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October 29, 2025

Happy Herbal Wednesday, Reader!

Today, our focus is on a subject I get asked about a lot. In fact, a reader just wrote in yesterday, and the question was, "How can I improve my circulation?"

Our newsletter community is the perfect place to have this discussion, so if you have cold hands and feet, are generally cold, struggle with varicose veins or other circulation problems, or know someone who does? This is for you.

NOTE: Many of these herbs are also great for helping with pain relief.

Remember, a good herbalist will view the body through a holistic lens, meaning that all parts (body, mind, and spirit) are taken into account in creating a personalized protocol for yourself (or someone you're working with). Here are some general thoughts around circulation.

💓 Why Circulation Matters

Good circulation brings oxygen and nutrients to every cell in your body while helping remove waste. When blood flow slows, you may notice fatigue, cold hands and feet, brain fog, or even varicose veins. The good news? Between the plants God has gifted us and lifestyle shifts, there are many gentle, yet effective ways to get that blood moving again!

The links below are to my YouTube channel and website where there are literally hundreds and hundreds of herbal and aromatic articles and videos!

TIP: Be sure to like and subscribe to the channel, and also to bookmark my website so you can visit often.

On to the discussion about circulation:

First, let's start with lifestyle habits.

1. Move Your Body – A daily walk, a few minutes of stretching, or dancing in your kitchen all count! Movement pumps your blood and keeps your heart strong.
​2. Contrast Showers – Alternate warm and cool water on your legs and arms for 30 seconds each. This “vascular exercise” tones blood vessels.
​3. Dry Brush or Massage – Use a natural bristle brush before bathing or give yourself a quick herbal oil massage afterward. Dry brushing also has the benefit of moving lymph through the body as well as blood!
​4. Stay Hydrated – Blood is 90% water! Sip on warm herbal teas or lemon water throughout the day.
​5. Stress Less – Deep breathing, meditation, or a quick step outside into the sunshine can calm the nervous system and support healthy circulation.

Next, support the body with proper nourishment.

• Eat foods rich in omega-3s, magnesium, and antioxidants (salmon, leafy greens, berries).
• Avoid processed sugar and trans fats that stiffen vessels. I read recently that about 90% of restaurant food is very unhealthy for various reasons, among them the amount of polyunsaturated fats we're eating daily. Making whole food meals at home from scratch (veggies, lean meat, etc.) using healthy fat such as grass-fed butter or tallow or olive oil is the best way to go.
• Add spices like turmeric, cumin, paprika, rosemary, cinnamon, and garlic to meals for extra vascular support.

Staying warm, especially in the peripheral parts of the body is up next:

• Keep your feet warm and dry.
• Use herbal warming salves on hands and feet in cold weather.
• Try a few minutes of rebounding or gentle jumping jacks during the day, especially if you sit a lot.
• A refreshing and warming foot soak with essential oils can really be amazing for supporting health circulation in the legs. (And it feels SO, SO good!) In fact, I got my mom and myself this amazing heated foot tub that's lightweight and easy to use! (afflink)
• In the video below, you'll find more ways to enjoy cayenne pepper!

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Of course, add circulatory enhancing herbs and essential oils to your daily routine:

Here are a few of my favorites. There are many others, too, but this note will get way too long if I add them all. These are my main faves:

1) Cayenne (Capsicum annuum): This is a powerful stimulating herb that warms the body from the inside out. One of its properties is being a dispersant, and this means it enhances circulation even into the peripheral parts of your body like hands, feet, and brain. Cayenne is one of my favorites to work with.

It's HOT, though, so use the tincture, and dilute it in some water. My husband puts two droppers full into his morning coffee. I'm good for just a half a dropper. If you're working with the salve, be sure to wash your fingers well before you touch your eyes or other sensitive body areas after applying it.

2) Ginger (Zingiber officinale): Ginger is fabulous for so many reasons! It's tasty, first of all. Most people love it. But it also is another warming stimulating herb. It's also dispersive to a great extent, but not as powerful as cayenne in this regard. I love using them together. Ginger is a wonderful anti-inflammatory as well. It improves digestion, circulation, and provides overall warmth to the body.

