Beyond The Vampire Diaries: Vervain Tea’s Real-Life Benefits For Anxiety And Sleep

The Truth About Vervain

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As you might know, I am always on the hunt for more healing herbs that nature provides. I deeply believe that every sickness and illness can be cured with the power of nature and what nature can provide to us.

I took a few days off recently and binge-watched The Vampire Diaries on Netflix — not one of the best series ever, but entertaining, and some things are really interesting, like the herb Vervain. In the series, they use vervain against vampires. When vervain gets ingested into the bloodstream of a vampire, it knocks him or her out; when vervain is in the water, they get burned. A really cool weapon against vampires.

After a little bit of research, I found out that vervain is indeed a very powerful healing herb and is very good for the human body.

Quick History Recap

Vervain or verbena was already a part of ancient Roman religious ceremonies. In ancient Greece, this special herb was associated with the beautiful goddess Venus and was seen as a symbol of love and protection, but it was also used to cure sickness. The Celtic Druids believed that it protected them against evil spirits; some Native American tribes used it in many different remedies against certain illnesses. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and in Ayurveda, it was and is used to help calm people down and balance the Qi in the body or to help balance doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kaph) in the body. In Europe and North America, they used vervain to heal the digestive tract, anxiety, or sleep problems.

Benefits That I Have Experienced With Vervain Tea

I started with only a pinch of dried herbs in hot (filtered) water and made myself a cup of vervain tea about 2–3 times a week. As with most of these healing herbs, vervain tastes very bitter, earthy, or even grassy, but I don’t mind the taste anymore. In the beginning, I tried to sweeten these kinds of teas with honey, but somehow the bitter taste was always there, so I got used to this bitterness, and now I kinda like it. Crazy, right?

I drink it at the perfect temperature, not too hot, not too cold, a little bit more than lukewarm, just perfect. The feeling that I get from drinking this tea is amazing, especially how it feels in my intestines. After only one cup of vervain tea, I feel more balanced and so much calmer. It doesn’t matter what my day was like; this herb always does the trick and wipes away all my negative feelings.

I like to burn some sage before I start drinking this tea, and I make sure to have a clear intention (for example: I am letting go of all my anger, I am letting go of everything that doesn’t serve me), and then I drink it in a meditative way, sitting in a meditation seat, drinking one sip after the next very slowly. I guess I could even try to vape this herb for calming effects, but I prefer teas in general.

Before I started drinking this herb, I sometimes had trouble sleeping or falling asleep. Too much excitement came up with our move from an Australian island in Queensland to New South Wales, but since I started drinking vervain tea, all my sleeping problems seem to have vanished.

My sleep quality improved massively.

I feel more recovered, more relaxed, and in a better mood, which comes in handy when you have two little kids at home.

There has not been research much done on this almost magical herb, but it looks like it might also be a great aid with digestive discomfort, and it might also reduce inflammation in your body. As with most of these bitter herbs, it is supposed to have anti-aging qualities and might even help with respiratory issues. Since we cannot rely on research here, we need to learn to trust our instincts again. What works for one person might not work for another. Only you can know what is right for your body. But for me, I am very happy with vervain in my body.

For the ladies, an extra tip: It is especially a great choice of tea if you want to relieve your menstrual cramps and mood swings — at least it does the trick for me.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Please do your own research.

Vervain will be one of those herbs that I will always use kinda regularly. I am very intuitive with the herbs that I use, so I might have a few weeks here and there when I don’t use it at all, but I am sure vervain or verbane is a herb I will always find my way back to.

Feel loved, feel hugged.

Namasté

Alina

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