So, here we are, back to Friday and the Natural Healing
Corner. Today, I invite you to focus on your everyday rituals. What do you do
every day without fail? What makes your day a go, right from the start?
I like to share and be with my family. More specifically, I
enjoy waking up and sharing a drink with my son and husband. It doesn’t matter
what type it is, green tea, hot cocoa, chamomile, rooibos or even coffee, it’s
the shared activity of drinking that is the ritual. As we sip our drink, we
mentally and spiritually prepare for the day ahead.
Recently, my husband’s friend, shared a gorgeous bag of
dried hibiscus flowers with us and advised us to make tea. Though it originated
in the Motherland, in Angola, it is popular in his native Mexico, and this
friend feels that hibiscus is an elixir for a good, strong life. Our shared
drink, at least between my husband and me, over the past week has been hibiscus
tea. Blood red, hibiscus has strong red, healing medicine in the form of
bioflavonoids, it is cleansing and strengthening to the system.
I gave some to another family member, who suffers from high
blood pressure, a common ailment in the African American community. Hibiscus
has been scientifically tested and has come out as effective, if not more
effective than a certain blood pressure medicine used for bringing down high
blood pressure. Supportive of optimal cardiovascular health, hibiscus is also
used for healthy cholesterol maintenance.
It is slightly acidic. It is called Sour Tea in Iran. I had
previously filled my life with sweets and now that I am on the road to being
trimmer, I enjoy the addition of tarter tastes in my daily diet. My husband’s
friend advised us to ice it. What I do is, cup together my hands, blow my intentions into the tea with a deep breath, and add this
handful of the dried flowers to a half stock pot of water. Simmering these
flowers for ten minutes. Strain them immediately. Let the tea cool and then put
in a pitcher with ice.
Some, in my family enjoy it better with a natural sweetener
like honey, added. If you suffer from high blood pressure or the wrong type of
high cholesterol, and it is okay with your healthcare practitioner, give
hibiscus a try. In any case, hibiscus will wake up your weary spirit and is an
effective, healing brew to add to your daily ritual of healing.
I will be featuring hibiscus in an African American herbal healing (all day) workshop at New York Open Center on July 19, 2014. More on that soon, here and on their website.
If you want to know more about red healing medicines, there is an entire chapter devoted to them, built around wisdom found in Yoruba medicine, in: The Big Book of Soul: the Ultimate Guide to the African American Spirit
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