You can use it in tea, coffee, tincture form, the essential oil topically, and more!

Here's a guide to fermenting ginger (a ginger bug), then directions for making a Ginger Soda.

3) Hawthorn berry (Crataegus spp): Hawthorn isn't strongly stimulating or dispersive like cayenne or ginger, but it is wonderful for supporting the cardiovascular system, especially the heart muscle itself. For most herbalists, it's one herb we turn to first when the heart needs help, whether for physical strength or for help with stress and the emotions.

Here's how to harvest and make hawthorn berry tincture, and it's powerful!

4) Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus syn. Rosmarinus officinalis): Oh, I just LOVE rosemary for supporting circulation, both the herb form and the essential oil form.

Rosemary enhances healthy circulation, especially to the periphery, and without the heat that comes with cayenne and ginger. For women experiencing hot flashes in menopause, this can be a relief!

Rosemary also supports healthy brain function, while helping invigorate sluggish blood flow in the body.

I'm bringing my rosemary plant inside as soon as I finish my note to you. It's going to be living in my sunny office for the winter, and I'm so happy to get to enjoy its beautiful scent every day through the cold months!

You may also enjoy:

How to Grow Rosemary

How to Make a Juniper-Rosemary Salt Scrub (This is a wonderful scrub that supports healthy circulation and skin exfoliation. It also supports healthy lymph drainage!)

Other amazing circulatory enhancing herbs include:

• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
• Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
• Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
• Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
• Garlic (Allium sativum)

Essential oils can really shine when it comes to supporting circulation to the body and specific areas, especially. Here are some of these:

• Black pepper (Piper nigrum) essential oil
• Ginger (Zingiber officinale) essential oil
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) essential oil
• Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) essential oil
• Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) essential oil

Here's a quick and healthy daily heart tonic tea:

Heidi's Warming Circulation Blend---Delicious!

1 part ginger root, dried and cut and sifted

1 part hawthorn berries, dried and cut and sifted

1 part rosemary leaves, dried

1/2 part cinnamon chips (dried and cut and sifted)

A little pinch of cayenne powder (optional)

Directions:

Blend the herbs together and store in an airtight container. To make your infusion, just steep 1 tbsp (3 tsp) of blend in 12 ounces just boiled water for about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you want a more powerful medicinal infusion, it's fine to steep overnight or for several hours.

Sweeten with honey, and enjoy!

Finally, you may enjoy this video on how to make a delightful warming massage lotion. I may have shared this with you recently, so if you already saw it, please forgive me!

I have so many articles and videos now, I forget what I share and how long it may have been. 🥰

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Encouragement and Inspiration

Here's a GREAT quote from one of my favorite people, Charles Swindoll. I thought I'd share it with you today because I've been relying on it quite a lot since I had a little outburst the other day---about which I am very embarrassed.

I won't go into details, but suffice to say a very good friend accidentally heard my "little" outburst, and I have no excuse except to say that I had just had 45 completely horrifically stressful minutes where literally everything that could go wrong before an important meeting did.....

I am so blessed that she gave me grace. 🥰

Here's the quote, and I hope you enjoy it! Maybe, like me, you might even print it out and hang it up!

ATTITUDE

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company.... a church.... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past.... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude.... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes." ---- Dr. Charles Swindoll

And here's a verse I also love to turn to in stressful times:

"Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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I hope this week's note blesses your life. I hope you will more and more turn to the beautiful gifts God has given to us for health and healing through His plant medicine, the herbs.

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. Do you have my FREE guide to Five Herbal Remedies for Animals? If you don't have it yet, just use the same email you're using to receive this note so you don't get doubles from me! Enjoy!

And, please do forward this note to a friend who might enjoy it, and invite them into our free newsletter community where the information is for real, from me, and not from AI. 🥰

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This note is proudly sponsored by the Confident Herbalist Tribe inside the School of Botanical Arts & Sciences, where we teach herbalism and aromatherapy plus natural living.

The Tribe is not currently open for enrollment, but we have other courses that are. And...just wait! I have a BIG surprise for you coming right up!

I'll also be letting you know when it's open again. Right now, members are enjoying the new Western Herbal Energetics course I'm creating as we go. It will soon be included in the school as a full course with text, too.
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