For me, no other scent induces a bout of nostalgia more so than cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia). Whether I’m doing a little holiday baking, steeping cinnamon tea, or simmering a few sticks on the stovetop to instill a warm atmosphere on a damp winter day, I’m instantly brought back to childhood and all that cheery, warm holiday fuzziness.
Think about your own memories and associations with cinnamon for a moment. What comes to mind? Warmth? Ease? Excitement? Optimism? Happiness? Comfort? Well, there’s a reason for that.
Cinnamon is warming and flavorful, associated with cold winter days and festive holidays. It helps you digest heavy foods while keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s not really a surprise that it shows up in indulgent holiday baking.
Most likely, you haven’t considered cinnamon to be a medicinal plant; most people are surprised to learn that it functions as anything other than a kitchen spice. Most spices, however, are herbs (as we’ll see in the next chapter as well), and it’s no coincidence that we find them in particular foods and during particular times of the year.
Parts used: Inner bark of the tree
How to harvest: Strip the bark from smaller branches; never take cuttings from the trunk (for the sake of the health of the tree)
Effects on body: Warming, stimulating, astringent; promotes and enhances digestion
Effects on mind and spirit: Joy-inducing, freeing, inspiring
Safety first: Avoid medicinal doses (in other words, large doses — anything other than amounts used for flavoring) while pregnant or breastfeeding; though rare, some people have a cinnamon allergy, so go slowly if you have allergic tendencies
We’ve already touched on cinnamon’s ability to warm the body, making it perfect for winter consumption. It’s stimulating as well, so the next time the sun begins to set at 4 p.m. and you still have hours to go before you sleep, brew up a warm and energizing pot of cinnamon tea (which will also get the digestive system primed and ready and in peak shape).
Cinnamon is also an astringent. Astringents tone tissues, which is why you use them on your face to prevent sagging and tighten pores. When taken internally, cinnamon can help halt bleeding (especially good postpartum) and stem diarrhea, especially when there’s been a lot of fluid lost. In this case, cinnamon eases chills brought on by those nasty digestive upsets, while also stabilizing blood sugar if there’s a loss of appetite.
Speaking of appetite, cinnamon helps digestion and prevents flatulence, bloating, heartburn, and nausea. Since it helps stabilize blood sugar and appetite, warming and stimulating the whole system, it’s a great herb for supporting weight loss and a powerful ally when one is dealing with type II diabetes.
Cinnamon’s antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal qualities make it a wonderful addition to cold and flu remedies, with the added bonus of masking the flavor of less appetizing herbs. The essential oil of cinnamon (when mixed with a carrier oil) is warming and healing for strained muscles, fungal infections, and cuts and scrapes.
The cinnamon tree has incredibly spicy-sweet and fragrant flowers, which bees and birds find irresistible. They’re small and creamy white to yellow in color, and the scent itself is uplifting, reminding us (there’s that nostalgia factor again) of the burden-less joy of ideal childhood. So it’s not really all that surprising that the cinnamon flower essence would connect us with that inner child, bringing to the fore that bubbling fountain of extroverted joy and ease and the effortless ability to be thoroughly in the moment.
Think about childhood for a moment. Expression and invention were at your fingertips; you didn’t need to sit and find time to create, did you? You were by nature a creative, and creating, being. Ideas flowed so readily that they were your reality, not a fantasy that you had to drum up in brainstorming meetings, think-tanks, or stream-of-consciousness painting or drawing.
Cinnamon flower essence will help you express yourself creatively and with ease by bringing those latent expressive abilities, so often lost with childhood, to the forefront of your daily life. The added bonus? By feeling and expressing your emotions, you are “unpacking” your emotional baggage and leaving the bags behind. I mean, think about it — how many two-year-olds hold a grudge? They feel it, they express it, and they move on. How freeing is that? Once these latent emotions can be loosened and expressed, joy comes more readily to us.
You can take cinnamon flower essence over a period of time, as you slowly begin to let go of old patterns and states of emotional disease. Or take it before making a big presentation, walking on stage, speaking in public, or showing up at a family gathering or party (especially if you’re an introvert like me).
