Phytotherapy / Herbal Medicine

Phytotherapy means healing with plants. Not symptomatically, but holistically. Medicinal plants such as chamomile, St. John's wort, or angelica contain complex active ingredients that gently regulate your body. They do not act in isolation like medications, but instead address your entire system. In TEN, I use plants according to their humoral quality. Is your body too cold? Then it needs warming plants. Too much heat? Then cooling ones. The plant becomes an ally to your body.

Humoral medicine views health as a balance of the four bodily fluids: Sanguis (blood), Cholera (yellow bile), Phlegma (phlegm), and Melancholera (black bile). Each humor has its quality: warm, cold, moist, dry. Illness arises when this balance tips. Medicinal plants bring you back into balance. A cold, moist cold requires warming, drying plants such as ginger or thyme. Too much heat is dampened with cooling plants like mallow. 

Spagyrics is the alchemical preparation of medicinal plants. Per fermentation, distillation, and calcination, the active ingredients are elevated to a higher level. The plant is separated, purified, re-united. What emerges is more than just an extract. It is the essence of the plant, concentrated and energetically enhanced. Spagyric essences work deeply, including on an emotional level. They are i.e. valuable for chronic complaints or when the soul need support

Every medicinal plant carries primary qualities: warm or cold, moist or dry. These qualities determine how the plant affects your body. Angelica (Angelica archangelica), for example, is warm in the 3rd degree and dry in the 2nd degree. It warms the stomach, dissolves mucus in the respiratory tract, and strengthens the heart and uterus. Its effect is powerful, penetrating, and tonifying. It is suitable for people with a sensation of cold, weak digestion, chronic exhaustion, or frequent colds.

Rosemary, on the other hand, is warm in the 2nd degree and dry in the 2nd degree. It promotes circulation and strengthens the heart and the "cooking" (metabolic heat). Its essential oil warms the skin surface and stimulates the circulatory system. Willow bark, by contrast, is cold in the 2nd degree and dry. It dampens excess heat of the Sanguis and has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic effects. Barberry is sour and cool; it drains excess Cholera and calms the liver-bile system.

In Galenic medicine, a disease is always treated according to its humoral orientation. A cold, moist Phlegma requires warm, drying plants. A hot, dry Cholera needs cool, moisturizing herbs. This principle of contraries is the core of phytotherapy in TEN. I do not look only at your symptoms, but at your constitution, your distribution of humors, and your lifestyle. Then I select the plants that fit you exactly. Individual, precise, effective.

A good medicinal tea is more than just a drink. It is medicine that you take daily. I let your tea blend individually prepared, tailored to your symptoms and constitution. Every plant has its task: an anti-inflammatory base, a calming component, a stimulating accent note. The dosage is precise, the effect sustainable. You will receive exact instructions for preparation. How long should it steep? How often should you drink? Everything is clearly explained.

Tinctures are alcoholic extracts made from fresh or dried plants. They contain the fat-soluble and water-soluble active ingredients in concentrated form. A few drops are enough to achieve a strong effect. Mother tinctures are made from fresh plants and are of particularly high quality. They have a long shelf life and are easy to use. Taken drop by drop in water, one to three times daily. Tinctures are especially suitable for chronic complaints or when fast-acting relief is needed.

Not all plants work only internally. Ointments, oils, and compresses bring healing power directly to where it is needed. An Arnica oint-ment relieves bruises and strains. A St. John's wort oil relaxes tense muscles and calms irritated nerves. Cabbage wraps draw the heat out of inflammations. Comfrey ointment promotes the healing of bone fractures. The skin absorbs the active ingredients and transports them into the tissue. External applications are gentle yet effective. A valuable supplement to internal therapy.

In TEN, medicinal plants are categorized according to their relationship with the four bodily humors. Sanguis (blood) is strengthened by circulation-promoting, warming plants such as rosemary, nettle, or arnica. These plants promote "cooking" (metabolic heat), warm the blood vessels, and tonify the heart. Cholera (yellow bile) benefits from bitter, liver-strengthening herbs like dandelion, artichoke, or barberry, which promote bile flow, stimulate digestion, and dampen excess heat in the liver-bile system. Phlegma (phlegm) requires, on one hand, mucilaginous, moistening plants like mallow or marshmallow for dryness and irritative coughs. On the other hand, cold, moist Phlegma requires warming, drying plants like fennel, thyme, or elderflower, which dissolve mucus and warm the abdominal organs. Melancholera (black bile) is balanced by tonifying, brightening plants such as St. John's wort, lemon balm, borage, or ginger, which restore warmth and joie de vivre.

This ancient system is more than just theory. It is a practical guide to which plant helps with which disorder. A person with too much Sanguis, suffering from high blood pressure, a sensation of heat, and restlessness, needs cooling, dampening plants like willow, barberry, or yarrow. A melancholic person with depression, coldness, and exhaustion needs warming, tonifying herbs like ginger, cinnamon, or angelica. I diagnose your humoral situation using iris, pulse, tongue, and facial diagnosis and then select the plants that bring your system back into balance. Precise. Individual. Effective.

Gemmotherapy utilizes buds, shoot tips, and young sprouts. This embryonic tissue contains concentrated life force and growth energy. Birch buds detoxify the kidneys. Blackcurrant helps the immune system, regenerates the adrenal glands. Fig buds soothe the stomach and nerves. The macerates work gently, profoundly, and regulatingly. Particularly valuable for chronic fatigue, stress, or after long illnesses. Nature in its most powerful form.

It begins with a detailed initial anamnesis. I take the time to get to know your complaints, your lifestyle, and your medical history. I ask questions about digestion, sleep, and your sensitivity to cold and heat. I feel your pulse, examine your tongue, and observe your iris and face. All of this provides clues about your humoral consti-tution. Then, I develop a therapeutic concept including your indivi-dual plant blend. After a few weeks, we review your progress.