Craniosacral Energy Healing By Jamie

09/07/2026

WHEN PREPARATION CHANGES THE MEDICINE

Is an herb always the same medicine simply because it comes from the same plant?

In Chinese herbal medicine, the answer is no.

The way an herb is prepared may change its physical qualities, traditional energetic nature, and purpose within a formula. This system of processing medicinal substances is called pao zhi.

Pao zhi may include drying, steaming, roasting, stir-frying, charring, or processing an herb with wine, honey, vinegar, salt water, or bran. These methods are not merely about preservation. Traditionally, they modify an herb’s effects, emphasize certain functions, reduce harshness or toxicity, or make it more appropriate for a particular pattern.

Di huang—the root of Rehmannia glutinosa—is a beautiful example.

Sheng di huang is the dried, unprepared root. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is considered cooling and is used to clear Heat while nourishing Yin and generating fluids.

Shu di huang begins as the same root but is prepared through steaming—commonly with rice wine—and drying. It becomes darker, richer, and stickier. Its traditional function also changes: rather than emphasizing the clearing of Heat, it is used primarily to nourish Blood and enrich Yin.

The botanical source is the same, but the medicine is not considered identical.

Other herbs undergo their own transformations. Gan cao may be used raw or honey-prepared as zhi gan cao. Bai zhu may be used raw or stir-fried with bran. The appropriate version depends upon the role the practitioner needs it to perform.

Western herbal traditions also use specialized preparations. Chinese medicine is distinctive in the degree to which processing is formally classified and incorporated into formula construction.

Pao zhi reminds us that an herb is not simply the name of a plant. Preparation changes context, and context changes function.

Chinese herbal formulas should be prescribed by a properly trained practitioner. Herbs can cause adverse effects and interact with medications or medical conditions.

09/06/2026

MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS: HOW CHINESE HERBAL FORMULAS WORK

When someone has headaches, poor sleep, digestive trouble, or fatigue, conventional Western medicine often begins by asking: What is causing this symptom, and what treatment is indicated?

Modern Western herbal use may ask something similar: What herb is good for sleep? What settles the stomach? What reduces inflammation?

Chinese medicine begins with a different question: What pattern is producing this symptom in this particular person?

Two people may both have headaches, yet the pain may arise from different patterns. One headache may be sharp and fixed. Another may be dull, appear with exhaustion, and improve after eating. The symptom matters, but it is only one part of the picture. This is why two people with the same complaint may receive entirely different formulas.

Chinese herbs are also understood through relationships. An herb may warm, cool, nourish, drain, disperse, moisten, move, or stabilize. But its role depends upon the pattern, dosage, preparation, surrounding herbs, and the condition of the person receiving it.

One herb may strengthen another, soften its harshness, protect digestion, or direct the formula toward a particular function. Classical formula theory describes these roles as chief, deputy, assistant, and envoy. Together, the herbs create a coordinated whole.

This is why adding more “good herbs” does not necessarily make better medicine. Are some warming while others are cooling? Is one stimulating while another is calming? Does the combination address a coherent pattern, or is it merely a collection of competing intentions?

Western herbal traditions also use formulas and consider preparation. Chinese medicine is distinctive because it developed an especially formalized system connecting pattern differentiation, herbal classification, and formula construction.

A Chinese herbal formula has an internal ecology. Each ingredient influences the behavior of the whole. The medicine exists not only within the individual herbs, but also within their relationships.

That is what makes the formula more than the sum of its parts.

09/05/2026

Glyphosate, GLP-1 medications and the gut: what do we actually know?

Glyphosate is the active ingredient associated with Roundup. Monsanto was later acquired by Bayer, but the agricultural system built around herbicide-tolerant crops remains part of our food conversation.

Glyphosate works by disrupting the shikimate pathway in plants and microorganisms. Human cells do not have that pathway, but some of the bacteria living in our digestive system do. That has led researchers to ask whether glyphosate exposure could influence the gut microbiome.

Laboratory and animal studies—including mouse studies—have found changes in certain gut bacteria following glyphosate exposure.

Then we add GLP-1 medications.

GLP-1 drugs can be incredibly useful for diabetes, cardiovascular risk reduction and weight management. They also intentionally affect the digestive system: they reduce appetite and slow gastric emptying.
The gut microbiome may also influence our own natural GLP-1 signaling, while GLP-1 medications may change the microbial environment in the gut. That relationship is fascinating, but much of the mechanistic evidence is still preclinical.

