*ck budget and stress bucket (how full is it and how are you “spending” your fck) —— Is it you, in your own head, making up stories? Are you sleeping but not resting (this requires mental peace), is your body physically tired but your mind is jacked up (aka this is when we would take more Vitamin R- relaxation), are you emotionally drained (pro inflammatory people/thoughts/negativity etc), are you running on adrenaline (aka over activation of the HPA axis or having cortisol spurts at the wrong time) are stressing/worrying about things out of your control and just being a general spaz???? ——- First you must identify the root cause and self-assess what is causing your symptoms (which could include not sleeping, feeling anxious, feeling restless, mental and physical exhaustion etc) …then you must understand your constitutional type and personal energetics (do you tend to run “hot”, are you hypo or hyper, are you generally deficient, cold, damp, qi deficient, qi stagnation etc)….and then you can begin to chose some botanicals that are suited for you…all of these factors will all play a role in your individual protocol (remember biochemical individually people) —— I go over some of my personal favorites! —— #briannaapproved #botanicalBri #biochemicalindividuality #recoveringsuperspaz #stress #anxiety #sleep #nervines #fuckbudget #energy #postivethoughts #powerofNow #mentalhealth (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-zPPUID7uw/?igshid=12kbfhsi19q43

[salafiera]

Coughs/congestion of the respiratory tract are rather common and relevant considering all things Corona virus now, however, understanding the type of cough is important for how you go about dealing with it —— Understanding the characteristics of your cough is going to help understand the condition of your lungs - this can include qualities such as dryness, dampness (phlegm galore) and spasm type coughs (which would be considered an unproductive cough) —— The majority of the respiratory tract is lined with mucus membranes; mucus itself is one of the body’s main immune fluids, which acts to protect tissues from damage and provides moisture (as an immune defense) and provides a barrier to protect tissues and trap pathogens —— When using botanicals to deal with respiratory health, it is important to differentiate between the qualitative natures of both the herbs being considered, and the cough/congestion itself —- Expectorants help to “expel” mucous (in western medicine known as decongestants) and can reduce the thickness of mucus, making coughs more productive and can help clear the lungs- useful for damp/wet coughs (Osha/garlic are great) —- Astringents cause tissues to contract aka you can feel sh*t start to dry up, which can be good for damp conditions (think Yerba Santa) —— Demulcents can moisten dry, irritated and inflamed tissues (they are soothing in nature), which can be good for dry/unproductive coughs (think marshmallow and licorice root) —- Relaxants (known as antispasmodics) can help to relax tight/stiff chest (so you can actually breathe deeper; think Osha and Lobelia) —— Mullein leaves and plantain are specific for dry coughs, Garlic, Elecampane and Osha are specific for dry coughs, Them and Sage can also be useful for overall respiratory health —- Pluerisy has been found useful in treating inflammation and irritation of the lungs, with dryness and accumulation of fluids; Wild cherry bark can help to relax the cough reflex, it’s cooling and mildly moistening —— #briannaapproved #botanicalBri #herbs #COVID19 #coughs #immunehealth #respiratoryhealth #lunghealth (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-o9hwfDUww/?igshid=adu580fu5iys

[salafiera]

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Fresh off the hot mess express with some immune system analogies —- Your body is like a castle (your immune function and defenses)- the state of your immune system is the whole castle- Jim Mcdonald Does your castle just look good from the outside!? I got this analogy from herbalist Jim McDonald …. He does a great job explaining why we have to focus on both our core (innate) immune system, as well as the peripheral immune response ….but many times we try and fix our castle (aka our health) after invaders have already showed up —— Many of us are going into supporting immunity with the wrong mindset …. we are being reactive, as opposed to proactive —— This is the equivalent of trying to take a castle that is in bad shape and compensate by sending over a stone mason to fix the broken windows (aka your lack of sleep, your high levels of stress, insufficient nutrients, proteins, Vitamin D, omegas etc) while there are invaders already attacking — at this state your immune system isn’t super definable and this is what we are seeing happen with everyone trying to put a bandaid over the bullet hole of their comprised immune system —— We need to send the stone mason over to fix the castle when invaders aren’t present …meaning we need to do repair work on other parts of our immune system (because remember it is a system that functions and dysfunctions together, so you have to also take care of your liver, lymph, blood health etc, as well as all other dietary and lifestyle factors) before are sick —— What can you be working on during this forced pause to make your immune system more defendable? —— Be boring with your health…get back to the basics, fix the foundation …get the nutrients you need, stress less, sleep more, get vitamin R(relaxation) and Vitamin N(nature) —- #briannaapproved #botanicalBri #COVID19 #immunehealth #botanicals #pathogens #Daily #oemgas #fishtacos #minerals #adaptogens #stress #recoveringsuperspaz #omegafattyacids #naturetherapy #sleep #lymphatichealth (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Ms6isgo4a/?igshid=1iwouotq6r3p3