Here at Kauai Farmacy we get asked all the time, “What is an Herbal Tincture? Why and how should I take it? What Tincture should I take?” These are great questions because the answers put the power of health and wellbeing into your own hands. Let's “drop” in for a minute and start with the basics.
What is a Tincture?
A Tincture is the essence of a plant concentrated in liquid form. First, fresh plant matter is harvested at peak potency. Then, the herbs are infused in high proof alcohol for 6 weeks. The alcohol acts as a menstruum to pull out the beneficial constituents of the plant and preserves the elements of each herb, keeping the constituents active and alive for years. This is an ancient and time tested way to access the chemical components, minerals and magic contained in each herb.
Why take a Tincture?
Tinctures are highly regarded in the Natural Health community for their ease and efficiency of use. They target very specific aspects of your health and when dropped under the tongue, are transported directly into the bloodstream with benefits felt within the hour.
How to take Tinctures
A technique used by most Herbalists called “drop dosage” is a very subtle but effective way to introduce the herbs into your body.
1. Check in with your body and see how it feels without the medicine. Get a baseline.
2. Bring the Herbal Tincture into your field and put one drop of the Tincture under your tongue and notice how you feel.
3. Most common protocols begin with 10-15 drops of the Tincture. Add it to a glass of water or tea or take it straight under the tongue and hold it there for a minute.
4. For acute conditions like colds, flus, or aches, we like to take a dose 3x a day until symptoms improve. For chronic conditions like fatigue, insomnia or stress, we do a dose 1-2x a day until symptoms improve (as a rule of thumb it is always recommended to discuss new protocols with your health practitioner).
Which Tincture Should I Take?
This is another question we are asked all the time. Knowing which Tincture to take requires that you already know a bit about your health needs. Tinctures are potent herbal delivery systems and need to be given some thought. We choose to create and use single herb tinctures so that you get to know the power of each plant. We offer a myriad of herbal tinctures to help address specific health concerns and support a balanced physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual life. From Lilikoi Flower for sleep, Butterfly Pea for beauty, to Ginger for digestion & Spilanthes for oral care, there is something for everyone. Here are a few more of our favorites:
Ashwagandha - Ashwagandha is a fortifying adaptogen, suited to replenish chi (life force), provide calm & balanced energy, and increase the body’s overall resistance to stress.
Brahmi - Brahmi has been revered for centuries because of its role in promoting nervous system rejuvenation and regeneration. Brahmi has been shown to offer nootropic properties: enhancing cognitive functions, memory, creativity, and will-power.
Mamaki - Mamaki strengthens the muscles, tissues, blood, and respiratory system. It contains abundant Iron and can help address adrenal fatigue. A wonderful ally during allergy season.
Now you are equipped to take Tinctures! This simple yet powerful herbal practice is a potent ally in holistic wellness, becoming a faithful friend as you navigate health concerns and conditions throughout your life. Ideal for daily use and on-the-go and travel scenarios, tinctures require no preparation for consumption. Experience the natural benefits of tinctures today!
We live in a time of a great unfolding. You may have been feeling a shift in the collective healing over these past few months or even years. There is so much going on in the world as a whole and also in our own personal experiences. It can be heavy and overwhelming to process and/or carry the weight of all that is happening in the world right now, while also trying to address our own need for healing. There is a way, and it is through the art of listening.
We also live in a time where the seasons mean something different than they used to. Instead of the traditional ways of resting and realigning ourselves during winter months, we experience seasons that call on us to keep expending our energy. It can be hard to slow down from the energetic highs of summer especially as we look toward this season of gathering unfolding before us. Whether you are a big Holiday person or not, this season is a time of coming together, activity, and possibly even indulgence. We may tend to get off track with our healthy eating habits or we may even get triggered by a certain family member. What if we change the narrative and make it about healing, about thriving, and about peace? There is a way, and it is through the alignment of healing.
Lets Talk about Healing
Healing to me is a process of returning to balance within the body, mind, and spirit. Where there is disruption in one area, there is imbalance in the whole being. We can maintain a level of health within each area for some time, but it is the breakdown of one of these areas that contributes to being unwell as a whole person. When we can recognize where we need to peel back the layers of our own internal onion and get curious about those places of discomfort then the healing process can begin.
Once we begin our healing process others can help ease the burdens along the way, but only if we are clear about what may need to shift. In the end it is our own response-ability to take our healing into our own hands. Sometimes it is a road that we must courageously walk alone, or that is, it has to start with us. I’ll be the first to admit that somedays it is difficult to put one foot in front of the other but we must carry our own load. We must be able to see road blocks and areas of congestion and bring the light of acceptance into those places
Once we begin to love the parts of ourselves that are the hardest to love, we will find a great freedom.
Getting into the Alignment of Healing
This Holiday season can be the perfect opportunity to see the areas we may have been neglecting. People and relationships can be wonderful mirrors reflecting back to us what needs loving attention. If we become triggered by a comment or interaction we can ask ourselves why we had such a reaction? It can inspire us to take a deep breath and get in touch with parts of ourselves we may have just glossed over or tried to avoid in the past. I feel like we subconsciously create these opportunities for healing in our close relationships and in our surroundings. It’s as if a deeper part of ourselves knows what we need to heal and will bring up “opportunities” for realignment.
When we are healed we can effectively manage our own well-being. We are in balance and have peace inside our-selves and our cells. Being healed is a state of being that is fluid and ever changing though; healing is a journey. We must continue to take care of ourselves throughout the remainder of our lives. Thankfully this life offers us endless opportunities to heal and be healed.
We will return to health when we accept the healing that needs to happen with as little resistance as possible and by being willing to carry the torch throughout the entire journey.
