Rest & Digest Bitters and the Medicine of Blue Vervain — Milk & Honey Herbs

Basic Rest & Digest Bitters:Bitter Nervines 70% Carminatives 30%My personal favorite strongly bitter nervines I work with in my practice for Rest & Digest Bitters are Blue Vervain, Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), Wood Betony (Stachys officinalis) and Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). Other great choices would be Catnip (Nepeta cataria), Motherwort (Leonaris cardiaca), and Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis), and Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia)Favorite carminatives I often add to these blends include Ginger, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Fennel seed, Orange Peel, and Fenugreek. Other lovely ones to include are Basil (Ocimum spp), Mints (Mentha spp), and Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa, M. didyma) and there are many more!Dosage: 2 dropperfuls in a small amount of water (shot glass amount) 5-10 min before major meals to help calm and ground before eating and to stoke digestive firesThe final formula for each client slightly differed, based on their constitution, but at their core they always involve bitter nervine herbs in combination with aromatic, carminative herbs, which further help relax the nervous system and bring blood flow and movement to the digestive tract, helping expel gas and ease bloating. They are also generally warming and bring some balance to the formula, as many strongly bitters herbs are very cold in their herbal energetics. You can use the basic ratios below to make your own and I also included some sample formulas I’ve made for clients, which don’t always match these proportions exactly, as I tend to be a bit more free-form with my formulation at this point ion my practice, but the idea is for you to use this basic formula as a starting point and for the sample formulas to give you some inspiration and ideas!