Cinnamon’s element, unsurprisingly, is fire, and the fiery heavenly bodies it’s associated with should also come as no surprise: the sun, Mars, and Mercury. Cinnamon also carries a masculine-gendered energy. Long used as incense, cinnamon is a wonderful aid in cleansing, clearing, and purifying sacred spaces, such as temples, altars, and hallowed land. It raises energy — both the surrounding energy as well as your own — and is helpful in boosting success and protection, honing your intent, and aiding and clarifying psychic visions. It energizes the nervous system and sharpens instinct, thought, and impressions. Just don’t bathe in it or anoint yourself with its undiluted essential oil — it’s pretty strong stuff and can hurt sensitive skin.
Cinnamon is also pretty versatile in magical workings. You can ingest it, burn it, or carry cinnamon sticks or chips in a pouch on your person. No matter how you choose to use it, it will help draw positive energy to you (whether that’s in the form of luck, money, love, or success — whatever you’re working toward).
I’m a big believer in the power of scent, and, as we’ve discovered, cinnamon’s scent carries a lot of nostalgia and power. When I need a little boost of courage or confidence, I pour a few drops of cinnamon essential oil into a teaspoon of carrier oil (such as almond) and anoint my pulse points. Not only does the scent make me feel powerful, potent, and secure, but it also fires me up, warms my blood, and raises my awareness of the environment around me.
Don’t want to smell like a cookie? That’s okay. Just carry a vial of cinnamon essential oil (or even cinnamon gum or candy will do in a pinch). Take a sniff before a big moment, after a minor setback (real or imagined), or when confronting a person with whom you’re uncomfortable. Cinnamon may not be able to speak for you, but it allows you to do something even better — confidently speak for yourself.
Here’s another olfactory spell, redolent of the first day of winter, cozy fires, wool socks, and homemade cookies. After a terrible, dreary, hard day, I like to simmer a bit of water on the stove and toss in a few cinnamon sticks (you’ll notice these have a different scent from the essential oil; while the oil is pungent, fiery, and powerful, the simmering sticks are warm, subtle, homey, and welcoming). I turn the heat way down and just keep this cooking all day long (be sure to keep an eye on the water level, though — don’t let it all evaporate). Sometimes, after a seriously horrible day, I just stand over the stove and inhale the steam (from a safe distance), releasing my troubles into the steam and letting the resulting space fill with warmth, comfort, and security. Cinnamon helps you remember that there is good in the world, even when things seem darkest.
Cinnamon oil and simmering cinnamon are definitely powerful juju. But what about burning the cinnamon as incense, using the smoke to heighten and strengthen your intent? Now that is some kind of power right there.
When I’m working with intention, manifestation, or wish fulfillment, I always feel like I need an extra boost. In these cases, I turn to incense. I usually light a small charcoal disk and either sprinkle some cinnamon powder (for short-lived incense) or cinnamon chips (for a longer, slower smolder) on it. I close my eyes and meditate, focusing first only on the scent of the smoke, then second on my intention. I marry my intention to the scent and the smoke and let it rise, making my wishes known and, at the same time, offering this smoke as a gift of thanks to whoever is listening.
Cinnamon tea for blood sugar. I like to simmer up a big quart jar of cinnamon tea and keep it in the fridge, just for ease of access. Pour 4 cups water into a small saucepan and add 4 good-quality (organic) cinnamon sticks. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then doctor with stevia (a sweetener that won’t affect your blood sugar), unsweetened nut or soy milk, and a dash of vanilla. If you battle high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), drink this tea 20 minutes after your meal, and if you battle low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), drink it throughout the day on an empty stomach.
Cinnamon tea for digestive complaints. Pour 3 cups water into a small saucepan, and add 1 tablespoon each of fennel, licorice root, and cinnamon chips (or one stick cinnamon). Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Strain and sip 20 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal. You can doctor this tea up, but try to keep some of the pungent flavor of these potent aromatic herbs (in other words, don’t make a frappe-type sweet drink this time around). Drink daily, if needed. Note: If you have low blood pressure, substitute anise for the licorice.
Cinnamon tea to instill warmth in the body. In a small saucepan, combine 3 cups water, 1 tablespoon cinnamon chips (or one stick), 1 tablespoon gingerroot (fresh or dried), 1⁄2 teaspoon rosemary, and 1⁄4 teaspoon sage. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Doctor to your taste.
