Herb Journal: Yerba Mansa

From the start, I always just found it strange the way the herb was spelled. I guess, knowing Spanish, it seemed strange, because, well, the word herb is hierba in Spanish, and so, what's with this yerba stuff? Are we that dumb that we can't even spell it right, we have to make it into whatever it sounds like to us? Rhetorical. Then someone informed me, and I'm still not entirely sure if this is true or not, that even in Latin America, these herbs are spelled Yerba, at times, well, such as Yerba Mate, so, well, okay then, but for some reason, it still makes me twitch. I have learned to love yerba mansa, not for its flavor.. noooooo, but because it seems to be the go to herb for things that have been pestering me the past few months. At first, I didn't want to listen, to be honest, because I just wasn't familiar with it, and as it is used quite often as a substitute for goldenseal, I didn't get it. I know that goldenseal and echinacea are the "immune boosting" herbs, but what did this have to do specifically with this irritation I was having in my uterus. Well, after using Tomas' tincture that he made specifically for my condition, which co-starred yerba mansa, and his advice as well to chug yerba mansa tea as often as I could, I started to see why. I was feeling better, and well, there's no better testimony than that. I started to just infuse the root in water and always keep a mason jar of it in the fridge, drinking it then filling it up again, it just became my drink, basically, along with ocotillo, osha root, chapparal, rosemary and pine tar infused water. I would just take turns, drinking a mason jar of each, and in the meantime let the others steep. These herbs are all antimicrobial, and at least I felt some relief after drinking all of those listed. They were altogether anti-inflammatory as well, but a few had some unwanted side effects. The pine tar water was making me spit up phlegm, and it became a nuisance. Well, of course, it's an expectorant. The chaparral was making me incredibly constipated. Well of course, its super drying and astringent. yerba mansa became my daily friend, and I have really come to appreciate it's immense power and beauty. If you leave it soaking in water for long enough, it tints the water red, and if you make a decoction, it becomes a dark red. The decoction is powerful, but as I felt that I just really needed to chug as much water as I could, not sip sort of distinctive and uncomfortable teas as much as I know I probably should have, I just infused everything in water, and it was more palatable to me. I still have yet to use yerba mansa for deuching, probably more than anything just because the situation has been so unpredictable, so many things that have brought me relief from infections, in particular, in the past, were just NOT WORKING in this situation, some actually making me feel worse, and the pain has been unbearable at times. The problem is, that once you put something in your vagina, well, you just really can't undo it. My acupuncturist gave me a deuche solution, something she has had for a while and used successfully. I tried that once, so I suppose I did deuche with yerba mansa, although it was a collection of herbs and a tincture as well, so its not so easy to discern. Especially because the alcohol itself, I don't know if that might inflame the tissue in their despite the helpfulness of the herbs. In the end, maybe yerba mansa is not the most pleasant tasting herb, I started out drinking the tea of the leaves, until Tomas corrected me and said that the root would be much more effective. The tea of the leaves I find nauseating. Again, I would drink anything though if I felt it helped whatever condition I was fighting, but I'm glad that we transferred over to the root. I seem to have more of an affinity to roots and bark in general. I do like teas of leaves and flowers, but roots, well, tend to balance my dosha I'm guessing. I'm a water sign, and so anything that is rooted in the earth is somethign that grounds me and is sort of what I need to keep myself in order. Not only that, but i see examples of this in my love life as well. Random, and straying a bit off the topic, but I find myself happiest with men who are earth signs, and I notice, very clearly that they tend to balance me out, ground me, as I can be like the sea, tumultuous and everchanging with my moods and emotions, and someone who is fastidious and consistent is the perfect person for me, to keep me rooted, as well, on the ground.