Let’s Talk About Listening
Many people come into Kauai Farmacy with the same questions: What herb should I take for this ailment? How much should I take? How long do I take it? I believe the answer to these questions lies in how well you can listen. I have always believed that a great Herbalist is someone who is a good listener. Not only of plants but also of people. Herbalists are the great matchmakers of the plant world. Being able to listen to a persons concerns and hear what they are really saying (and even not saying) requires a certain amount of presence and practice.
While it is recommended to go to a specific practitioner that is familiar with herbs and natural healing, I do believe that you can ask your body what it needs and receive an accurate answer. Whether you find a guide or become your own, you can get answers by asking loving and hard questions and by shining a light into difficult and/or dark places.
By practicing the art of listening, staying open to the answers without judgment, and implementing a health plan, you can achieve a state of well-being.
Practicing the Art of Listening
We don’t just become a good listener overnight. It must become a practice and you must not give up if the voice of your body is hard to hear at first. It takes practice to develop a certain sense and intuition about what you are feeling and observing. Everything has a language and a way of communicating. How things are communicated can be unique to you as you may perceive things differently than someone else. If you are acquainted with meditation practices then you are familiar with this concept.
Below is a practice that I hold near and dear to my heart. It has helped me grow on my path of healing not only as a person but also as an Herbalist. I do believe that you can become your own Herbalist and be able to listen and respond to the needs of your own body. I have laid out this practice step by step for you. Approach it with an open heart and an open mind. Release any sort judgement for how your body speaks to you and what it says it needs (it may just shout at you or give you a big release if you’ve been ignoring it for quite some time).
My hope is that you find a refuge in your own journey of healing.
Combining Listening with Healing; The Body Scan
This practice was taught to me by my Mentor Rosemary Gladstar, and I have adapted it over the years to meet the needs of my own body. Feel free to use it or your own personal variation as a key component to your own healing journey.
The Body Scan integrates the art of listening by aligning you with your body’s innate awareness and wisdom. Your body has been waiting for you to “drop in” and say hi. You might be shocked, scared, or sad about what it has to say. Do not be impatient. Speak kindly and do not get angry if you receive nothing but silence. Just listen in the spirit of love and acceptance.
Our bodies want to be healthy and often hold the answers and instructions, telling us what we need to be vibrant and whole.
The Body Scan:
Going a step deeper…
Once you get familiar with this practice you can take it a step deeper by asking your body what it might want or need to help re-establish balance.
This exercise might seem simply or silly. You may be wondering, does it really work? You should just try it for yourself. It has helped me and so many others get clear and direct messages about what our bodies need. I have heard my body speak out asking for certain herbs and guiding me in what to use. I get clear messages if I need to take something internally or just apply it topically. I receive clear answers on how often to do it and how much to use. All I need to do is ask and listen.
*For a more in-depth conversation on dosage see Calvins Drop Dosage Meditation in the Blue Vervain article.
Living, Listening and Healing
Listening with love is a great practice to guide you through any season as well as throughout life. It can be the torch to guide you back to yourself as a healthy and whole person. As you learn to listen without judgement, it can help you in your interactions with others and in relationships. What you do has a ripple effect into all areas of your life and in the lives of others. Share your healthy self with the world!
When you learn how to respond attentively and commit to a health care plan set out by your own body you can learn to trust, love and heal yourself again. I hope you use it in reverence for the wisdom with which you were joyously made. Be well.
Sonya Yamaguchi
Kauai Farmacy
Certified Herbalist and Author of “Super Noni and Friends”
As the seasons shift and change we too are invited to share in the rhythms of the earth. There is a time to play and a time to rest. A time to grieve and a time to heal. A time to feast and a time for cleansing. The earth goes through these cycles and seasons gracefully and with ease. Are you able to do the same?
It can be easy to forget that our bodies need to shift and that there are seasons to our own lives. We are bombarded by hustle culture and are expected to be productive in every season. We have access to information and news all of the time as we go, go, go and push ever towards “progress”. This “progress” however, eventually comes at the cost of our own health and well-being.
There is a saying from Lao Tzu that I love and it states; “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
Do you believe that? Do you feel that to be true?
The key lies in learning how to live that. But how?
By learning to live and feel into the rhythm of the seasons.
Our ancestors took note of the moon and water cycles, the growing and resting seasons, the planting and harvesting of nourishing and medicinal crops. Their life depended on being able to live in harmony with the seasons of the Earth. 
As we transition into Autumn/Fall, are you able to take a pause and adjust? I am the first to admit that slowing down from the energy of Summer is a tough one. I do eventually feel a sense of “burning out” from all the expansive summer activities, weather, and work. I look forward to the shift in cooler weather, and the days coming into balance during the Fall Equinox then slowly growing shorter. I start to crave earlier bedtimes and more evenings curled up with a cup of tea and a good book. Do you have little seasonal rituals that get you excited for change?
The Energy of Autumn
Autumn (or Fall) comes to us at the end of summer when the surface heat of our bodies starts to move slowly inward. It is a pulling in and building up of our energy reserves to be stored for Winter. It is a time to pull inward and gather together on all levels.
That being said, you may also find yourself in an energy of excess, through maybe too many summer treats and travel foods. This can also be a nice time to cleanse your body, do a resetting of your digestive system and eliminate parasites and/or candida that may have affected you during the warm summer months. Autumn is a wonderful time to bring your diet, movement, and healing practices back into balance. Let’s talk about what some of those are.
Autumn Inspired Herbs & Foods
Look for herbs and foods that stimulate the functions of the body and break through obstructions and congestion. This will eliminate any mucus which the Lungs and Colon may have overproduced.
Autumn Herbs
Autumn Foods
Autumn Inspired Movement & Healing Practices
The Lungs and Colon are the organs associated with Autumn. Those with strong Lungs have a hold on their principals and keep their commitments. In health, Lung Energy is able to gather together, maintain strength and unify against disease and rebuild cellular immunity. People with healthy Colons are able to “let go” and release what is no longer needed. In Chinese healing traditions, this release is not just on a physical level but on an emotional one as well.
