Ever since I came back to Brazil I’ve been obsessed with the calming properties of lemon balm. Its brain & nervous system tonic properties can be compared with those of powerful roots like ginseng and ashwagandha.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalized in the Americas and elsewhere. The second name, officinalis (Latin, 'of the shop'), originates from the use of the herb by apothecaries, who sold herbal remedies directly to their customers.
And my favorite part is that it’s especially soothing for Vata constitutions.
Check it out!
🧠 NERVE RESTORATIVE & BRAIN TONIC, reduces anxiety and promotes sleep
🫀VASODILATADOR improves circulation and circulatory conditions
💪🏽 MUSCLE RELAXANT and antispasmodic
👅 BITTER, ASTRINGENT
⚡ COLD, DRY
PACIFIES | AGGRAVATES |
VATA PITTA | KAPHA |
⚠️It is not recommended to take any herbs without the guidance of a practitioner. Every body, every constitution is unique and deserves customized attention and care.
Historical uses
The use of lemon balm can be dated to over 2000 years ago through the Greeks and the Romans. It is mentioned by the Greek polymath Theophrastus in his Historia Plantarum, written in c.300 BC, as "bee-leaf" (μελισσόφυλλον). Lemon balm was formally introduced into Europe in the 7th century, from which its use and domestication spread. Its use in the Middle Ages is noted by herbalists, writers, philosophers, and scientists.
Lemon balm was a favorite plant of the Tudors, who scattered the leaves across their floors. It was in the herbal garden of the English botanist John Gerard in the 1590s, who considered it especially good for feeding and attracting honeybees. Especially cultivated for honey production, according to the authors Janet Dampney and Elizabeth Pomeroy, "bees were thought never to leave a garden in which it was grown". It was introduced to North America by the first colonists from Europe; it was cultivated in the Gardens of Monticello, designed by the American statesman Thomas Jefferson.
The English botanist Nicholas Culpeper considered lemon balm to be ruled by the planet Jupiter in Cancer, and suggested it to be used for "weak stomachs", to cause the heart to become "merry", to help digestion, to open "obstructions of the brain", and to expel "melancholy vapors" from the heart and arteries.
In traditional Austrian medicine, M. officinalis leaves have been prescribed as a herbal tea, or as an external application in the form of an essential oil.
Source: wikipedia.
To a balanced life!
Namaste,
Grazie Prokopetz, Doctor of Ayurveda
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