Relaxing Herbs of Salt Lake City

No matter where along the Wasatch Front you might live, there are medicinal plants near you that are celebrated for their overall relaxing virtues. This action of relaxation is called nervine effect by herbalists, and the name itself helps us understand something about what the plants do in support of relaxation whwn we bring them into our bodies in the form of teas and tinctures.

Generally speaking, herbs that are considered nervines act on the nervous system and the function of nervous energy in the whole being. These herbs have an affinity for the nerves- they move into those spaces when we bring them into our bodies via herbal medicine and they have an understanding of how these systems should function when healthy and harmonious.

Within the big family of nervine herbs, we can also explore both stimulating and relaxing nervines. Stimulating nervine herbs open up the flow of energy in the nervous system, up-regulate our bodies when we become frazzled and fatigues from excessive longterm stress, and help us draw upright energy from the air, sun, food, and sleep we take in. Relaxing nervines support our wellness by releasing pent up energy from the nervous system, calming thoughts and emotions, and unwinding tension held in both the physical and energetic bodies. The relaxing nervines are the ones we tend to think about when we consider herbs that relax us- and you may be surprised about how many of them grow really well here in Utah!

Let’s meet just some of my favorite relaxing nervine allies… how many of these medicinal plants have you seen before? Are there any you could identify confidently? Do any of these plants grow in your garden?

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla & Chamaemelum nobile, the first being the German variety which I prefer in medicine), who gets their name from the Old Greek for ‘ground apple’, as they smell like dried apples when the fresh flowers are crushed between the fingers, grows incredibly well here in Utah. While both German and Roman varieties won’t usually survive the winter, they reseed heavily and will usually pop back up the next year from their own seeds.

Chamomile is relaxing on so many levels. Their mineral-rich flowers help unlock the muscles and release tension from tissues. Combine with common garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) for an incredibly effective muscle relaxer tea. When oversteeped, Chamomile tea becomes bitter which grounds the emotions, clarifies the mind, and helps engage the parasympathetic nervous system through activating digestive secretions and peristalsis in the intestines.

Lavender comes in many shapes and sizes here in Salt Lake City- varieties and cultivars in the hundreds of species. If you’re interested in growing Lavender for medicine, I suggest working with Lavandula angustifolia as this is one of the ancestral Lavenders that’s the one spoken of in our old herbal texts. Most garden shops like Western Gardens and Glover Nursery will have small tags in their plants with the scientific name for ease of identification. When in doubt, purchase starts from Strictly Medicinal Seeds.

In my practice, Lavender is an ally of purification (the name Lavender comes from the linguistic root for washing and cleansing) and changing patterns. However, there’s no mistake that for many people, the nervine effects of Lavender, even just their fragrant scent, can be deeply relaxing. We use imposter Lavender fragrance in so, so many products these days that some folks have Lavender burnout. If this is the case, I like to choose a different plant with a contrasting note. Lavender can be worked with in teas, baths, botanical incense, or just sitting next to them in a garden.

When it comes to the nervine effects of Lavender, I really value this ally when folks are very stuck in their heads and in patterns of rumination, worry, obsessing, or just not letting things change. Lavender isn’t the best choice for letting things go, but is a fantastic ally for softening patterns and allowing us to do things in new, batter ways. In other words, Lavender + therapy = wow!

Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis, is a hearty plant that thrives here in Utah. A member of the Mint family, Lemon Balm has a square stem, serrated leaves, and an intense fragrance that attracts both humans and animals alike. In my work, Lemon Balm is an example of a nervine herb that’s not so much sleepy-relaxing as they are passion-relaxing. They help us to find the honey in life and focus there, allowing the tension and stress of ‘what if’ to be carried away. Lemon Balm moves light and energy through the body, opens and purifies the nerves, brightens the mood, lifts mental atmosphere, and makes one incredible iced herbal tea!

Catnip’s soft, serrated, aromatic leaves are a fave for our feline friends, but did you know Catnip is incredible medicine for us, too? Nepeta cataria is another member of the Lamiaceae Mint family with those same notes square stems, serrated leaves, and attractive fragrance. Catnip is a cooling, calming, and centering herb- seemingly bringing the opposite energy to the human as they do to cats! I love this herb, alongside Lemon Balm, as a nervine ally for children above 35 pounds in the form of tea, herbal popsicles, or gummy treats.

Catnip releases the tense heat from anxiety, hot emotions, and inflamed emotional states. This herb gently opens the pores, windows of the body, to assist in releasing built up fire energy in a calm and efficient manner. I love Catnip when thoughts are ablaze, emotions run hot, and things feel trapped in the body.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is one of my favorite flowers to see blossom around the Salt Lake valley. You’ll see so many of these flowers in the avenues neighborhood, capitol hill, and around the benches where they can bathe in morning sunshine. In the evening as the light and warmth wane, California Poppy closes up and sleeps deeply for the night.

This herb represents for a deeper sedative energy than many other plants we work with. They grow well here and their medicine is potent when harvested at the right time (Late May under the auspices of the noonday Sun). California Poppy circulates light, grounds frazzled nerves, and in larger doses can have a sleepy effect in teas and tinctures.

I like a small amount of the aerial parts of this plant as part of a larger, more harmonized formula.

In my practice, California Poppy is also a potent ally for some kinds of pain management. This flower is cooling, hence their nature to thrive in hot summer sun surrounded by reflective rocks and dirt.

Mighty Hops (Humulus lupulus) is famed for their part in making beer- but this plant has a long history of helping we humans deal with stress, anxiety, and tension. Hops is technically less a nervine and more a hypnotic- a plant that can lull us into a sleepy and relaxing daze. I like Hops in tea, Hops water, or small amounts in a calming digestive bitters formula to settle a nervous stomach.

Hops is most effective for folks who deal with heightened, over-stimulated, and expressive types of stress and anxiety; the type that feels like it might boil over if left unchecked. Start with very small amounts, or experiment with how Hops water or Hops sodas make you feel.

At last we get to my most cherish of local nervines, Linden (Line Blossom, Basswood, Tila; Tilia europaea, T. americana, T. cordata being the most common around these parts). Linden is a cherished ally of the cardiovascular system and a special demulcent herb for the high desert- a plant that creates softening, moistening mucilage, especially when steeped in cool water. Linden trees are everywhere here- prized for their self-pruning, perfect shape and height, and forgiveness during drought season.

For folks who hold tension, stress, or anxiety in their chest or heart center, who experience pounding heart during anxiety, or who feel as though their heart may stop because of stress, this is a fantastic ally to align to. Linden leaf and flower (the leaf only, not the long, pale bract which accompanies the flowers) make for excellent tea and are as popular a sipping tea in Southern Europe as Chamomile is here. The first week or so of June, Linden trees across the valley explode with blossoms that perfume the air- some people love the smell, some hate it!

Linden has heart-shaped leaves which reflect their affinity with not just the physical heart organ, but the heart of hearts, temple of the soul, liminal space within. This plant is also a close relative of Theobroma cacao, the tree which gives us Chocolate, another reflection of their deep heart medicine blessings.

I hope you’ll be able to find and connect with some of these amazing herbal allies in spaces around you this year. We don’t always need to ingest these plants to receive their green blessings, either. Simply sitting with them, touching them, laying the palms of hands and soles of feet on the soil near them, inhaling their fragrances, and gazing softly across their forms will drop us into a space of serenity and peace.

I would love for you to join me on an upcoming herb walk- sometimes we do them right here in the city to meet the many plants who show up for us! I’ll be hosting a very special class, herb walk in Salt Lake City, and guided meditation focused on Linden at the beginning of June when all the trees are blossoming…