Grief is the emotion associated with the Lungs and the Colon. Grief that is expressed strengthens our internal basis of health and if used constructively can help to clear repression. Here’s some ways to support yourself if you have been holding onto or are moving through grief.
Body Oiling is a wonderful practice that can assist you in slowing down, connecting with your body and nourishing your health. Through Body Oiling the skin is renewed and fed. Tight muscles begin to find ease, and your immune system gets support through the stimulation of the lymphatic system. I find it is most beneficial after a warm shower at the end of the day. Put on some music or even your favorite show and start with your limbs, always rubbing and lathering towards your heart. Be sure to do your face, head, and ears and spend a generous time on your torso and feet.
On an emotional level, Body Oiling works to ground you and soothe your nervous system. It’s a great tool if you find yourself in the midst of an emotional upheaval. It can be a devotional act of love to your beautiful body which does so much! It is a great practice to tune into during this inward turn of Autumn. (See our shop for the best in Herbal Salves & Herbal Serums!)
Autumn Skies and Inward Eyes
These Herbs, foods, and practices are just suggestions to encourage you to start thinking about ways you can begin to live in balance with the seasons. When we mirror our lifestyles and diets to those already at work on the earth we start to live in greater Harmony and find ease in the changes that come.
We are able to move through our emotions and embrace changes with greater acceptance and peace when we learn that everything has a season.
Watching the herbs on the farm go through their own seasons of growth, harvest, and rest has inspired me to imitate them as best as I humanly can. Learning from the plants on how to transition and thrive is sometimes the greatest medicine of all.
Be well friends and Happy Autumn!
I am often asked while following a disciplined plant-based diet, “What do I eat for protein?” I knowingly respond Moringa, as it proficiently cultivates what I call plant muscle. I don’t know any plant close to Moringa’s abundant amino acid composition (amino acids are the building blocks of protein). In my experience, its protein quality and iron-rich constitution are unsurpassed in the food as medicine space. Moringa builds, maintains, and strengthens muscles like no other. Soon after consuming Moringa I am often inspired to move, lift, and utilize the muscles in my body with such exercises as pushups and pullups. It is believed that Moringa Oleifera may just be the one plant in our diverse and vast tropical medicine garden that one could solely survive on if necessary.
The leaves, which comprise our Moringa Powder and also find their way into our Endurance Powder and Women’s Wellness Tea, are the most nutritious part of the plant. They are a significant source of B vitamins, vitamin C, 
An ingredient in our Cleanse Powder, the Moringa plant is also very cleansing for the blood and fat tissues. In fact, in a historic textbook of Ayurveda, Bhava Prakash, Moringa is called sigru (moves like an arrow), and is described as deeply and rapidly penetrating tissues, even to the depth of the bone marrow for deep cleansing. Yet Moringa has the unique and mysterious effect of also being a tonic at the same time that it is detoxifying.
I personally consume more Moringa on a consistent basis than any other plant medicine on our farm. I do this because of the efficiency, efficacy, and quality of its plant protein and iron. I consume the powder in my smoothies, on my salads, in my soups, and as hot tea or simply stirred into my water. As far as serving amounts, I typically add to flavor. Honestly, whatever it takes to consume this nourishing stalwart of a plant medicine on a consistent basis.
Like all of our plant medicines, Kauai Farmacy Moringa is fed the highest quality soil, freshly cured and packaged on site, and is organically grown in a small farm biodiverse system. Moringa may be the most life empowering plant medicine that we grow. I stand by its healing efficacy and versatility for anything and everyone. As for a high-powered, nutrient-dense, vitamin-packed source of plant protein, Moringa is the answer.
If I was dis-ease, where would I hide and what would I look like? Would I tangle up in my host’s emotions and attack their mental health first? Would I be strategically manifesting over a long period of time, yet seemingly come out of nowhere to wreak havoc overnight? If I was dis-ease, would I enter the body through the mouth, disguised as a trojan horse, only to set up camp with the clear intention to infiltrate the spine, tighten up the lower back, or attack the heart? Is dis-ease a thing, poisoning our body, thoughts and emotions, or is it the other way around? Websters Dictionary defines disease as a noun or thing: “a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms: sickness, malady”.
For better or worse, so many of us have experienced and/or have been witness to dis-ease in our lives. The perspective expressed here is one way, or one opinion to understand dis-ease, which I define simply as “without ease” or “pain and suffering”. It is intended for you to better understand cause and effects of our thoughts, emotions, and actions on our well-being. If we are able to better understand what dis-ease is or where it may come from, we can take full responsibility for the dis-ease we experience in our lives, which is the first step in the natural healing process. Once again, taking 100% responsibility for the dis-ease is the first step in the natural healing process. It is my opinion that generally speaking, short of physical or mental birth ailments, dis-ease is generally a choice. Said differently, we are free to choose ease or grace. It is a choice.
Dis-ease is experienced 100% within ourselves. In other words, there is no such thing as a “disease” that is not “attached” to an experience, story, feeling, thought, and emotion within. It is not something outside ourselves. Our experience of dis-ease is often triggered or fed from the external environment outside ourselves, adding fuel to the existing fire, but inevitably the original source and existence of the dis-ease is always from within. So where does the experience begin? How does it originate, show up, and stay in our bodies to create volatile thoughts, pain, and emotions? What about mental illness, obesity, fatigue, or insomnia, are they dis-ease? Of course, they are all diseases and they are all the same and they are all different.
