The Complete Home Guide todiHseerabsse, Nsatural Healing, and Nutrition

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If you have white or transparent mucus, then you may feel more cold

and shivery and need extra heat and energy:

Use fewer fresh fruits and raw vegetables. Take plenty of horseradish,

baked onions, and grated ginger in dishes, and drink ginger tea.

Massage with marjoram, rosemary, and black pepper essential oils, or

use them in the bath.

For any kind of mucus and blocked nose, sinus, or chest:

Use the Ayurvedic method— chew twelve raw peppercorns.

f Plantain leaves, elder f owers and berries, edible lichens, nettle leaves,

yarrow leaf, and pine needles can all be made into teas.

f Take some garlic syrup and elder f ower and elderberry syrup.

f Lobelia leaf is a prime lung herb. A tremendous antispasmodic and

expectorant, it is very useful for asthmatics who can learn to use it

instead of prescription inhalers for calming and assisting breathing,

as well as for bringing up excessive phlegm. A few drops at a time are

generally adequate.

Make sure your bowels are working properly; any bowel disorders

will affect the proper working of the lungs.

Exercise helps the lungs. Horseback riding encourages the diaphragm

to push strongly up and down, particularly when galloping. Go cycling,

swimming, running, and dancing. Strong emotions like apprehension

and fear, which affect breathing, can be physically dissipated with

these simple pleasures. An exception is when the air is heavily pol-

luted; exercise should be avoided at such times.

Take hot and cold showers. Direct the spray onto the chest and back,

from the shoulders to the waist. If you are frail or weak, make sure

this treatment is done under expert supervision. But if you have the

go-ahead and adequate help, it is a great lung strengthener, and can

help turn a chronic condition right around.

Inhale a variety of essential oils, such as eucalyptus, lime, pine, lemon,

fennel, or cubeb. If you f nd yourself coughing, take a break and try

again in a few moments, or try leaving out the eucalyptus, which can

over-exacerbate. The same oils can also be added to the bath or

sprinkled onto handkerchiefs, pillows, sheets, and sleepwear. When

lying down, the whole body becomes more clogged and congested,

and these essential oils can work well at this time.

Massage your chest. Your lungs practically touch your collarbone, so

massage up to your shoulders and down to the bottom of your rib

cage; and don’t forget that both your back and front house your

Home Guide to Herbs - davies