Sage gargle for strep and immunity

Sage is pure magic for throat healing.

Since 2023, I have an annual recurring Streptococcus infection that blooms on my throat chakra. This year, I’ve been enjoying a sage gargle – boiling ½ – 1 tsp of dried sage in water (fresh also works). Sage is naturally antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cleansing, including on the subtle energetic levels.

This gnarly strep strain began with a rash, which is what has earned the illness the name “scarlet fever.” After about a week from the rash’s first appearance (c.2023) I came down with an intense, overnight fever, which left as quickly as it came. But then my throat recovery was slow. The rash took time to heal – topical coconut oil helped – and my throat remained quite sensitive until I introduced some immune-supporting supplements, including black seed oil and an internal herbal formulation.

Left: rash in 2023 just before the initial immune response, right: two years later, a milder recurrence

The rash has come back annually in the springtime/early summertime, which has been… interesting. Chronic and recurring viral and bacterial infections were part of what drew me to ancient and holistic healing in the first place, when I realized in my 20s that I was constantly tired, anxious, depressed and not digesting my food. Adjusting my diet, sleep schedule, and new seasonal habits helped boost my immunity and digestive fire, as well as shifting my life from hustle/people pleasing/production-focused to slowing down/authentically/abundantly/creating-mode.

And yet… bugs will be bugs. Although I do my best to take care of myself, I am not perfect. And especially for those of us who have been chronically ill and feel like “I have suffered enough already,” it can be pretty frustrating to have “that thing” return. Sighs, right?

There is no singular word for health in Sanskrit which exactly matches the modern definition of the English word. This modern word refers to the absence of injury or disease, while ayurveda’s terminology around health addresses wholeness of the self, clarity in perceptions, clear channels and free movement of energy….

When I first began my “healing journey,” which in and of itself is a construct that we all understand and yet have made up based on false perceptions of what healing truly is, I had an idea of being “healed” in my mind. Getting to this healed place was my goal, and I tried every diet and supplement to get there, focusing heavily on nutrition as gut health was my primary concern….

The truth is: healing never ends.

Every moment of every day, you’re in flux. On an atomic level, movement is constant. You’re a multidimensional being, composed of estimated octillion atoms (that’s 6,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). Dancing.

“Neverending” could feel disappointing, baffling, or exhausting. Most people want to be at peace and feel good, and being “healed” is part of that. But it all ultimately comes down to how you define health. If your definition of health is based on the absence of any imbalance, then it is unattainable.

Let’s get real about what living actually is. To be alive on earth means you’re in a body, and that body is going to experience wear and tear. More than the physical impact of being alive, there is a wear and tear of the soul that can occur as a result of trauma. The concept of being “perfectly healthy” is just that – a concept. It’s an ideal, and it’s one you’re better off living without. You can be healthy enough.

–Excerpt from “Healing never ends,” Moonlight and Shadows: A Poetic Discourse on Ayurveda and Yoga in the West

My recurring strep rash a humble reminder that healing never ends, and illness is initiation. These bugs continue to teach me new lessons. Yay! 🙂

Illness is initiation because you – we all – are relearning, and learning anew how to wield the immense power of our consciousness in a dense, slow moving world like earth, where it can take months for seeds to germinate and years for roads and bridges to be completed. The point is the journey.

When that journey is illness, it is a firsthand crash course in harnessing the medicine of your dark night of the soul, the alchemical process of shifting imbalance to balance, not from eradicating one, but from actually transforming what is into something else. This involves the death of older versions of you. Sustained illness can result from resistance to this death.

After you have stared into Death’s seemingly vacant soul long enough, there is something there in the void, the potential of what is on the other side, only perceptible after you have surrendered into that void of unknown. And when you emerge from that portal of rebirth, you have wisdom that you couldn’t have learned any other way. You can study the best practices for preserving health and the diseases of others, but at the end of the day, your own illness is your greatest teacher.

–Excerpt from “Illness is initiation,” Moonlight and Shadows: A Poetic Discourse on Ayurveda and Yoga in the West

Upleveling. Graduating to new plant allies and hands-on, personal experience getting to know these magical and marvelous healing friends, as well as more intimately instilling my body and all its chakras and cells with more awareness, consciousness. 💚🌿