In my opinion, and generally speaking, all disease is a result of a combination of mental, physical and emotional impairment that manifests as sickness. The simple seed of disease typically begins through the simultaneous suppression of our thoughts, emotions and/or actions. In other words, when our intuitive self-expression is not honored in the physical, mental, or emotional form, we are taught to feel bad. Bad feelings equal dis-ease. This, in my opinion, is how dis-ease begins. Typically, such unconscious suppression of our human expression manifests into painful emotions such as anxiety, resentment, distrust, stress, anger, disrespect, shame, guilt, or blame. So when these emotions take over our life experience within, we then lose control over our sacred will power, intuition, immune system, and even our mental and emotional faculties. I know, it is so hard to believe, but often times we allowed our self-expression to be stripped from us at a very young age – maybe during potty training, bedtime rituals, or school recess traumas. So the dis-eases are hidden deep in our life experience, forgotten long ago and hard to find, or even more difficult to look at. Void of healing practices at the time, these innocent traumas stay with us to manifest harsh dis-ease over time. But how?
We are 12% earth element or what they refer to in Yogic terms as 12% food body (72% water, 6% air, 6% ether, 4% fire). It is the accumulation of a toxic food body that is responsible for holding on or allowing the suppression to survive, attach, or even thrive in the physical form in our body, manifesting yucky emotions that foster unconscious dis-ease such as anxiety and guilt. So when there is some or any toxic food body available to be had, a disease-ridden thought and emotion will find the toxic molecule and create a home called the pain body. And as the pain body grows with inflammation, we relinquish more of our will power, intuition and immune system. At this point, we compulsively consume more toxic food that such suppressed emotions and unconscious thoughts such as fear, anxiety and stress thrive on and actually call into our body. In other words, we are actually feeding the toxic homes, otherwise known as the pain body, to store our negative thoughts and emotions, to get stuck like parasites in our body, and loop all day long, every day as dis-ease.
So how do we escape the never-ending cycle, the monkey brain if you will, of compulsive thoughts, emotions, and unconscious actions that foster disease, to find balance within, gain mastery of our faculties, and live a pleasant and fulfilling life? Just like with the dis-ease, the solution is not linear. In other words, it entails intentional effort in many directions. Plant medicine is a foundation of alkalinity that has the ability to purge the deepest toxins gently and effectively. Yes, the escape from dis-ease begins and ends with purging. In other words, we must keep our body, mind and emotions clean of toxic materials. It is the physical toxins in the body that hold and loop the negative thoughts, emotions, and life energies. If our body is clean of toxicity, and filled with nourishing, colorful vitamins and minerals, the dark negative vibrations cannot survive. They have no food, so they may come, but eventually they must go out of starvation. It is that simple. And the body, mind, and emotional energies have the space, time, and opportunity to find the all-powerful alignment within.
Herbs like turmeric in our Curry Powder and Vitalitea are ideal to reduce toxic inflammation. Tulsi Basil, which is the base of so many of our herbal teas helps calm the breath and create self-awareness. Soursop Tea and our Kauai Herbal Tea both will help detox and maintain a clean colon, which may just be the consolidation point or headquarters for the pain body within the digestive tract. The Noni, which is found in our Wellness Tea, Vitalita, Puritea, Cleanse Powder, Tincture, and Longevity Capsules, supports robust circulation by cleansing and nourishing our blood. Bacopa in our Cleanse Powder is the one for mental clarity. Ashwaganda in our tincture form, Love Potion and Endurance Powder teaches us all about that calm energy that supports both restoration and vitality. Ginger burns the toxic waste, Moringa revitalizes our life energies and comfrey nourishes the tendons, bones and ligamentts. The plant medicine is here to support your healing journey as a foundation of health.
As the herbs alkaline our blood and clean our system, we are undoubtedly called to attract more watery, slippery, alkaline foods grown from the earth like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds that keep the body free of dis-ease. It is our nutrition that is THE responsible fuel for our life experience of our body. So conscious nutrition is not just a thing, IT’S THE THING. So please treat your nutrition with the same discipline and professionalism that you raise your kids, care for your home, and approach your work. Nutrition sets the tone for the pleasantness of our life experience.
And it is our breath that is responsible for stabilizing our emotions, bringing consciousness to our thoughts, and nourishing aeration to our physical being. Our breath practice dictates how many conscious thoughts, emotions, and actions we experience throughout our day. The deeper and more graceful the breath, the more conscious the thoughts, emotions, and actions. But the body must be cleanly nourished and circulating with ease and grace for the breath to be alive and well. This brings us to the sacred geometry and flexibility of our body. As the universe spins in perfect geometry, we either trip all over it with two left feet or dance the night away as its graceful partner. This outcome greatly depends on the flexibility, strength and relaxation of our breath as well as our posture, alignment or sacred geometry. So our core “exercise” must be our flexibility and/or yoga practice.
And lastly, are we willing to sit or lie with our eyes closed in meditation? Be with our own company. Be a witness to the compulsive, monkey-mind thoughts, emotions, and actions that we are attached to, entangled in, and identified with so we can be conscious of and heal the dis-ease from within. As the physical toxic homes in our body begin to disappear through our herbal detox and clean diet, the ability to gain mastery over our emotional and mental faculties becomes realized. We cultivate life force from our nutrition, yoga, breathwork, herbal medicine, and meditation practices. The time is now. This is a first-grade level responsibility. Control of our faculties and a clean healthy body is far more important than reading and writing as it relates to our human experience here on earth. As we humbly realize our mortality, we prioritize such self-discipline and natural desire to live a life filled with pleasantness, love, and bliss.
I do not know of dis-ease for very long anymore, because there is no place for the dis-ease to hide and it cannot exist in a clean healthy being. Our bodies can be gently cleaned of toxic homes that otherwise permit physical, mental, and emotional disease to reside and cycle within. Our physical cleanliness within is a priority responsibility to ourselves as well as to those around us. Our physical, mental, and emotional health are all simultaneously nurtured by the unshakeable practices of our conscious breath, yoga, and meditation.
