June Newsletter : The Heat of Anxious Tension
SUMMER HEART & SIMMERING STRESS
In traditional herbalism, there is an ancient and sacred way of understanding what stress, anxiety, and chronic bracing actually do within the body/mind. They generate heat. Not the temperature you feel on your skin in the sun, but a deeper, more pervasive kind of heat that our herbwise ancestors learned to recognize long before we had the language of cortisol and inflammation.
This heat is the felt quality of a system running hot; rapid, boiling movement, restless discomfort. It shows up as a flushed face when emotions rise, as restlessness that will not let you settle, as sleep that comes late and runs shallow, as irritability that flares more easily than it used to. It lives in red eyes, dry mouth, tight jaws, racing thoughts, and the sense that something inside is always slightly too revved up; too spicy. The body, when held too long in vigilance, begins to burn its own fuel inefficiently, and the friction of that constant low grade alarm creates heat in the tissues, the mind, and the spirit.
I like to give the example of everyone’s favorite exercise: the plank! At first you’re strong, resilient, posture is good, and you feel like you could hold the plank all day long. Then, as heat begins to build in the muscles they become fatigued and move toward energetic wind/dry. Now, the shaking comes which is a class wind/dry expression. Next up, we lose strength, drop to the floor, and try to recover for the next round.
Summer turns up the volume on all of this. The external heat of long bright days adds to the internal heat that stress is already producing, and the two amplify each other in ways that often catch people off guard. Sleep grows even harder. Anxiety sharpens. Anger sits closer to the surface. Skin reacts more easily. The mind feels louder. In traditional views, heat builds on heat builds on more heat, and a nervous system that was already running hot in May can find itself genuinely overflowing by July.
Our plant kin understand this, and many of the most beloved herbs of summer are gently cooling and softening to exactly this kind of inner heat. These special herbs carry a quiet ability to ease the burn of stress while supporting the nervous system back toward cool, calm steadiness. Sipped slowly, taken with intention, they become medicine for the season and for the part of us that has been holding too much for too long.
Try these herbs in cool tea infusions to help support your nervous system all summer long…
Chamomile · neutral in thermal energetics, rich in minerals, and deeply soothing to the whole being.
Skullcap · cool, bitter, and gathering- a powerful yet gentle nervous system tonic that can be added in small amounts of summer tea blends.
Lemon Balm · cooling and moistening, Lemon Balm is also gently diaphoretic; they open the pores to help the body release excess generative heat.
Hibiscus Flower · for those who run hot on a deep level, this cooling herb draws heat from the blood and organs to help us stay cool, calm, and collected.
Passiflora · if you’re feeling the heat at night and it’s keeping you from drifting off to sleep, Passiflora can be an incredible cooling, sedating herb to help release heat while settling the whole nervous system, body, and mind.
Me mindful that too much cool can cause the body to overcorrect. I like to add a bit of a mildly warm, moist ally to my summer tea blends just for a little harmonizing. Consider Cinnamon bark, Cardamom Seed, or Goji Berry.
GOJI BERRY · Lycium barbarum
Used for centuries in Chinese herbal tradition, these bright red berries are far more than a trendy superfood. They are a deeply nourishing yin tonic, and for those of us carrying chronic stress through the heat of summer, they have something real to offer.
In the traditional view, yin is the cooling, moistening, restorative quality of the body. It is the still pool beneath the running stream. When stress and anxiety run hot for too long, they begin to deplete that quiet reserve, and we feel the loss as dryness, restlessness, poor sleep, frayed nerves, and a sense that we have been giving without receiving in equal measure. Summer, with its bright long days and external heat, can deepen this depletion further. Yin tonics like goji gently replenish that inner reservoir, restoring moisture, softness, and resilience to a system that has been running on fumes. They cool without depleting and nourish without weighing the body down, which is exactly what so many of us need this time of year.
Goji also offers support that overlaps with the family of adaptogens, those remarkable plants that help the body adapt to stress and recover its resilience. Goji supports the stress response, steadies energy, nourishes the eyes and the spirit, and offers a kind of slow, layered restoration that builds quietly over weeks and months. It pairs beautifully with adaptogens like ashwagandha or reishi, deepening their work and helping the depleted system rebuild from the root.
A simple daily practice with goji can be one of the easiest and loveliest acts of self care in the summer months. Aim for about one ounce of dried berries each day, which is roughly a small handful. Here are a few creative ways to enjoy them:
Add them to a quart jar of cool water with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint in the morning, and sip the infusion throughout the day for a gentle cooling and restorative tonic.
Soak them overnight in a small jar with cool water, then blend the softened berries and their soaking liquid into a morning smoothie for natural sweetness and color.
Sprinkle them over almond yogurt, oatmeal, or chia pudding for a chewy, sweet, ruby topping.
Steep them with a few rose petals and a pinch of dried chrysanthemum or chamomile for a beautifully calming evening tea.
Toss them into a summer grain salad with cucumber, herbs, citrus, and toasted seeds for a touch of unexpected color and nourishment.
…or simply keep a small jar of dried berries at your desk and eat them slowly by the small handful when the afternoon energy dips.
A jar of goji berries on the counter is a small but meaningful invitation to care for yourself this summer. The plants are quiet teachers, and this one has been teaching for a very long time.
FROM THE APOTHECARY…
Summer has been a whirlwind! Here at the clinic we’ve been enjoying seeing folks come in with a touch of summer sun and plans to enjoy the warm weather. We also worried as the Bonneville fire moved across the foothills just above our neighborhood. Thankfully fire fighters were able to get it under control and we even got a bit of rain to help along the way.
We also moved the apothecary from the front area of the clinic back to my office. Now, our consultation space and apothecary are in the same room which makes things a lot easier. I really enjoy getting to compound custom formulations for you all while we chat about the plants.
I am now seeing clients on Tuesdays, Fridays, and rotating Saturdays. If you’ve been navigating stress, anxiety, worry, fatigue, burnout, pain, or are just feeling out-of-center, I would love to spend some time exploring with you while we connect to the plants that can support you.
