I am a four-season sandal wearer. I love allowing my feet to breathe and the feeling of being unconfined. During rain, shine, and sometimes light snow, my feet are ready to be bare at a moment’s notice. If an impromptu forest bathing opportunity or grounding session calls my name, I don’t have to worry about laces, ties, or the other constricting elements of standard shoes. My feet are free!

A new year, a fresh start, and the ideal time to begin something. The idea of making big or small changes to improve our lives seems to be an appealing notion for many of us and though we have the option to make these resolutions any time , the New Year seems to carry a certain weight. It is a jumping off point, an invitation to assess what is working in our lives and what isn’t. The resolutions themselves are almost a way to formalize our desire to create new habits, practices, and routines that will better serve ourselves and the world around us. This year, I’m not asking myself as much about what isn’t working for me in my personal life, but more what I am doing that isn’t working for the world. What habits can I change to better serve the planet that I live on?

My acupuncture clinic is perhaps similar to a martial arts studio. Nobody punches or kicks in my clinic, at least not on purpose, but I support people as they fight through aches and pains from injuries both acute and chronic. After treating pain-related conditions with acupuncture, I often aid recovery by rubbing a liniment, or Die Da Jiu (跌打酒), into achy joints and tissues. The aromatic herbs and precious resins in this formula scent my treatment room like an ancient apothecary, while moving stuck traumas, helping tissues release their stored issues, and lending a golden glow to affected areas.

Each year as I make my holiday gift list, I have a certain set of criteria that I aim for. Offerings that are thoughtful, personal, and useful are my top priorities. I have generally found that homemade gifts are more appreciated than things that I can find in mass at any big box store. Small batch DIY gifts also allow for customization and are great for keeping waste out of landfills.  

I want to share some of my favorite recipe ideas that hail from a variety of different masterminds on the Mountain Rose Herbs team. I recommend using these as a baseline and tailoring them for the person you are gifting.

The last time I picked up a bottle of generic mouthwash, I couldn’t pronounce most of the ingredients listed. That’s a serious red flag for me. I always tried to take care of my teeth and even though I brush twice a day and floss a few times a week, I felt like something was missing. So, I decided that I didn’t want to skip the swish and spit part of my dental hygiene routine. Natural, homemade mouthwash to the rescue! Organic extracts and teas are wonderful ingredients to help you avoid artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and sweeteners often found in commercial mouthwash products. There are more than a few herbs you can use as a base to both flavor your mouthwash and lend their herbal superpowers to your DIY creation.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What herbs and spices would I bring to a desert island?” It’s a fun exercise to think about what you can’t live without. Salt, nettles, and ginger root top my list! Ginger root’s warm, spicy flavor makes the perfect addition to Thai and Indian dishes. It also uplifts healthful tea and drink recipes, like this Turmeric Ginger Tea. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) supports healthy digestion and helps relieve occasional upset stomach and nausea.* Making a simple ginger root tea when I was pregnant really helped me stay grounded. I think of ginger as this wonderous plant ally, but it wasn’t until recently that I researched the history and cultivation of it. Now I have a renewed love of ginger!

I have to admit that, while I love crafting, I’m best at the practical crafts. If you need a salve, or a syrup, or an infused oil, I’ve got you. But if we’re talking about decorative, pretty sorts of crafting, I rely on my friends. I don’t know if it’s a lack of patience or a dislike of finicky details, but I find things like hand-forming perfectly round bath bombs to be an exercise in frustration and I live in a small home without space for lots of fancy soap-molds and gadgets to help me along. This is why I really like projects like homemade potpourri and this fizzing lavender bath powder for winter crafting projects—because I can easily and happily produce a wonderfully packaged and fully appreciated gift of herbal goodness.

Baby bath time can be a wonderful bonding experience that offers both parent and child the opportunity to relax and focus on the circle of love between them. Adding gentle, skin-nourishing herbs to baby’s bathwater is a beautiful way to bring not just the soothing comfort of warm hydrotherapy to bath time but can also add scents that your child will come to associate with safety and peace. Organic calendula and chamomile are gentle and skin-nourishing, and when combined with the aromatics of soothing, calming lavender or roses, they make a perfect herbal bath for your precious child.

There is great intention behind the drawing and taking of a bath. The sound of water filling the basin sets the scene for the softening of energy that is about to happen. These moments of anticipated tranquility build for me as the tone of the filling tub changes pitch, declaring it’s time for my first toe-dip into the inviting warmth. Slipping into the water has a way of melting away tension and initiating a sigh of relief, which seems to be more of an involuntary reflex than something I ever mean to do. After a few moments of settling in, I call on one of my favorite bath enhancements to create an even deeper therapeutic experience. Bath bombs are helpful vehicles for aromatherapy and because they are crafted in advance, they are easy to enjoy after a long day.