We create our own life experience. Taking responsibility for this truth is the very first step to healing. We have realized that we actually manifested the whole story of disease in the first place and then hid the truth from our consciousness. But then again, we were probably pretty young when this practice began. So be gentle with yourself while you do this work. Healing is a lifetime journey. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Trust.
What if there was a way we could replicate the healing magic of the jungle medicine that was grown in the Spice Islands before the dawn of Global Capitalism, East India Tea & Spice Company, and the Spice War Massacre? What is it about that particular Black Pepper, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Ginger, Clove, and so many more of today’s “seasonings” that created such lust, hysteria, greed, and desire of man? The British, Spaniards, Dutch, and Portuguese were all known to have risked their biggest ships, bravest men, and most skilled captains to sail the seas for years on end to obtain the profound healing powers of the Spice Islands. This could not have been your average black table pepper, agree? Then what was it? 
So can we do it? Can we replicate the diversity, variety, and efficacy of the black pepper found in the Spice Islands of yesteryear to rebuild our immune systems, reinvigorate our soil, and perfume our air? How would such a lifestyle system of plant medicine be founded, operated, and utilized to heal our planet, ourselves, and loved ones? What are the main ingredients in the lost recipe to growing truly healing plant medicine? These are the quests guiding our mission.
Our new Black Pepper offering is a milestone in the revival of this ancient tradition of allure and medicinal quality. We married the finest salt available throughout the sacred Hawaiian Islands with the enlivening and affluent nature of Kauai-grown black pepper, to redefine table “Salt & Pepper”. Hawaiian red salt is an unrefined sea salt mixed with an iron oxide rich volcanic clay called ʻAlaea. Black Pepper cleans the GI tract, reduces inflammation and joint pain, aids in weight loss, balances blood sugar, supports hair & skin, and helps to deliver nutrients to the body. This new exquisite offering is as simple and foundational to our daily nutrition and medicine cabinet as it gets. We are grateful to be able to share this precious culinary delicacy and medicinal powerhouse with you.
June 1st will mark our 12-year Anniversary that we have been stewarding these four tropical acres of medicine gardens and food forest lands surrounded by the Kilauea Stream we call Kauai Farmacy. I vividly recall the pivotal moment. It was during our final walk through with the real estate agent, who was also a long-time caretaker of agricultural land on Kauai. She shared her experiential warnings of wisdom, “Enjoy these surreal moments of innocence, because in time you will only be able to see “projects” on this land and nothing else.” At the time, I was confused by the statement, but I remember shrugging it off as a “whatever, not us” reaction. 
Well, I can attest, she was accurate. The realization literally brings tears to my eyes, and I know so many agriculturalists on Kauai that can relate. It was only recently that such heavy burdens have so gratefully begun to lift (Yeah!) as we rewrite our story. With three beautiful young children wrapped around our ankles and little to no gardening or herbal medicine experience, we hurried like “hell” to create perfection where it already existed. It was our east coast missionary-like selves that were on a quest to heal the planet, whether they liked it or not. We couldn’t help but tell everyone all that we were experiencing with this profound volcanic plant medicine. It was just too good to be true.
And that was just the tip of the iceberg. We wanted, we needed, and we were determined to make it available to all of you. So we innocently and foolishly got mentally and emotionally entangled in “project after project” as we identified so closely with this land and the avant-garde medicine farm operation we called Kauai Farmacy. We were so passionately involved that we often forgot to mālama (care for) ourselves along the way. We had lost the why? Why were we doing what we were doing? Does doing it supersede being it? We were unconsciously drowning in massive responsibilities – project after project.
So now, as we learn how to more gracefully embody the vibration that we are cultivating and sharing, we appreciate everything that we are, as well as everything that we are not. As we rename the “projects” to “possibilities,” we learn that it is more fulfilling to enjoy the Cardamom and Starfruit of our labor than to worry about the weather coming tomorrow. We must fully trust the unknown of this mysterious island to experience its flow. We consciously choose to appreciate every moment of our existence with equal intensity, whether its digging buffalo grass out, rendering beeswax, shipping out orders, making longevity capsules by hand, designing new labels, or eating farm-to-table lunch on the daily. We appreciate our young family, extended farmily, and entire ohana; sun, moon, water, rain, soil, plants, gardens, bees, composting worms, butterflies, flowers, fruits, guilds, and forests; shovels and tractor; nursery, tea house and tea lanai; A-team, alchemists, crafters, packagers, educators, farmacists, & healers; solar dehydrators, food processor, our clients & customers, supporters, testimonials, and readers. We appreciate all the abundant, vibrant and sustainable healing energy that we have manifested into our lives as one interdependent source.
We are grateful for the interwoven web we have designed, built, maintained, and become. We fully trust the parts and pieces of the system to perform cohesively. As we intentionally plant seeds this Spring, we trust that the rain will fall, the sun will nourish the land, and our team will cultivate abundance. We trust that our most supportive Kauai Farmacy peeps who have been sipping on Kauai Farmacy tea from the very beginning as well as all the newbies, will continue to circulate, cleanse, and awaken their mind, body, and soul with the help of our Kauai Grown plant medicine.
We appreciate the symbiotically robust nature of our tropical medicine gardens. We appreciate our diverse seeds, roots, and cuttings. These are essentially a renewable resource nursery of plant medicine; which combined with a research and development laboratory of innovative and effective procedures, recipes, and systems, are primed to spawn the next generation of plant medicine farms. We appreciate the knowledge and wisdom of our gardeners, alchemists, and educators that have humbly and silently become some of the foremost plant medicine healers and growers on the planet. We appreciate the Yarrow for its ability to coagulate blood, Noni for circulation, Turmeric to reduce inflammation, Moringa for its plant protein nourishment, Soursop to clean the colon, Tulsi for its ability to raise awareness, Comfrey to mend the body, Lilikoi to help us rest, and the list goes on! We let go of the expectations of what will be, the future “projects,” who we will heal, and how we will thrive. We feel the healing vibration of the plant medicine as it literally fills our cups and spreads the pollen of Kauai Grown medicine around the planet (I am loving our New Cookie Dough Honey). We honor the commitment to mālama (care for) ourselves, while we rejoice in the feeling of contentment - bliss and ecstasy within!