What we can say is that the modern gut is being asked to negotiate a lot: highly processed diets, low fiber intake, environmental exposures, stress, metabolic illness and medications that deliberately change digestion. When somebody already has a sensitive digestive system, those factors deserve to be considered together rather than in isolation.

This isn’t an argument to stop a prescribed GLP-1 medication—or to panic about every food that may contain a trace residue. It is an argument for curiosity, better research and paying attention to what an individual body is communicating.

Eat as diversely as your body allows. Include fiber and minimally processed foods when appropriate. Stay hydrated, especially while taking a GLP-1 medication. Report persistent vomiting, severe pain, dehydration or an inability to eat to your healthcare provider.

The honest answer is not “nothing to see here,” but it also isn’t “science has proven catastrophe.”

The honest answer is: we are still learning.

09/05/2026

WANT TO HEAR YOUR GUIDES????💖
I use this simple practice to increase my ability to hear my higher self and guides.

It is very simple, but simple does not necessarily mean easy.

Each morning, I make an appointment with myself—and, depending on the language that feels right, with my inner knowing, intuition or guides.

I sit down with paper and begin writing.

I don’t try to make it beautiful. I don’t worry about spelling, grammar or whether it makes sense. I don’t stop to analyze where a thought came from. I simply write what arrives.

The important part is this: I don’t read it afterward.

I put it away for one full week.

That space matters because we are often very quick to judge what comes through us. We dismiss it as silly, impractical, wishful or “just something I made up.” When we immediately reread the page, the analytical mind can rush in and silence the quieter voice we were trying to hear.

Waiting a week gives the words room to exist without being interrogated.

When I finally return to the pages, I can often see patterns that were invisible while I was writing. Certain subjects repeat. A concern I had not consciously acknowledged becomes clear. Sometimes an answer was already present before I knew I was asking the question.

Not everything on the page needs to be prophetic or profound. This isn’t about treating every sentence as an instruction. It is a practice of listening—and learning to recognize the difference between fear, habit, desire and something deeper.

If you would like to try it:

Make a short appointment with yourself each morning.
Write without editing.
Date the page.
Close the notebook.
Do not read it for seven days.
Then return with curiosity instead of judgment.

You may be surprised by how much of your own wisdom has been trying to speak quietly beneath the noise.

09/04/2026

Have you ever considered bodywork after your horse’s dental appointment?

Regular dental care is absolutely essential. A thorough examination usually requires sedation and a full-mouth speculum so the veterinarian can work.

But it is also worth thinking about what the horse’s body experiences during that process.

While the horse is sedated, the head may be supported or held at an unfamiliar angle. The mouth is opened by the speculum, sometimes for a significant period of time. That position can place temporary stress through the temporomandibular joints—the TMJs—as well as the poll, including the area around the atlas and occiput.

There is some research behind this concern. In one study, horses whose mouths were held fully open for 60 minutes developed mild, short-term inflammatory changes around the TMJs. That does not mean dental work is harmful or should be avoided. It means the positioning and duration of the procedure matter—and that the horse may appreciate some thoughtful attention afterward.

In craniosacral and whole-body work, we also pay attention to how tension around the jaw and cranium may be accompanied by patterns farther through the body, including the spine, pelvis and hindquarters. The direct jaw-to-pelvis relationship has not been established by controlled equine research, so I describe that part as a clinical observation rather than a proven medical fact. But it is a pattern many hands-on practitioners watch closely.

After dental work, you might notice:

• reluctance to chew evenly
• sensitivity around the ears, poll or jaw
• unusual head tilting or head tossing
• difficulty bending in one direction
• a change in contact with the bit
• stiffness or an unfamiliar change in movement

Persistent pain, trouble eating, swelling or neurological signs belong with your veterinarian. For a horse who is simply feeling guarded or “not quite right,” gentle bodywork may help the nervous system and surrounding tissues settle after the appointment.

Dental care takes care of the teeth. Aftercare can help us remember the rest of the horse.

Research for those interested: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080616300818

09/03/2026

Let your stress go!
Feel better without old patterns!
Come get on my table!

09/01/2026

Let go of stress!!

09/01/2026

Let go of stress and old patterns!

08/30/2026

05/14/2026