H o m e    S p a   ~  Alternative Alcove

I always say the gardener's best revenge is to eat the weeds. I've been doing it for thirty years and can testify that my health and the health of my garden has never been better. Here are a few hints for gardeners who'd rather eat their weeds than hate them (and for non-gardeners who are adventurous enough to try out nature's bounty).   Read More . . .

For thousands of years knowledge of the herbs and wild plants that could increase fertility were the secrets of the village wise women. But after the holocaust against European Wise Women (the "burning times") and the virtual extermination of Native American medicine women, this knowledge virtually disappeared.   Read More . . .

"Herbal remedies for trichomonas are among the least impressive home remedies. None are more than 50 percent effective."
      Trich is short for trichomonas: a single-celled, four-tailed protozoan parasite. About five million new cases of trich are diagnosed yearly in the USA.   Read More . . .

Along with the beauty of fall days comes the need to get ready for winter. Time to get out my long underwear and my warm wooly socks. Time to nourish my immune system so cold days won't be days of colds - and flu.   Read More . . .

Menopause is a time of enormous change. Wise women of all times have found simple life-style changes can make their Change much easier. For optimum health during and after menopause, follow these simple steps:   Read More . . .

A pantry full of herbal vinegars is a constant delight. Preserving fresh herbs and roots in vinegar is an easy way to capture their nourishing goodness. It's easy too. You don't even have to have an herb garden.   Read More . . .

"Dearest granddaughter, come close and look into my eyes." Grandmother Growth beckons and her voice grows deeper and more resonant. "Look deep into my eyes and acknowledge the beauty there."   Read More . . .

Water retention, mood swings, sore breasts, and indigestion are problems experienced by many women in the week preceding menstruation. Here are a few tips from Susun Weed's best-selling book, NEW Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way (Alternatives for Women 30-90) to help ease these discomforts.   Read More . . .

Wise Woman herbal and home remedies are simple, safe ways to help yourself when you have a diagnosis of uterine fibroids.

Uterine fibroids are solid muscle tissue growths in the uterus. They are also called fibroid tumors, myomas, or leiomyomas. Fibroids occur so frequently (in up to half of all women over forty) that they could be considered a normal irregularity.   Read More . . .

It's big news when a favored medical treatment - HRT for menopausal women - is found to be harmful. But it's no news to readers of Susun Weed. She's been blowing the whistle on both scientific and alternative treatments of menopause for nearly two decades.   Read More . . .

"Dear woman," Grandmother Growth's voice seems to float in the deepening twilight, echoing, reverberating, ringing in your ears. "Bring me your soreness. Bring me your pain. Bring your aches to me. Bring your burdens. Bring all you can no longer stand, can no longer bear, can no longer carry, can no longer shoulder, can no longer be responsible for. Give it to me.   Read More . . .

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. Commonly referred to as a "filter," the liver is actually more subtle and sophisticated than a passive filter. Every drop of blood in your body moves through your liver every hour of every day you are alive - not to be filtered, but to be restored.   Read More . . .

Don't take calcium supplements. Calcium makes bones more massive, but more brittle. A stout dry branch breaks easily, while a green one, no matter how thin, won't break at all. Food sources of bone-building minerals (such as yogurt, nettle infusion, dandelion vinegar, and cooked kale) include "flexibility" minerals such as magnesium, boron, and zinc and are a superior way to prevent bone breaks later in life.   Read More . . .

Almost every woman has, at one time or another, felt so fatigued she wanted to cry. But for some women, and for a variety of reasons—including menopause, caring for a new-born, working odd hours, chronic anxiety, and poverty, to name only a few—fatigue is a constant, not an occasional, problem.  Read More . . .

Almost every woman has, at one time or another, felt so fatigued she wanted to cry. But for some women, and for a variety of reasons—including menopause, caring for a new-born, working odd hours, chronic anxiety, and poverty, to name only a few—fatigue is a constant, not an occasional, problem.  Read More . . .

Summertime means insect bites and stings. Ouch! Take a leaf from Susun S. Weed's storehouse of natural remedies: Soothe, heal, and prevent bites with safe herbal remedies that grow right where you live: north or south, east or west, city or country. The best natural remedies for insect bites are right underfoot.  Read More . . .

The Wise Woman Tradition is the oldest known healing tradition on our planet. It offers a unique view of health that is woman-centered and deeply empowering to women. This is in stark contrast to orthodox—and most alternative—healing traditions, which are based on male viewpoints which disempower women.

The medicine I learned in school was based on a linear, scientific, male worldview whose truth I did not question. When this medicine failed me, as a woman and a mother, I sought alternatives.  Read More . . .

Have you ever noticed how the warm scent of a candle wafting through the air can be uplifting, energizing, or make you cozy? Or maybe there's a certain body spray, soap, or perfume that just keeps you going through the day. Did you wonder why maybe that Key Lime candle smelled yummy but also energized you or even motivated you to clean? Or why that Apple Pie scent really helped you appreciate fall? Wonder no longer, study after study has shown that scents do affect your mood! Take a look below of some scents that can really enhance your moods:  Read More . . .

A "simple" is one herb used at a time. A "simpler" is an herbalist who generally uses herbs one at a time, rather than in combinations.

Most herbalists I have met—whether from China or Japan, Eastern or Western Europe, Australia or North America—use herbs in combinations. Simplers, like myself, don't. Why?

Because I believe that herbal medicine is people's medicine, I seek to make herbal medicine simple: as simple as one herb at a time.  Read More . . .

You've seen those mysterious little brown bottles in the health food store. But do you really know what "essential oils" are? Have you seen outrageous claims about lavender instantly curing wounds and found yourself thinking "Whoa!?" Let's take a look at one of the biggest fads to hit North America in years and try to separate some of the fact from the fiction.

Though the use of aromatic plant materials dates back millennia, aromatherapy is a relatively new idea.  Read More . . .

I thumbed through the New York City Yellow pages under "Escort Services." There were twenty-five pages! "Escort" is just the way businesses get around saying "prostitutes". Clearly, the world's oldest profession is alive and well here in the Big Apple. I even feel I can safely say that not all the men who patronize these services are single. Read More . . .