Energetics Flashcards
(7 cards)
What are herbal energetics?
Energetics is a qualitative way of using herbs (this person), different to a quantitative approach (most people).
They can exist together though eg a person might be colder feeling, poor circ, exhausted - they might want a warming, stimulating adaptogen - but tests might also reveal they have low iron, don’t exercise much and have insomnia
The foundation of using herbs is energetic though - looking at patterns around hot/ cold, damp/ dry, tightness or laxity - key states that show up that suggest an imbalance. It’s about how we can use herbs to create balance where there is imbalance, to help the body do what it wants/ needs to do to heal.
How do you talk about energetics?
eg Hot/Cold, Damp/Dry, Tension/ Laxity
These may be interpreted differently according to different cutures but the core principles are there, and the plants have these commonalities anyway. But what do these look like in a person? And what does it look like in the plant?
In a person - it is their symptoms at their core. A cough is the symptom, but the presentation (via energetics) helps us to consider it.
What about hot and cold?
We’re not talking about temperature - hot is hyper and more active, and cold is hypo and perhaps more reactive.
Ginger is hot, and cucumber is cold but if you took their temp after being in the fridge, they’d be the same!! **Its about how you FEEL after taking them. **
To think about hot/ cold indicators in a person:
* **Skin: **You can also look at someone’s skin tone (not always easy depending on skin colour), hand temp, tongue, nail beds - red versus pale.
* Pain type: Sharp pain is hot pain (kidney stone or nerve pain), and dull achy pain is cold pain (fibromalgia)
* Mucus: Ithe mucus is yellow its warmer, but if thicker/ whiter its a cold presentation
* Disposition: Some people are hotter and some colder - this isn’t about levels of emotion, its more how they present their emotion eg colder people may feel deeply but more secretly
* Inflammation: Can be hot or cold presentation, its about how reactive their immune response is. eg sluggish can be colder, overactive can be hotter
What about dampness and dryness?
**Dry means there’s not enough fluid somewhere **- generally (drier eyes, skin) or localised to a specific place eg dry cough. (You can be dry and damp at the same time BTW - all over or localised!!)
Fluids could be fats, oils, lipids - as well as water . Does this person need oils eg flaxseeds or water?
When tissues are dried out, indicators
* Stiffness: Joint issues due to lack of synovial fluid
* Friction: Can lead to friction which can impact on inflammation
* Pliability: Less bendy/ able to go back to shape - compare bendy bread to toast - lose their pliability
* Mucus: If mucus is all dried out/ unproductive cough it can’t do its job to remove particles
* Urinary tract: Pain with peeing is a sign of dryness
**Dampness **- when there is too much fluid stuck somewhere/ boggy tissues. You can see it in a head cold/ a stuffed up head where the sinususes/ systems are not working to remove the damp.
You may see fluid eg runny nose but this doesn’t mean dampness, its actually fluid leaving the body - what we’re discussing here is fluid in the body that needs to leave, which might otherwise lead to stagnation and then infection.
Examples might be respiratory dampness, digestive dampness, swelling that doesn’t resolve, oedema (though this likely needs tests eg heart issues).
What about tension and laxity?
Physical tension is largely about the muscules in the body, and how much of the range of motion the muscles have (eg flly extended, contracted). Tension is when this is limited (think of the shears).
Can also have uncontrolled contractions eg spasms, coughing fits etc. Spasms means systems also aren’t working as they should.
There is also mental tension.
Laxity is largely about when tissues lack tone or correct structure. Think of a balloon losing its shape over time.
* Associated with swelling and lack of tone, where tissues are weaker eg reflux, ulcerations.
* Can include leaky gut, where tissues are too open/ hyperpermeable, rhinitis/ runny nose.
* Urinary system eg incontinence
What about presentations in the plants?
Do you use the opposite of what a human presents? It can work if you can make those associations - but in Western Herbalism we have Actions or virtues eg dumulcent is an interaction that a plant has with tissue.
Think about this in groups however
Group 1: many of which you can figure out using your senses:
* Aromatic herbs - strong smelling, pungent herbs
* Astringents - that can tighten up your tissues
* Demulcent herbs - can soothe and moisten
* Relaxing herbs that are anti spasmodic (often map over aromatic):
* Stimulating herbs - tingly herbs
* Bitter herbs - ones you can taste
Group 2: You also have other catagories, eg expectorant, nervine - but which do you need? A relaxing expectorant, stimulating, warming etc etc?
Group 3: Are the ‘anti’ herbs ag anti inflammatory - many of which are all very energetically different!!
How to approach all this?
- Look at the big picture eg what trends are there in this person? eg figity/calm
- Collect clues about all the body systems - eg if a cough, what sort, where?
- Then make a decision to be targeted / try to maximise benefit over ‘risk’
eg targeted - a person looks damper than the average person, but they have a dry cough. I would usually use a dumulcent herb for a dry cough, but would this excerbate their general ‘dampness’ so knock something else ot of whack?
So think about which dumulcent might work best for them eg marshmallow moistens everywhere, but mullein is demulcent in the respiratory tract.