And while we are tending to the plants and making medicine, we know who you are. We appreciate you for all the energetic support over the years. We are stronger and healthier medicine makers as a result. We appreciate the win-win collaboration, cyclical system, conscious collective, and avant-garde cooperative network we are in on together. We appreciate the way we use your support to harvest, cultivate, and craft more and more plant medicine. We appreciate the symbiotic relationship of it all. We appreciate you!
We appreciate that we are all one. 
There may be nothing quite as delineating between our conscious and unconscious being as our breath. Certainly, for many, our breath from moment to moment has always been and currently is a relatively unconscious act. But what if that all changed? What if our breath became more conscious?
The first step would be to fully devote ourselves to this essential life practice – all in. Does it make sense to make our breath practice the priority above all other human desires? Could our, so simple breath, be the very foundation for healthy choices, pleasant life experiences, and ultimate fulfillment? Could our breath be the catalyst that promotes depression, anger, and resentment, or conversely joy, bliss, and ecstasy? 
Tulsi Leaf
It requires minimum expenditure to obtain energy from our breath, yet it provides infinite life force. It helps create the sentient space between our thoughts and emotions. It is the superfood to “being more and doing less.” Volatile thoughts and emotions destabilize our breath. Conversely, our deep, stable breath has the ability to harmonize our entire system. Conscious calm breath sets the foundation for intuitive decisions, and unconscious anxious breath initiates foolish paths. Yet it is the intentional breath that may prevail immediately after the foolish act, which gracefully allows for a valuable lesson to be consciously realized.
Close your eyes and quiet your mind to intentionally experience the stabilizing energetic force that is present in every moment of our lives that we call breath. It is constantly giving and receiving, gasping and letting go, inhaling and exhaling. Observe how an intentional breath gently calms our bellies and disperses any stress in the upper chest area. Now witness how a slow deep breath aerates our lungs, finely tunes our spinal column, and nourishes our core power. Realize the conducive nature of our breath connecting us with the immense power of mother nature, space, and the universe.
Loquat Leaf
How can we help calm our breath? We breathe deeper, cleaner, and calmer when we drink the plant medicine provided by mother nature. The herbs clear blockages and promote circulation which allow the breath to heal and nourish us. The Tulsi or Holy Basil, known as the Elixir of Life, is a daily tonic for the stability of the breath. Tulsi is known to calm, deepen, and bring awareness to our breath. The Loquat leaf cleans and opens the chest cavity and lungs to remove any blockages that may inhibit a calm breath from circulating freely. And comfrey initiates that critical “everything is going to be OK” deep breath that miraculously acts to help heal bones, ligaments, and tendons. The profound relationship between herbal medicine and conscious breathing is experienced clearly as we inhale the magical air in our gardens, feel the serenity of our plant nursery, and enjoy the healing powers in every cup of tea.
Comfrey Leaf
Our skin radiates emotions of love through its sweet vibration, stands the hair up on the back of our necks to signal the anxiety within, and shrivels up to communicate the body’s dire need for hydration. It has the ability to nourish, hydrate, and restore our body, mind, and spirit through its discerning pores. It is our skin that cleanses the body of toxic accumulations by unapologetic expression of rashes, infections, and tiny droplets of stinky perspiration. Our skin photosynthesizes the mystical nutrients of the sun and the colors of our diet into an amber glow.
The largest organ in our body, referred to as our third lung in Chinese medicine because of its porous ability to breath oxygen into our system, the skin is our shield of armor, the external physiology of the body’s immune system, and first line of defense of our being. Can we think of a more important organ to our body than our skin? Do we take it for granted? How much do we love our skin? Can we show it? The more we intentionally give love to anything, anyone, or any idea, with unwavering devotion, the more vibrant and fulfilling it inevitably becomes in our lives.
As I practice my daily skin lubrication rituals, I experience the balance that skin awareness can bring into my life. I witness in awe as my face thirstily drinks the variety of Kauai Farmacy Serums, my feet become supple like a baby from a consistent Comfrey Salve foot massage, and my hips learn to let go of toxic physical and emotional blockages with the help of our Botanical Body Butter.
When I want to hydrate my facial epidermis with just a few drops of pure Hawaiian essence, I reach for my precious Calendula Yarrow Serum. The Soothe Serum is the ideal massage oil and moisturizer in one, from face to hair to nails to body; and when it comes to everyday protection and moisturization of my skin, I like to alternate between my Healing Beauty Balm and Botanical Body Butter. The Body Butter is certainly more sensual with its Cacao butter base, but the Healing Beauty Balm clearly demonstrates the tremendous skin regeneration and beautification powers of the Calendula flower. The Sensual Serum is just that, sensual, and so much more as a precious facial therapy. The Comfrey Noni Serum may be the most universal of our skin products as it can be used for deep bone and ligament therapy to transformative facials. The Kava Serum provides a deep body relaxation treatment while the Calm Serum bestows the light energy of Tulsi, The Elixir of Life. Utilizing our Kauai grown Salves and Serums to heal and nourish our skin simultaneously lubricates our muscles, joints, tendons, and bones.
The lubrication practice is vital for the body to achieve optimal physical performance. There is no machine in the world that does not require consistent lubrication, especially as machines age with time. The quality, purpose, and dedication of the lubrication practice will drive the performance of the machine. As human beings, we are the most sophisticated species on the planet, so we must be devoted to our lubrication practice for optimal human performance. And as our skin awareness rises, the lubrication practice becomes easier, more graceful, and will ultimately achieve holistic healing results that pleasantly delve way deeper than our skin.
