This week, we'll be exploring the properties of the Gotu Kola. The Latin name for this plant is Centella asiatica . It's other names include: Brahma-Manduki, Indian Pennywort, Indian Water Navelwort, Marsh Penny, Thick-Leaved Pennywort, Tsubo-kusa, Tungchian, and White Rot . In India, Gotu Kola is regarded as one of the most spiritual of all herbs and is regarded as one of the most important rejuvenating herbs in Ayurvedic Medicine.. Growing in some areas of the Himalayas, gotu kola is used by yogis to improve meditation. They use it in helping to develop the energy center at the top of the head, traditionally known as the crown chakra, and to balance the right and left hemispheres of the...
This week, we'll be investigating the properties of the Osha Root. The Latin name for this plant is Ligusticum porteri. It's other names include: Bear Medicine, Colorado Cough Root, Chuchupaste, Porter’s Wild Lovage, Indian Root, and Mountain Ginseng. The root of the osha plant is a traditional Native American herb. Most Native American tribes treated this root with high regard as it was very crucial to their everyday needs. The tribal groups of the Zuni, Chiricahua, Tarahumara and Aztec were among the many groups who used this root. Osha got the name “bear medicine” because it was noted by Native Americans and early settlers that bears would seek it out when they first emerged from hibernation as a...
"Black Seed" (Nigella Sativa) has been known to Unani-tibb (Graeco-Arabic traditional) medicinal practice for it's effectiveness as a curative for a variety of illnesses for well over a thousand years, and numerous modern medical studies have shown it's principle constituent (Thymoquinone) to be an effective antioxidant, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory agent, to name but a few properties. The following sites can give you a more detailed understanding.
Nigella Sativa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigella_sativa
Black Seeds
http://www.missionislam.com/health/blackseed.html
Midnight Garden Apothecary offers Nigella Sativa seeds, and we also offer Black Seed extractions in alcohol, glycerin, and traditional honey infusion using the "prophetic method" of Unani-tibb practice.