Mugwort for the tired runner

[jcornelius6]

Hello, I hope this is also the right place for some nature remedies... !

Right now I'm more into barefoot walking then barefoot running, but when I'm out I walk a lot.

I wondered if you know about mugwort. When I've tired feet I use a footbath with mugwort! It makes my feet warm and relaxed and also takes away the tiredness, when I'm walked to much.

I also made me a mugwort oil. I used almond oil for that. When I've muscle ache from barefoot running I use it and it eased the pain.

There's also a historical anecdote about the Roman soldiers who put mugwort in their sandals to protect their feet against fatigue...and that the Romans planted mugwort along their long walking trails, so the soldiers had it always to their purposal.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwort

I thought, that you can use this info when you just started barefooting like me or when you into marathons and such!

Mugwort also grows everywhere around the world, so everyone here can use it!

I'm into foraging and use wild plants everyday for all kind of stuff. When you have questions just ask away...

 

[migangelo]

cool. i've used arnica to make a tea and soaking water or compress. works good. just don't drink too much.

 

[jcornelius6]

In Germany Arnica is so rare in nature that it's protected by law.
You've to buy it, when you want to use it or plant it in your garden.

@Migangelo
You don't drink Arnica as a tea! It's toxic!.A wet compress is OK.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnica_montana

 

[Hobbit]

If mugwort is what I think it is (kind of Artemisia?), I would definitely not run where it grows wild - the pollen is highly allergenic.
And now I know who is to blame for my hayfever: the Romans soldiers who of course had to spread this plant everywhere they went...

 

[jcornelius6]

@Hobbit
No, you mean this plant...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_artemisiifolia
They just look alike!

 

[Spinningwoman]

The herbal I looked at did suggest it was efficacious for 'quaking of the sinews' which sounds like something runners might suffer from.

 

[Hobbit]

@Hobbit
No, you mean this plant...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_artemisiifolia
They just look alike!

I had a look at both of your links, and the plant I mean is actually Artemisia vulgaris, the one called mugwort (your first link). It is allergenic as well, as stated in the wikipedia article: "Mugwort pollen is one of the main sources of hay fever and allergic asthma, in North Europe, North America and in parts of Asia"

 

[jcornelius6]

Sorry, Hobbit! Mostly it's ambrosia which cause allergic reactions, so I thought you meant that one...
Didn't want to offend you...and I didn't know about the allergic properties of mugwort either!
With plants there're always some new things to learn...

 

[migangelo]

i maybe drink 1/4 cup when i'm extremely beat up. dosage makes it toxic. my mom was raised in Mexico and still knows lots of natural cures. loved going to sleep with salt on my feet and chest when i got sick.

 

[jcornelius6]

i maybe drink 1/4 cup when i'm extremely beat up. dosage makes it toxic. my mom was raised in Mexico and still knows lots of natural cures. loved going to sleep with salt on my feet and chest when i got sick.

I'm also into natural cures and I read about a Mexican curandera in the book Women who glow in the dark.
I did find the shamanistic part where they also heal the soul highly inspirational!
What does it do when you drink the quart cup of Arnica tea? And what's with the salt? What does the salt do?

Bye,
Alex

 

[migangelo]

drinking it helps relieve the pain. just can't do too much. the salt is supposed to draw out things. can't say if it worked or not but it was always done. my mom is still quite superstitious, to the point of it now being funny. get your head wet with the same water that wets your feet or you'll get sick. i laughed last time she said it to me.

 

[jcornelius6]

That's a nice thing, when you actually experience such things instead of just reading about it...

It remembers me of the father of a friend of mine. He's Chinese and every time I visited him his father made soup for me! A really special soup with all kinds of weird ingredients...
and I always felt better when I eat it!
Did you know that some parts of Chinese medicine are adopted in Mexican curandera! Like moxibustion and they also use mugwort.

Or my Ayurveda teacher...!

She als also does most of her healing cures with food and spices. First time I meet her was in a cooking class she gave. It was like cooking with Yoda! She had this incredible aura of wisdom around her...but on the other side it was a totally heartwarming experience.
She has such a deep wisdom that she actually living it. All what she does has Ayurveda in it!

Maybe you should read the book I mentioned earlier! It gave me a good insight to curandera healing because it's written from the heart. The author tells her story as a curandera in Mexico and she also lives it in everyday life. It's a really good thing that you've someone who also has insight in such deep wisdom! You should use it..., learn it and give it to others...

I sadly doesn't know anybody from Mexico so I love to hear your stories!
Here is the link to the book on Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1585420220/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1378238671&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

Bye,
Alex