Holiday cinnamon tea. Boil 4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and add 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot (1 teaspoon powder), 1⁄4–1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon cardamom pods (1 teaspoon powder), 1⁄2 teaspoon allspice, and 1 tablespoon fennel seeds. Simmer for 10 minutes or longer, depending on how strong you like this stuff. Strain and pour into preheated mugs. Add a few drops of vanilla extract, sweetener, and a bit of milk. Sip hot or iced, as often as you’d like.
Makes approximately 6–8 ounces
This little invention is probably the best holiday gift I’ve ever concocted. I think it was inspired by a much-needed cup of coffee one early winter morning that I happened to lace with cinnamon. I sat in my pj’s, watched the snow, and thought “Man, it would be awesome to bathe in this brew.” Thus, this scrub was born.
If you’re a coffee drinker, you can use your brewed grounds in this recipe (recycling!), or you can buy a small package of coffee, brew it, and use the grounds.
Makes 1 treatment
Cinnamon, with its heating and antibacterial properties, makes a great spot treatment for acne and troubled skin. I like to mix up a little of this paste and apply it to outbreaks before I go to bed, rinsing it off in the morning. The combination of cosmetic clay and cinnamon helps dry out the skin, draw out toxins, and heal inflammation and redness.
In a small bowl, mix together the clay and cinnamon. Add just enough water to make a paste. Apply the paste to affected areas, and leave it on for 10 minutes or overnight, washing the face as usual in the morning.
Makes 1 treatment
Let the holiday-inspired cosmetic scrub making continue! I think the idea for this one came in the midst of the maiden voyage of the above scrub. As we’ve learned, honey draws moisture to the skin and nutmeg gently exfoliates while also drawing blood to the surface of the skin. What does that mean? You end up with a glowing, healthy, radiant complexion void of pore-clogging oils and environmental toxins.
This makes enough for one (maybe two) treatments. Since honey is a wonderful preservative and since this cleanser is gentle enough for daily use, feel free to mix up a week’s worth (or more) and keep it right in your bathroom.
Serves 4
Mmmm . . . a chai latte that’s just like the one at your favorite coffeehouse (but maybe a tad healthier).
Serves 4 (or 1 if you’re like me)
This stuff is amazing. My brother loves to make ice cream, so this recipe is courtesy of his mad skills.
Makes 6 cups
I LOVE granola. It’s a really good thing I have some self-control.
We’re going to have a little fun on the mat (well, don’t we always?) with a pose called Wild Thing (or Camatkarasana, which translates as “the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart” — gorgeous, right?). Since cinnamon is all about invoking childlike joy and cultivating creativity while also warming the body, Wild Thing is the perfect pose. It’s a backbend, which is, in itself, inherently warming to the body. But backbends also open the heart area, which, as we’ve learned, is essential for opening up the path of creativity by loosening old emotions and allowing new experiences to enter into our lives.
When you see the pose (and, indeed, when you do it yourself, no matter how “accomplished” you are in the pose), you immediately sense the joy and happiness it inspires. So let’s get started.
Starting position. Assume the Downward-Facing Dog position. From here you’re going to inhale and bring yourself onto your right side, rolling onto the outside of that right foot and keeping your right hand on the mat. Your torso will face the left side. If you need to bring your left knee down here, go right ahead.
Moving into Wild Thing. Keep that right hand firmly on the mat (you can even increase your grip by making a scrunching motion on the mat). Inhale and lift your hips, stepping your left foot behind you. Place your toes on the floor and keep that left knee bent just a bit.
Now sweep back with your ribcage (think back to when you were a kid and one of your parents picked you up when you refused to go somewhere; perhaps you let your head and ribcage drop back to spite them, while they kept hold of your hips . . . yeah . . . it’s kind of like that), extending your heart and letting your left arm stretch into space, aiming it toward the floor.
Wild Thing
Finishing. Keep lifting your heart and hips with the inhale and let that right foot be solid on the mat. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths, then slowly and carefully make your way back to Downward-Facing Dog. Repeat on the other side, first taking a break in Child’s Pose if you want.
If you have a hard time in this pose, or feel unsafe, no worries. Try draping yourself over the seat of a sturdy chair or even the arm of a plush couch. Make sure your feet and hips are stable, and let your arms stretch down into space. You’ll get the same feeling of lift, exultation, and joy, while feeling safe and supported (and isn’t that just the ultimate expression of an ideal childhood?!).
Modified Wild Thing