Conscious Choice: Herbs and Fitness

June 2001 | Herbs for Health

Herbs and Fitness

by Meg McGowan

We are besieged daily with advertisements for products and procedures that promise us that better, more attractive bodies are available for a purchase price. What they are selling us is dissatisfaction with ourselves as we are and an elusive illusion of perfection. This is not health; it is the antithesis of health. True health requires loving the physical self as part of the total self. In its highest form, this love is inclusive and unconditional—the way in which we strive to love others. Shifts in diet and exercise that come from this place nurture and honor individuality, rather than attempting to re-create the body to fit a Procrustean bed of inappropriate proportions. Fitness, then, is about fitting comfortably into our own skins and having a satisfying reciprocal relationship with our bodies — thoughtfully sustained, our bodies will have energy reserves we can draw on when necessary. Herbs can be used to support our personal fitness goals at numerous levels.

For those who are having trouble getting started or feel as though they are taking appropriate actions without attaining the desired results, flower essences may help remove emotional blocks to creating physical change. Flower Essence Repertory by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz (Flower Essence Society, 1996) is an excellent resource for discerning appropriate essences. The effects of relevant essences are described under the categories of Body, Desire, Eating Disorders, Immobility, and Inertia. California pitcher plant (Darlingtonia californica), for example, promotes physical vigor and helps to alleviate listlessness. California wild rose (Rosa californica) addresses apathy and listlessness. Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) or manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida) may help to break eating patterns associated with bulimia or anorexia nervosa. Pink monkey flower (Mimulus lewisii) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium) may be appropriate if excess weight is serving as protection for the soul. Peppermint (Mentha piperita), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and old man banksia (Banksia serrata) essences can enhance metabolic functioning. Rosemary also helps to restore a sense of connectedness to the physical body. Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) works to resolve the deeper, underlying issues, such as childhood trauma, that manifest as lethargy and procrastination. As Kaminski and Kantz explain, "Healing insight comes through understanding why such persons hold back the real expression of their Self.... Tansy stimulates the self-awareness of such persons, helping them to contact their true strength and purpose.

Essential oils can help to shift the emotional and psychological energies surrounding the experience of exercise and provide physiological benefits as well. Vicky Weis, creator of The Perfect Stretch Workout, combined her background as a personal trainer and an aromatherapist with a desire to offer clients an opportunity to care for body, mind, and spirit simultaneously. Three essential oil mists set the tone and support the intent of each segment of The Perfect Stretch. Energy mist is utilized with the workout; Serenity for the meditation and breathwork; Joyful Rising for centering and balance at the end of class. (Massage oils in similar blends are also available.)

"Essential oils work on all the different vibrational levels," said Weis. "Even if the person using the oils doesn’t fully understand their range of effect, that doesn’t diminish the fact that they impact at these vibrational levels in the body and create shifts." At a physical level, essential oils can give you more energy. Oils such as eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), lime (Citrus aurantifolia), spearmint (Mentha spicata) and spruce serve this purpose in the Energy blend. Additionally, eucalyptus and spearmint essential oils open up the air passages resulting in deeper breathing and improved stamina. Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), which is in both the Serenity and Joyful Rising mists, helps to increase metabolic efficiency and to flush toxins from the body.

The simple "feel-good" factor of bringing aromatherapy into a workout should not be underestimated. We tend to repeat those experiences that we enjoy, and, if the scent and benefits of essential oils add another pleasurable dimension to exercise, we are more likely to choose to continue the practice. Scent also creates powerful associations. This too can help us establish a space in our lives for fitness. Using an energizing essential oil mist can solidify our intent to work out, acting as a bridge between thought and action. Misting, instead of answering the phone or beginning to sort the mail, indicates that this time is now sacred, the ritual has begun. The next step is to stretch, then reach for your running shoes. Soon you are out the door rather than conked out on the couch. The perception of exercise as ritual rather than routine is reinforced with aromatherapy. Feeling that exercise is a form of self-care, as opposed to an obligatory function akin to filling out tax forms, can contribute greatly to establishing a permanent place for fitness in our lives.

Turning back to the physical plane, adding essential oils to your bath or to massage blends is a ritual that firms and tones the skin, complementing weight loss or exercise goals. Valerie Ann Worwood, in The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy (New World, 1991), recommends basil (Ocimum basilicum), celery (Apium graveolens), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), grapefruit, juniper berry (Juniperus communis), lavender (Lavendula officinalis syn. L. angustifolium), lemon (Citrus limonum), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), lime, oregano (Origanum vulgare), pettigrane (Citrus aurantium), rosemary, sage (Salvia officinalis), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) oils. For massage, she advises blending two tablespoons of good-quality almond oil with ten drops of carrot oil and then adding thirty drops of essential oils. Select three to five essential oils for a blend, choosing oils with varying properties — not all citrus, for example. Worwood offers several specific recipes for bath and body blends in her book. (For information on essential oils that impact cellulite, see "Herbs for Detox" in the January 2001 issue of Conscious Choice.)

Some herbs have gained a reputation for aiding weight loss because they have a diuretic action. As with over-the-counter, synthetic diuretics, the weight lost is not a result of fat being burned, but of the body holding less water weight due to increased urine production. This is essentially false weight loss, in that the water weight quickly returns. Occasional use of diuretic herbs may, however, be helpful when attempting to lose weight as they can support the body in eliminating waste products efficiently.

Ephedra (Ephedra sinica, E. vulgaris, E. nevadensis), also known as Ma huang is perhaps the herb most commonly associated with weight-loss diets. It is a stimulant that increases the body’s basal metabolic rate. As with other herbs, the whole herb is considered to be safer than either the isolated component ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, the synthetic substitute. As always, awareness is the best approach. Ephedra should be used with supervision by those with blood pressure concerns and avoided by those with heart disease, diabetes, glaucoma or hyperthyroidism. Chickweed (Stellaria media) and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) can work to balance metabolism. Chickweed and nettle seeds (Urtica dioica) nourish the thyroid, which may help to regulate weight.

Support is what herbs offer, not a substitute for self-care. Can they work miracles? Perhaps. It depends on your definition of a miracle. Like love, herbs have the potential to facilitate change and growth in ways that we do not fully understand. The life forces of the plants themselves move in synergy with our own life forces and support our intentions, resonating with our true selves. Miraculous? No more so than all growth and change, I suppose. No more so than life itself.

Resources

For more information about The Perfect Stretch Workout or the complementary Perfect Scents aromatherapy products, contact Vicky Weis at The Flossmoor Wellness & Day Spa 708-799-7727.

For further information on chickweed, dandelion, and nettle, see Wise Woman Herbal Healing Wise by Susun S. Weed (Ash Tree, 1989).

DISCLAIMER: Choosing a holistic approach to medicine means choosing personal responsibility for your health care. Herbs for Health offers a doorway through which to enter the realm of herbal healing, an invitation to further investigation on the part of the reader. It is in no way intended as a substitute for advice from a health care practitioner.

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