Read below to learn more about Burdock, including:
What Burdock looks like
How to forage for Burdock
The versatility of Burdock and why it's often recommended by herbalists
A profile of what burdock root tastes like
Various methods for preparing Burdock at home, including five nourishing (and delicious) recipes, including a Burdock Root tea recipe and how to make kinpira gobo (braised Burdock Root).
and more
The roots of trees have two key jobs (among many, many others), to anchor the tree to the earth, and absorb nutrients and water from the soil. As humans, our “roots” and foundations are our anchor points as we grow.
We grow stronger when nurtured with healthy food, relationships, lessons, feedback, and reflections. Though our roots are weak from a lack of coping tools, unhealthy relationships, poor nutrition, etc., we struggle to grow.
Trees, in particular, quietly offer many lessons from which humans can learn much. The David Suzuki Foundation created a thoughtful list to inspire perspective.
Pine trees, belonging to the genus Pinus spp., stand as stalwart guardians in the forest network. These evergreen conifers, characterized by their needle-like leaves and distinctive cones, possess an enduring visual and fragrant allure. Their presence is woven intricately into the fabric of our ecosystem, offering both tangible and intangible gifts to the environment and its inhabitants, including here at Nectar Yoga Retreat on Bowen Island.
Mosses’ diminutive size belies their resilience, tenacity, and ecological significance. Mosses are essential for retaining soil and moisture (as much as 40 times their weight), preventing erosion, and providing homes, insulation, and sustenance for various organisms in their ecosystems, including at Nectar Yoga Retreat on Bowen Island.
Known for its stinging leaves, Nettle is a herbaceous perennial that offers a myriad of benefits ranging from environmental rewilding to medicinal uses and even spiritual significance. Nectar Yoga Retreat’s wellness blog also includes lesser known fun facts, and three nettle tea recipes that do wonders for our complexions and general vitality.
Beyond appreciating them in cooking, what are oyster mushrooms good for? Pleurotus varieties are saprotrophs that are involved in providing nutrition to its ecosystem as a primary decomposer of wood, especially deciduous trees, and beech trees in particular, though here in the Pacific Northwest, oyster mushrooms are also seen growing on dying hardwood trees. Their saprophytic function benefits the forest by returning vital elements and minerals to the environment in forms that are usable to other plants, other organisms, and general soil biology.
Examining our inner judgments, there are 9 types of bias as shared by educator and author Clay Drinko, is not only opportunities for developing more self-awareness, but is also a way to identify where edges are in the first place.
These practices are designed to help you connect with your edge while fostering a sense of joy and renewal.
Wild Thing (Camatkarasana)
This heart-opening pose embodies freedom and vitality. As you flow into Wild Thing, you’ll feel a playful release, inviting both physical and emotional renewal.