If you are blessed enough while here on this planet, you will get to intimately experience a human example of pure love and intention. It has certainly been a blessing to work alongside Ikona, a true Hawaiian Warrior. Recently, Ikona Fernandez, who had been our lead gardener for the past 4 years at Kauai Farmacy, at age 23, had an accident up in a coconut tree a few miles from the Farmacy, and passed away.
I met Ikona when he was 19 years old. He was a locally raised Anahola boy and former straight A-student, captain, and linebacker of his Kapaa High School football team. He first showed up at Kauai Farmacy as an eager and powerful yet gentle young man, with a glowingly innocent smile on his face. He humbly asked me if he could work the land. Thankfully, I knew not to ask questions other than, “How many days do you want”. For years we had been trying to call in some grounding local vibes, especially in the garden. And here was an idyllic locally grown young man standing eagerly in my presence. Little did I know what all that really meant.
He was the first and only gardener in the 11 years since Genna and I began stewarding this land, that chose to work 5 days a week. Up to that point, 3 days a week was the most a gardener could work over the long term. The hot sun, wet rain, and harsh tropical jungle creates the most physically and mentally demanding work - truly suited only for the rarest of breeds.
However, you could see that working the land was different for Ikona. You immediately sensed that this man worked for no one, for such pure mana could only be of service to a more significant cause. And everyone knew Kona was ‘Loyal to the Lepo” (soil), as he named his successfully launched coconut and sugar cane growing, juicing, and crafting service and business project. A “Hawaiian grower” must have been in his bloodline, as he seemed as connected to the ways of the past generations of Hawaiian growers as he was to the ʻĀina. The finest grower I have ever known.
When he first arrived on the farm, he was fortunate to work alongside a permaculture mentor named Brad. Brad gladly received this eager workhorse under his wing and taught him lots about gardening, permaculture, and plants on the daily. But Kona also came with such a strong connection to the land and work ethic that within just a year of his start date at the ripe age of 20, he was the clear leader of the gardens, by example of course, and never required any formal management recognition. It was clearly understood that this exemplary human was the “head” of the garden operation.
Kona would often be the first guy rolling in each morning. I would glance down at the parking lot just to witness this man boot up while sitting in his car. His clear intention “to go to work” would resonate all around, almost as if he was both consciously and unconsciously speaking to the plants and the land. It was just his way. With a project in mind, he typically headed to the tea house to gather his tools and begin the day’s work. Kona clearly approached his work as a way of life, a time to connect with the medicine, the rocks, the water, the lepo; Mālama ʻĀina, and serve the people of his community. Kona would proceed to work on the farm with such positive vibes day in and day out, rain or shine, weeding or planting, harvesting or excavating, muddy or dry, solo or accompanied by others, for 4-5 days a week for the next 4 years. “It will happen” he liked to say to just about any request or desire we would throw at him. His level of humbleness, dedication, leadership, intellect, strength and stamina was legendary.
He didn’t really say a lot, kept his head down and worked. “Staying in my lane,” he liked to say. He soon attracted and assembled a like-minded and dedicated team of world class gardeners that were equally honored to take his lead while working by his side - Maria Sol, Olivia, Nephi, Mahea, Kimberly, Will, and Noa were just some of his dream team during his years. With the help of this epic Kauai Farmacy team, they would easily triple the size of the Kauai Farmacy gardens. But his work here goes way beyond the definitive measurements. I believe all of the recipients of our plant medicine will also attest to the rising quality, efficacy, and pure mana of the plant medicine that has been growing in our gardens. The individual plants as well as the gardens as a whole continue to get stronger, greener, and healthier with every passing day. The immune system that he and his team have been cultivating in our gardens has been effectively healing so many of us.
Since hearing the news of his passing, one can not help but think “why him, such a noble man?” And the answer seems clear. We are to intensely feel and honor his inspiration, his leadership and his legacy - and act accordingly. His life and now death will serve as a message to us all that it is our kuleana, our responsibility to take care of the land and each other. I feel his flame deep inside me, as I imagine many others do that had the great fortune of knowing him. The rippling effect has unquestionably been a positive and inspiring awakening for us all.
For he planted more medicine on this farm than one can even imagine. Thousands of comfrey, lemongrass, sissoo spinach, self-heal and laukahi ground covers, banana circles with compost centers, full-fledge medicinal food forests, as well as hundreds of māmaki, ‘awa (kava), kō (sugar cane), ‘olena (turmeric), ‘uala (sweet potato), cacao, kukui, noni, kalo, and papaya plants, just to name a few. The guild planting systems that he designed and built with the collective are brilliant pieces of regenerative art for the permaculture farming students around the world to study and replicate again and again. “Loyal to the Lepo” was his way - from grinding coconut husks to making the kindest mulch and planting soil, to crafting kukui and macadamia nut biochar, to operating the grass-to-worm compost tea feeding system. Kona was responsible for leading the innovation, design, building, and operation of so many avant garde regenerative farming production systems. These foundational growing systems are intended to nourish, sustain, heal, seed, and educate our modern day and future communities for generations to come.
Thank you to his amazing wahine Kela for leading Kona to Kauai Farmacy and blessing us all with his mana. So much love and prayer to his ohana. Thank you Kona. You are forever all around us in these gardens. Your way will forever lead and inspire our mission. It is our honor to uphold your legacy.
The answer to all these questions is that we must first approach our cardiovascular system by looking at the whole body, and not the individual parts. After a lifetime of physical, mental, and emotional accumulation in our bodies, we must learn the hard truth that there are no definitive or linear “cause and effects” when it comes to health. And there are no definitive “cures” or “solutions” either. In other words, we must take all the necessary steps and then some, to better our whole selves. Our everyday practice and overall lifestyle (diet, rest, hydration, exercise, breathwork, spiritual practice, etc.) is directly responsible for the level of health, joy, and performance that we experience in our lives, which is inclusive of the health of our heart.
