Drying Chamomile

Usually, people pick just the flowers. And that is a waste of good herb: the stems of chamomile (Matricaria recutita) are perfectly useful, if weaker than the yellow flower.

It’s easiest to just pull up a bunch of whole plants, roots and all – they’re annuals which lean on one another, and their taproots are really pretty small.

Pic: Drying chamomile. Discard any flowers and stems with aphids, pick off snails, discard flowers with spiders, and check for other infestations.

If your plants are in full flower, they’re about 1/2 m tall (perhaps 1.5′). The lower half is mostly yellow leaf, if your bunch was pulled up in a lushly growing spot. Break the stems one by one where the leaf turns green, and spread the top bits on a bit of old bedsheet laid on top of a thick layer of newspapers.

Let dry in a shady airy spot for 7-10 days.

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Aromatherapy for mother and child

An aromatherapy treatment has so many benefits and can instill a sense of happiness, love and well-being into your child and this would be therapeutic for both of you. It also gives you time together, to learn, to absorb and to bond. Quality time can often be difficult to find, so this is a wonderful way of capturing those moments. Ensure that the oil used is pure essential oil and not synthetic oil which would not be appropriate for use with children and could even be harmful.
 
Massage on children has huge beneficial affects and can be nurturing and loving and as well as being wonderful for health and happiness, can help to cement those naturally strong bonds. Be careful not to massage too hard or deeply into the muscles, the touch should be gentle and light, and worked in the direction of the natural blood flow, firmer strokes upwards. For example: from wrist to shoulder.

Aromatherapy treatment for massage:

For sleep – 2 drops of Roman Chamomile and 4 drops of lavender mixed in base oil such as Almond. This can then be massaged gently into the skin and will induce good slumber.

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Headache Home Remedies

People were curing headaches many centuries before these little magic pills appeared on the scene.

Herbs that are known to relieve headaches,and which can be bought at most every herb store,are:

White willow bark (the basis of aspirin but in natural form),feverfew,peppermint,passionflower,gingko,cayenne,meadowsweet,valerian,skullcap,and chamomile.

Certain aromas,like lavender,are also known to relieve headaches.

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