Saturday, September 18, 2010

Agrimony: An Famously Underrated Herb!

I just came up with what I deem to be the perfect herbal combination for a client and it happens to contain Agrimony: an herb that you may not even have ever heard of! That's because, as far as I'm concerned, it's grossly underrated. As my thirsty brain thirsts for ever more knowledge and information, I happily continue to drink in Matthew Wood`s wisdom from his book The Book of Herbal Wisdom. He features Agrimony in the book and rightly so!

Agrimonia eupatoria (the Latin name) is very well-rounded in it's applications though suited to a particular type, as are most herbs. According to the doctrine of signatures (a philosophy that states that as plants resemble certain parts or presentations of the body, so are they applicable to address ailments of those parts or presentations of the body), Agrimony is considered to be a tense looking plant and thereby is suited, as Wood clarifies, to a "characteristic mental state that revolves around tension, frustration, anger, and inner torment". This typical personality has a tendency to want to hide their mental state behind a facade of cheerfulness - a perfectly suited character for the application of Dr. Edward Bach's Agrimony in flower essences. Agrimony facilitates mental relaxation and sound sleep.

Agrimony is an astringent tonic, typically strengthening and toning tissues of the intestinal and urinary tracts. It has been used with success in instances of bed wetting and the fascinating thing about that is that it is best applied to children who are wetting the bed due to anxiety about toilet training. Would this therefore be a case of imparting relaxation to the anxious state or tonicity to the tissues of the urinary system? Wood points out that: "As we so often see in our herbal studies, a single plant unites opposite properties together under one roof."

As we also so often perceive in holistic practice, those that are challenged by, as Wood states, "anger, frustration, and fighting against the flow or a lack of confidence in the natural progression of events" typically have congestion in the liver. The liver is commonly related to issues of anger in alternative medicine. Agrimony clears stagnation in the liver and has historically been applied to cirrhosis and recuperation from alcohol and drug abuse. Naturally, Agrimony also addresses issues of the gallbladder, which is paired with the liver in physiology. In this sense, Agrimony is great for what Traditional Chinese practitioners refer to as "gallbladder headaches", where the pain travels from the liver and gallbladder, up over the shoulder blades, via the neck and into the head.

Agrimony also clears the kidneys of congestion and associated pain, as well as inflammation of both the kidneys and bladder. At this rate, it's no surprise that Agrimony is applied in instances of both gallbladder and kidney stones. Further, Agrimony is helpful for issues of the respiratory system, ameliorating tightness in the chest and even improving asthma. Agrimony has been used in cases of sinusitis, nagging cough, fluid in the lungs, excessive mucus production from the respiratory system and allergies.

Agrimony is a blessed herb for the intestinal tract, improving enteritis (inflammation of the small intestine), ulceration, colitis and bloody stools and, as a result, clearing eruptions of the skin, which are usually an indication of intestinal disorder. In addition, Agrimony has effect upon the cardiovascular and female reproductive systems. Agrimony lowers blood pressure, increases fertility, relieves painful menstruation and excessive menstrual bleeding. Finally, Agrimony has also been applied to eclampsia (toxemia of the body during pregnancy), poor peripheral circulation, brittle nails and hair, dripping urine, alopecia, intermittent fever, flu, rheumatism, bleeding cuts, joint injuries and burns.

Be aware that all of the issues and conditions mentioned that Agrimony addresses are also attached to a specific person. Know that herbal medicines are best applied as a "perfect match" to each type, personality and/or character. Though in using Agrimony, many will likely experience relief from ailments to which the herb applies, it's always best to consult a licensed herbal practitioner who is more versed in the application of particular herbs to particular conditions and those that experience them.

For an herbology consult with myself, please contact Prana Holistic.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic
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