We have learned that the health of our medicine gardens is a mirror image of that same interdependence. As the garden systems are engineered, built and nurtured, we are able to cultivate more vibrancy, life, and medicine within them. Our garden permaculture systems rise and fall collectively, including nursery, compost tea, worm farm, soil building, ground covers, border guilds, shade canopies, companion planting, pruning, mulching, and harvesting. For example, the Compost Tea cannot be made without mowing and collecting the nitrogen-rich grass and feeding it to the worms. Our soil fertility is greatly enhanced by the nutrient rich coconut husks we grow, harvest and shred into fine fibers. The roots of our young nursery plants are carefully coated with freshly harvested aloe gel prior to planting to increase hydration during its initiation into our vast medicine gardens.
The same symbiotic relationships are true within the human body. The health of our cardiovascular system is a function of many variables all working in the collective. The heart relies equally upon the purity of our blood to nourish it, the oxygen of our breath to maintain calm, and the defense of our immune system to strengthen it. As the collective rises in its performance, a symbiotic relationship amongst the individual systems of the body, mind and spirit are experienced.
In order to achieve such foundational balance, we must have access to a medicine cabinet overflowing with diverse and nutrient dense vitamins and minerals derived organically from mother nature. Such true wealth of the earth’s multi-dimensional prosperity inevitably fosters universal circulation, consciousness, and bliss. For centuries, humans have utilized alkalizing plant medicine to engineer, build, and experience such wealth. We have learned to cleanse our bodies of toxic inflammation with the golden rhizome of the Turmeric root, to promote circulation with the magnetic electricity of the Noni Leaf, to be innately sensitive to our hearts with the healing powers of Cacao, to balance our blood sugars with the alkalinity of the Mulberry Leaf, to nourish our muscles with the high protein bio-availability of the Moringa leaves, and to create awareness through a calm breath with the profound spiritual powers of the Queen of herbs, Tulsi.
We become conscious of the interdependence of the land and the health of our hearts. The banana fruits provide our body with potassium and phosphorous while the valuable stalks fertilize the gardens with similarly precious vitamins and minerals. After the Moringa leaves are cured into high vibrational teas and superfood spices for our medicine cabinet, the branches and twigs are chipped into mulch to nourish our gardens in a similar symbiotic manner. The synchronicities are everywhere as the garden and human life are clearly interdependent for vitality as well. We are all symbiotically one.
I could feel the pain in my neck area manifesting into a pinched nerve as I stubbornly held my upside-down shoulder-stand yoga position. I vehemently attempted to breathe through it, praying the pain would dissipate if I were able to breath “harder”. But instead, the level of discomfort continued to rise; then reality set in. The kink in my upper back became more painful and I felt guilt for such a foolish act of self-sabotage. I began to worry about all the heavy responsibilities on the farm and homestead in the week ahead. My breath unconsciously began to shorten as the stress and pain spread like wildfire throughout my upper back and neck.
But then I thought, how can I alleviate the discomfort, stress, and worry? How do I turn this situation around, take full responsibility for my self-inflicted pain, and not fall prey to the helpless role of playing “the innocent victim”? I asked my eleven-year old daughter to apply our Kauai Farmacy Comfrey Salve with both Comfrey root and leaf directly onto my pinched-nerve located throughout my upper back and lower neck area.
As soon as she applied the Comfrey (aka Miracle Plant), my body and mind positively shifted and I began to breathe more deeply and consciously in an almost meditative state. My life-giving breath provided a pivotal healing moment. It felt so good! I immediately let go of any feelings of worry as I trusted the healing process. The Comfrey profoundly called in the powerful oxygen that began breathing new life into my upper back, which helped to break up acidic blockages and cultivate healing pathways of nutrient-infused circulation.
As I hastily came down from the shoulder stand position, the toxins in my body strategically ambushed the weak area in the body that lacked breath and was void of sufficient oxygen. The toxins quickly moved in to take over the zone; they set up an acidic camp with numbing inflammation, further suffocating the area, and strategically starving it of circulation, alkaline nutrients, and vital oxygen. But the Comfrey (aka Warrior Plant or Knit-Bone) with its deep-rooted, collagen-like calcium and phosphorous-rich, volcanic earth medicine was just too robust to be denied. A relaxed, restorative and regenerative healing alchemy kicked in and began to simultaneously cleanse and nourish the traumatized area. I began to breathe in a calm, intentional, and methodical way; a healing trajectory that I could not have fathomed just moments prior when my body remained in fight or flight.
Soon after my Comfrey application, I am then intuitively called to drink water and more water to symbiotically increase my hydration to compliment the highly effective increase in oxygen levels. I had just experienced that the two healing essentials on earth, water and oxygen, are synonymous with a strong comfrey infusion. The radical alkalinity of comfrey’s constituent elements chemically attract the regenerative purity of both clean oxygen and water. I proceeded to drink three, four, then five large glasses of spring water over the next few hours, almost as if I was under some a hypnotic spell. I became more aware of the extreme dehydrated condition of my body, which must have contributed greatly to my injury. I then B-lined to my bed to rest. I surrendered to restorative sleep, copious amounts of spring water, and simultaneous breathwork with a warrior-like intention on my healing path. I continued to massage Comfrey Salve and apply Comfrey Cast (potent root powder), and use Comfrey Hydrosol (gentle “Spirit” water) interchangeable throughout the next few days as the pain and inflammation completely dissipated.
I am grateful for the intimate relationship that I have developed with the Comfrey plant. I can truly say that I love comfrey - from its large, green nitrogen-rich leaves to its deepest, darkest mineral-rich roots. It has helped heal my bones, ligaments, tendons, teeth and muscles, as well as those of my family and community countless times. I truly cannot imagine my life without the power of its simple yet potent restorative healing medicine that makes miracles happen.
