शिरस् śiras - the head
"The brain just like any organ, needs to assimilate nutrition and then eliminate waste. When the brain gets constipated this blockage and subsequent backup, of waste, toxins, sludge, schmutz, goo, plaque - whatever you want to call it - causes your brain to get congested, which can then cause a thousand of diseases, from Alzheimers, senility, eye and hearing disorders, to paralysis. (Schultze, 2011,91).
A sieve called the choroid plexus strains the blood, leaving RBcells behind and letting the rest into the ventricles of the brain. There, it becomes the cerebrospinal fluid. , theThis fluid surrounds all brain and nerve tissue in the body, following the myelin sheaths to the end of the nerves, then spills out into the extracellular matrix, and ends back to the blood stream via lymphatic. The veins and capillaries can become clogged before reaching this sieve. We need to keep the blood from thickening (ie. achillea millefolium), stimulate and circulate the brain (bacopa, rosemary, ginkgo, lavender, gotu koala,), stimulate the nerves( paeonia, acorus, betonica), drain the extracellular matrix (equisetum,ceanothus), and keep the CSF flowing ( cimicifuga) Our brain has an immune system (ceanothus, galium, echinaceae...)
"The benefits of chiropractic, osteopathy, acupuncture, massage, yoga, exercise (both cerebral and physical) cannot be underestimated" (The Earthwise Herbal Repertory, Matthew Wood)
Yoga sadhana work for the brain would include for example, Headstand (sirsasana), shoulderstand (Salambha sarvanghasana), Plow (halasana), and breath science (pranayama) nadhi shodhana - alternate nostril breath. One would also want to focus on the anterior body to move the lymphatic system for the brain and extracellular matrix. The more we build inversions to vasodilate and prevent the veings and capillaries from becoming clogged the better for the sieve (choroid plexus) to do its job. Practicing Yin yoga poses to open the yin channels (inside of arms,legs, neck, and abdomen...) the better the movement of the lymphatic system.
herbs defined from above:
ceanothus americanus - 'new jersey' tea....used to circulate lymphatic and lymph nodes
galium aparine (cleavers) the iridoid glucosides have a diuretic effect that have an action on the lymphatic
echinaceae angusifolia and purpurea - the caffeic acid glycoside reacts with other substances in the body cells. a blood purifier. It neutralizes acid conditions in the blood and lymph stagnation as a plant healer
bacopa monnieiri
ginkgo biloba - improved poor circulation to the brain
lavender angustifolia - has amazing healing abilities from fainting, hsv, stimulates blood flow, neuralgia, headache / migraine aide as a sedative, eczema and more
gotu koala centella asiatica - helps concentration, memory, and venous circulation
achillea millefolium yarrow - works with so many systems of the body, including cardiovascular.
cimicifuga..also called bugbane and black cohosh -supports liver, kidney, helps menopausal migraines, inhibits prostate cancer and helps menopausal symptoms with cancer
equisetum horsetail- it is not clear to me yet how this fits in. I know of horsetail being excellent source of silica
paeonia-increase blood flow, yin tonic, helps with hsv, anti spasmodic helps with blurred vision and sedative, valuable pain relieving qualities if there are headache and migraine
acorus calamus - can help with brain fog and more.
betonica wood betony - Betony clearly relaxes tension in the head: the tension of muscles, of blood vessels, of thoughts and of emotions. It doesn't simply act physically, but seems to change the way we process energy in the both head and mind in a manner that resolves the conditions of tension and congestion that prevent the free and relaxed flow of the vital force.
