Written by Renata Filiaci, MSHW

Every person has their own specific constitute which could determine their diet, herbal regimen, and even how chronic illness develops. Even though you might have a similar chronic illness as someone else does, that does not mean you will need the same regimen. When it comes to determining someone’s regimen, a good tip is to dig deeper and look at the body as a whole – which means getting their birth chart. Not only do I get their birth chart, but I get down to the nitty gritty of each client and how their chronic illness manifests within –

~ Do you have pain in the morning, mid day or night?

~ Are you typically hot, cold, clammy, dry, etc?

~ What foods cause irritation on the skin, within the digestive system?

~ Are you constipated, do you have bowel movements regularly, every other day?

These types of questions (and then some) really help me figure out the type of illness and constitute that my client has, which I can then determine the route of herbal concoction, diet based on astrological placements, balance the yin and yang placements, and, most of all, give them some hope and guide them on their journey to positive health.

What is a migraine? A migraine is a neurological condition that can cause multiple symptoms. It’s frequently characterized by intense, debilitating headaches. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, difficulty speaking, numbness or tingling, and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines can really put someone down, depending on the intensity of one. They can cause people to stay in bed for hours, leave work, call in sick, and just have an all and all poor quality of life.

When it comes to one of my client’s migraines, I ask about the disposition and manifestation as well as see their birth placements to decide the herbal energetics that are right for them. For instance, if a client has a hot and sweaty disposition with migraines during their menstrual cycle, it would be best to go for cooling and drying herbs to match.

HERBS (MIGRAINES AND HORMONES)

Cooling and drying herbs for migraines –

• Gol-e-ghand – (bitter/cooling) a mixture of rose petals and honey, on migraine attacks
• Raspberry leaf – (bitter/cooling) migraines
• Black tea – (bitter) migraines, caffeine, diuretic
• Lemon Balm/Passionflower – (bitter/acrid) tranquilizing, reduces migraines, helps with sleep, relaxant
• Nettle/Valerian – (astringent/nervine) diuretic, relaxant

Cooling and drying herbs for balancing hormones –

• Menstruation (Clearing and moving are key to fully shedding the uterine lining to make way for a new cycle) – dandelion root (bitter) believed to aid the liver in detoxing old hormones that have built up over the past month. Red raspberry leaf (drying) is high in the alkaloid fragrine, which is thought to help reduce cramping by relaxing the uterus.
• The Follicular Phase (Supporting growth and follicle maturation are the priorities here as the body prepares for ovulation) – nettle leaf (sour/astringent) high iron and vitamin B content.
• Ovulation (culmination of all the hard work that the brain and reproductive organs have been doing for the past two weeks/blood sugar dysregulation) – astralagus root (tonic) builds energy and boosts immune system.
• Luteal Phase (This phase is an equal effort to maintain the uterine lining (in preparation for implantation) and then move through stagnation (if implantation doesn’t occur) – rose buds (bitter) believed to treat common PMS symptoms like breast tenderness, irritability, and fatigue. Schisandra berry (bitter, sour, salty, pungent, sweet) helps clear what TCM regards as excess heat that builds up due to hormone fluctuations leading to night sweats, anxiety, and insomnia. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties it’s also great if you’re prone to premenstrual breakouts.