Rosemary: for Courage & Strength

July 05, 2019 0 Comments

Rosemary is a wonderful plant for stimulating circulation and strengthening the body. It's a tonic. I love to bathe in it in the morning to get me going. It's been long known to help with memory and focus. I like to explore the emotional healing properties of plants as well and feel this plant can really help us with being more courageous. For people who are shy, it may help them to be more extroverted.

Everyone has a unique gift to offer the world and you can’t reach your potential unless you are able to stand up and show yourself.  If you are hiding out, you cannot share your gifts fully.

Rosemary is helpful for shy people, but it also helps with people who are “stuck in a rut”, helping them get moving. If you are lethargic, it can help increase the flow of lymph. It can help clear sadness as well for anyone going through a grieving process. Grief tends to slow us down and this plant helps get things moving and speed things up.

When you inhale the odor of rosemary, you feel it’s strength right away since it’s such a potent plant. As it increases circulation, you realize how stimulating it can be. You feel energy flowing in a downward motion as you inhale the fragrance. Rosemary is very grounding. As the odor and plant permeates your aura, you can also feel it gives a protective feeling. It was used anciently as incense, most likely to purify space, and it was believed to clear negative spirits or energy. It may be helpful for angry rebellious children, to calm them down and help ground them.

Rosemary also heightens awareness of the intuitive senses. As you inhale you can most definitely feel an effect on the forehead or third eye, where our telepathic center is. You can feel it purify the head and mind. It starts to change the rate at which the third eye is spinning, improving focus, hence it’s well known ability to help with studying and mental endurance. It can also help people desiring to develop clairvoyance and while doing intuitive readings.

I have used it many times with studying for exams and mental endurance, when having to write, do computer work or do accounting for long periods of time. It also connects the chakras (or energy centers) to each other so they are balanced. This helps people project more power when they speak or sing.

It is very, very antimicrobial and as a result is used in many cosmetic products, as it’s believed to help preserve shelf life. You can add some to your cleaning products to enhance their cleansing effect.

It helps the organs to eliminate and purge waste material. It’s great for athlete’s to maintain strength, circulation and may reduce soreness. It's great for massages, but I would blend it with flowers to soften it's potent odor a bit.

1. What organs benefit from rosemary?

• Heart – circulatory system
• Liver – biliary system
• Brain – nervous system, increases mental clarity, focus, memory and gives mental endurance for people working long hours.

2. Healing properties are…

• Stimulant – increases circulation. Can help with hair growth, increasing.
• Tonic – strengthens the body. cardiotonic.
• Warming – helpful for people who have internal cold condition, to be avoided with hot constitutions. This can be seen from looking at the tongue, if it’s darker red avoid. Most people have pale tongues and are cold so then it is helpful.
• Cholegogue – helping to increase the flow of bile. This is necessary to digest fats as well as remove waste from the body.
• Antimicrobial – can be added to cleaning products to boost their power. Added to cosmetics to prevent contamination. Used in cooking to help digest fats as well as prevent microbial infestation. Nebulizing diffusers help prevent respiratory infections.
• Antiviral – my #2 plant for treating cold sores and herpes.
• Vermifuge – may eliminate worms and intestinal parasites. I only use the tea or tincture for this purpose though.
• Anelgesic – reduces pain, good for muscles and joints.
• Antispasmodic – reduces muscle spasm, intestinal problems as well as asthma.
• Rubefacient – reduces redness on the skin.
• Anti–inflammatory
• Astrigent – helps reduce dampness, swelling, edema.
• Antioxidant – scavenges free radicals, helps deal with pollution and is anti-aging.

3. What have scientific studies shown?

• Lowering cortisol, combats stress.
• Greater accuracy for people doing math problems, helps test accuracy.
• Increased cognitive function.

4. Who should use it :

• Public speakers – needing courage and mental clarity to speak powerfully and remember their notes.
• Singers – assists with projecting more power in their voice. Can also treat a sore throat if it arises.
• Students – studying and/or doing long hours of mental work, accountants, writers.
• Athlete’s – for faster recover and muscle soreness, use in massage.
• Intuitives – who want to increase their clairvoyance and clarity.
• Workaholics – who have to be on their computer for a long time, helps offset the negative effects
• People who have been bedridden and/or sick for a long time, have lost strength and the will to live.
• Helps them to face daily living and massage is excellent for increasing circulation.
• People who don’t like to get up – inhale or bathe in the morning can help awaken and face the day.
• Aging people – who are experiencing mental decline, forgetfulness and slower metabolism, enhances memory.
• Overweight people – 3 actions can benefit over weight people
  • Lowering cortisol may help with weight gain, overeating as well as resistant belly fat.
  • Increasing circulation, lymph flow and metabolism may benefit weight loss.
  • Increasing bile flow helps the body digest and eliminate fat.

5. How to use it:

I personally don’t use it at all internally. It feels too strong and can irritate the intestinal tract. For internal use I use the water soluble parts of the plant which are much safer – tea or tincture. It is non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing when diluted appropriately.

Cautions: is not recommend to use with women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, people with epilepsy or high blood pressure.

Because it is such a potent and powerful plant I feel it should be blended to use. I never use it alone or neat on the skin, I do not see a purpose or need for that. I use it for massage, inhalation, bathing, foot soaks and mouth rinse – it’s great for the gums. I also feel it kills mold and like to use in the house, adding it to my cleaning products. It’s famous for being a hair tonic. I personally don’t use it for my scalp because I don’t want to smell like it. I think of it as a medicinal odor, use it for therapy but not for personal care or beauty. I like the florals more for personal fragrance and like to smell like a flower so I don’t use it that way. When I use it for massage, I always blend it to mellow the smell a bit, soften it with lavender, sandalwood, chamomile, geranium and/or frankincense since it’s so strong.

Massage – I use it when I feel stagnant, haven’t been exercising and feel sluggish. It’s great for women before or during our monthly period when you may get swelling. I like blending it with lavender, thyme, eucalyptus, peppermint, any citrus, geranium, juniper and sandalwood.

Diffuser – I only use nebulizing diffusers. I blend with lavender, lemon, eucalyptus and trees – pine, spruce, cypress.

Recipes

Plant family: Mint or Lamiaceae

Genus Species: Rosmarinus Officinalis

Phytochemical constituents: 1,8-cineole, a-pinene, camphor, b-pinene, borne, iso-bornyl acetate, limonene, linalool, 3-octanone, terpineol, verbinol, phenolic acids (rosmarinic acid), diterpenes (carnosol, rosmanol), triterpenes (oleic and ursolic acid)