Written by Selima Iwilla Harleston Lust
Clinical Herbalist & Co-Founder, Iwilla Remedy

Published April 20, 2020

I’ll let you in on a little secret. When I’m coming down with something, my first go-to remedies are not plants.

Does this surprise you? Of course it does! I’m an herbalist and I work with plants all day every day advocating for their use. The reason why herbs are not the first things I grab when pain creeps in is because I know that herbs alone won’t fix the issue. Plants will help in restoring my body and wellness, but healing is so much deeper than simply using plant allies.

Knowing the real reason behind our pain is always deeper than pinpointing a virus, bacteria, heredity, or something superficial. This is true for every person on the planet that pain, illness, and disease are caused by accumulating negative emotion that then turns into illness and disease. We need to address the root issue causing our illness.

So for us to get well, we need to:

• Pause - Slow down and honor your body's needs for rest
• Reflect - Through mindfulness, do a deep dive into your thoughts and emotions
• Take plant medicine to 1) support you on the journey of reflection and to 2) support your immune system back to health while reflecting on and releasing the negative emotions that caused the illness in the first place

Your go-to, first-line-of-defense medicine should always be, without exception, reflection.

Explore and observe what have you been

• Thinking about
• Stressing about
• Fighting over
• Worrying about
• Feeling angry about
• What hasn’t been sitting right with you
• Past unresolved traumas

Whether it’s been in the back of your mind for years or just a couple of day, listen deeply within and you will have a much better understanding of why you got sick, how to heal, and let go of your pain. Plants can restore your health to a degree, but without deeper reflection, the pain will return in another form. Reflection is key to total healing.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Selima Iwilla Harleston Lust is a clinical herbalist, author, and co-founder of Iwilla Remedy. Her work centers health sovereignty, cultural lineage, and evidence-informed plant medicine.