The Earthen Apothecary

08/07/2024

CALLING ALL AYURVEDA LOVERS! 🌿🍵 🧘

My partner, Mark, is finally bringing his authentic Ayurvedic bodywork therapies to Charleston, SC!
His services (mobile-only) include:
🔸Abhyanga (Ayurvedic warm oil massage)
🔸Marma Therapy (Vital point activation/Ayurvedic “acupressure”
🔸Shirodhara (Ayurvedic head oiling for mental rejuvenation)
🔸Shiro-abhyanga (Seated head massage)
🔸Panchakarma (Ayurvedic cleansing program)

This is such an amazing opportunity to experience authentic Ayurvedic therapies here in the lowcountry- and in the comfort of your own home!! 🙌

If you are interested, please reach out to him directly at markenasralla@me.com or (512) 289-1515. And check out his website: www.marknasralla.com! 💜

05/11/2023

Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself. ~William Martin

(Book: The Parent's Tao Te Ching https://amzn.to/3nFsofV)

(Art: Photograph by Nell Dorr)

12/21/2022

Winter Solstice Blessings to you and yours! 🌲✨

Traditionally, the Winter Solstice, December 21, was considered the birth day of the sun, that magnificent point in time when the sun begins its return to the Earth again. In the midst of the longest darkest night, deep in the earth, even the seeds begin to stir with hope.

In times past and present, people gathered around bonfires, lit candles, sang songs of holiness and joy, and danced together to welcome the return of the light and the promise of new life. Homes were decorated with evergreen boughs, the symbol of life everlasting, and great feasts were prepared. We can still do much of this!

Now, more than ever, when so many people are suffering, isolated and alone, and the Earth herself seems in crisis, it is important to honor and celebrate these great shiftings of Earthly cycles.

✨ We are the light, living stars on Earth reflecting our light back into the darkness. Our task is to remember to turn that light on in our hearts and souls. Let it reflect in who we are and what we do in the world and the possibilities are infinite.✨

This Solstice, join your energies with the thousands of others around the world who are lighting their fires and singing their songs into the darkness. Dance freely, set your intentions, let go, and release all that no longer serves you or humanity. Order your seeds, plan your gardens, dream your future, and never fear, the sun is returning again and a new dawn is on its way.

With love from Vermont,
Rosemary 🌿

12/07/2022

11/23/2022

“Astrology”, by Paramhansa Yogananda

How the stars affect us
The stars influence your life only in accordance with patterns that you yourself established in the past. A child is born on that day and at that hour when the celestial rays are in mathematical harmony with his individual karma (past actions). The astrological configurations serve only as symbols of karmic influences, which you have set into motion in the past. The stars and planets themselves can no more choose how they will affect you than you can select your own karmic destiny.

The message boldly blazoned across the heavens at the moment of birth was not meant to emphasize fate, the result of past good and evil, but to arouse your will to escape from this universal bo***ge. What you have done, you can undo. You can overcome whatever effects are now prevalent in your life because you created them by your own actions in the first place, and because you have inner spiritual resources which are not subject to planetary pressure.

The best way, therefore, to improve your lot is deliberately to act in such a way as to counteract the evil effects of past deeds. Especially if this course of action springs from inner attunement with God, or is adopted under the wise guidance of one who knows God, it will serve as an antidote to all baneful actions of the past.

09/09/2022

06/06/2022

Just one of those tree huggin’ kind of days….

05/07/2022

Priceless time with my sweet boy over Mother’s Day weekend! Love you to the moon! 🌝💗

04/07/2022

😢

Tiny plastic debris — some so small you can't see it — has previously been found in human blood, excrement and in the depths of the ocean.

04/06/2022

Such an important article! We live in the age of easy access to dopamine “hits”- aka avoidance behaviors that suppress pain. I’m learning what mine are (shopping, scrolling, sugar/caffeine, travel come readily to mind), and trying to break patterns that have only increased during the pandemic.

What are your thoughts? Does this resonate with you?

Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explains when too much pleasure-triggering dopamine upsets the delicate balance of pleasure and pain our brains need to feel "normal," which can lead to long-term pain and addiction. In today's dopamine-filled world, here's how keep that balance in check.

03/28/2022

So glad we spent a few days in Cascais, a beautiful town just outside of Lisbon.

03/04/2022

Epstein-Barr virus infects almost everyone alive. It’s also linked to cancers and multiple sclerosis. What do we do about it?

10/22/2021

A Prescription for Life ~ by Rosemary Gladstar

"There is no great secret to good health. Despite the bombardment of advertising from the health and beauty industries that offers an instant pill or cure-all for the woes and illnesses of life, good health is, in truth, the practice of living healthfully each and every day!

If we become susceptible to illness, lack vitality, or feel unfocused or lethargic, it is generally due not to any mysterious illness but, rather, to lack of exercise, lack of sleep, poor dietary practices, and too little quality time with friends and family.

You can not get energy, health, and vitality from a pill, or even from a cup of herbal tea. Everyday radiant well-being, in mind, body, and soul, is a function of everyday self care.

It is a prescription for life! It is a part of what you do, what you take into your body, and what you feed your mind.

Eat good food, Explore your passions, Get up from your chair, Wiggle, Play hard, Rest well, Put your mind to work. LAUGH"

06/20/2021

Rosemary's Herbal Stories and Inspirations
How to blend intuition and scholarly work!

Here’s an example of combining intuition and scholarly knowledge. When I approach an herb I observe what family it is in, where it grows, when it blossoms, when it seeds, how the seeds are spread, its colors, its tastes, and what parts are used.

I may look at some current herbal texts to see how others have experienced the plant and I may even look at some ancient texts to see how it was historically used. Then with all this fragmented information, I begin to make a collage in my mind and the whole of the plant essence is put into a larger and interconnected picture.

The plant essence/spirit begins to reveal itself to me and I can receive information as to how it may help in the healing process. I never think, “What herb do I give for such and such disease.” This is fragmented thinking and not wholism. Even the clients I see, I put into the context of their whole life; their location, job, age, home, food, season, their history, family past, and so forth. The condition that they are complaining about is not separate from the whole.

The current medical paradigm that dominates our culture promotes more and more disconnection and fragmentation. It sees body organs as existing separately and not interconnected. It sees a person in mechanistic ways; it removes the offending parts without looking at the deeper causes and karmas involved and the concept of supporting and sustaining the Vital Life Force is for the most part completely non- existent.

photo cred: Barrie Fisher

04/24/2021

Met this cutie pie when I was picking up my raw milk this morning. 🐮 💗

04/11/2021

I’m so in love with Romesco sauce, and how easy it is to make! Last night, I enjoyed it as a dip for grilled vegetables. Tonight it will serve as the sauce for ricotta gnocchi from the farmer’s market. The recipe, from my dear friend Sharon, is as follows:
- 1 large roasted red pepper (can be from a jar)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 T chopped Italian parsley
- 2 T cooking Sherry
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- Fine pink salt, freshly ground black pepper. .
Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Then, with the motor running, slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil; process until smooth. .
Nourishing yourself with fresh food is an important form of self-care. It’s also a great prescription for disease prevention. .
With love 🙏🏻💗. .