Instead of using smelly rubs and decongestants which may raise blood pressure, to clear nasal and sinus congestion try chamomile flower steam. Chamomile is an age-old medicinal plant used by everyone from the ancient Egyptians to modern-day naturists.
In
ancient Egypt, chamomile had a religious use as the plant was consecrated to Ra,
the God of the sun.
Chamomile Flower Steam
Ingredients
Two
handfuls of dried chamomile flowers
Four
cups of boiling water
Directions
Place
dried chamomile flowers in a large bowl and pour boiling water over flowers. Place
your head over the bowl and place a towel over your head so that it also covers
the bowl and inhale deeply for 2-3 minutes.
About Chamomile flowers uses, growing and drying
Chamomile flowers
have white flower petals and yellow centers and are a lovely little medicinally an aromatic plant with fernlike leaves. The central yellow cone of the chamomile
flower is the medicinal part of the plant.
Dried flowers are used
in aromatherapy, tea and beauty products. African herbalists built their houses
so that the entry room opened on a garden of herbs that would yield up their
essential oils under the gentle insistence of the warm African sunshine. The
ancients had great faith in the efficacy of breathing aromatherapy to preserve
the health of mind and body for themselves and the village.
Not only did they grow
the flowering herbs in their garden for their attractiveness, and odor, but
also for charms in symbolism, and superstitions. There still is a strong assertion
with Africans, plants, and herbs used as natural medicine.
Chamomile is often
called the herbalist's plants because of a belief that it will revive drooping plants
when placed near them. Ancient Egyptians worshiped chamomile above all other
herbs because of its healing properties.
In later times, the
dried herb was smoked in a pipe to relieve asthma. chamomile tea was then used for a sedative and
for fevers as now in gentle herbal therapy. Chamomile
flowers symbolized long life, wisdom, and patience.
A great part of the
joy in growing herbs is the harvest season for drying herbs. Your harvesting will consist of gathering,
drying and storing the leaves, flowers, seeds, and roots of those herbs you want
to preserve for future use.
There is a crucial
time when the herbs are just ready to be gathered when they contain the
greatest amount of essential oils, those precious oils that furnish the
fragrance and taste. Just as the flower buds are ready to blossom out, the
plants are richest in oils, some even increasing in an amount just at the time of
flowering.
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| Egyptian chamomile tea |
The flowers of the
herbs, such as chamomile are dried by cutting off just the heads and spreading
them thinly on the screens or racks. The yellow part of the chamomile blossom
contains the essential oils that are desired. The time for completely drying
the flowers will be two weeks or longer.
Chamomile tea which,
sweetened with sugar and cream, is served today in some exclusive New York
beauty parlors, and suggests that its use is not different from that tea brewed
to soothe the nerves of court beauties in Egypt.
To make it, first
grow good organic chamomile in your own garden. Remove and dry the flower heads
as they come into bloom. Pour one-quart boiling water on less than half an
ounce of dried chamomile flowers. Let stand fifteen minutes, strain, sweeten
with honey or sugar, and take at bedtime as a sure preventative of nightmare
and for a quiet sleep.
Did
you know?
The
word chamomile is derived from the Greek roots chamos (ground) and melos
(apple), referring to the fact that the plant grows low to the ground, and the
fresh blooms have a pleasing apple scent.
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