Shawna Schenk
- Sep 10, 2018
- 6 min read

SAGE

"the wise old soul”

I asked Sage what it would look like if it were a person. He told me he’d be the wise old man with perfect brown (not white) hair, tiny eyes, sitting in a sacred (comfortable) rob, in crossed-leg position, laughing in pure joy and smiling with the ways of life. He’d be that dude that could levitate because of his mind-over-matter powers.

Sage is the plant that you turn to when you need wise council. He will guide you with his ways, showing you that life is about pure bliss, contentment, and the ability of being and flowing with all that is. He is the vortex of energy that expands the mind so largely and through this massive, conscious expansion brings clarity and calm.

He is lifetimes upon lifetimes of wisdom inscripted on the DNA of its plant form. He is brain medicine opening the gates from the heart to the head. When life feels confusing, your brain feels overwhelmed, or you need some solid advice and guidance, pull up a meditation cushion and sit with Sage. Simply listen. The wisdom will come. The plant will ignite it.

Sage uses wisdom to rid the problems that burden the physical, mental, emotional and energetic part of us that forgets we are love and joy: that forgets we are alive and that to be alive is a gift.

In last night’s class we used:

Clary Sage ($37)

Common Sage ($30)

Wildcrafted Purple Sage ($59)

Purple SageBrush Hydrolat ($33)

White Sage ($40)

and a Smudge bath with Tri-Colored Sage dried and rolled from my garden ($6)

There are over 900 varieties of Sage, and it is a perennial plant. What that means is that plant grows all the time (never stops!) and there are MANY varieties. The earth produces what its inhabitants need to survive. With this plant being so prevalent you can bet it is a medicine the masses need daily. Sage grows through San Diego, so if you are local, look around: you may just find a wisdom plant friend literally under your nose. Sit down and talk to it. It will guide you.

Head Medicine:

Sage works with your head. It is a green plant with purple, white or blue flowers. The green (which the plant is primarily) focuses on the HEART: letting love in to nurture and grow and use its wisdom to hush the sometimes unreasonable or demanding games the mind likes to play on us. The flowers bring in the color healing therapy of the upper chakras associated with the brain (the third eye and crown chakras, bringing attention to all physical functions of the brain).

Research after research has proven Sage to be a medicine that works to improve:

Memory Retention
Increased Cognition
Improves concentration and focus
Lengthening your attention span

It is a plant medicine that has science saying it keeps the mind “youthful.” It has been proven over and over again to improve acetylcholinesterase (Ach) levels in the brain. This Ach enzyme improves concentration and helps in the treatment of memory. It has been shown to reverse Alzheimer and Dementia in its early stages and slow down the onset of Cognitive Disorders generally. It is known as a “must have” for the elderly and if you are student, it is there for you as a study partner. It will help you retain information. Also for those with ADD or ADHD, this is one of the plant friends I would suggest. It will build up your attention span.

For someone like me (upper 30’s), I simply have a lot going on in my head. It is hard for me to slow down, I take on more than I should, and my brain is BUSY. As a result, I become airy and forget stuff often so Sage keeps me on track. Which reminds me….if you practice ayurveda and you are a Vata, don’t forget your Sage. :)

How does the plant do this? Energetically, it is all about wisdom. Wisdom teaches us to remember our soul: who and what we are (so much more than flesh and bones) and all that we are capable of and the body is capable of doing, being and healing.

If this isn’t enough, Sage has your back (or should I say, brain?) for chemical imbalances. It contains Thujone which is GABA and Serotonin (5-HT3) receptor antagonist. This helps deal with grief and depression.

Wisdom brings calm, so Sage also helps with nerves and anxiety. For any brain imbalance (which these days it seems many of us have!), place drops directly on your head. (Note: number of drops depends on body weight and other factors).

Since all this energy is going on in the headspace, Sage also works with the HAIR! It darkens hair that is turning grey or white, keeps hair shiny and also stimulates hair growth. Massage Sage into your scalp or put a few drops of this plant medicine into your shampoo to help with your hair.

Because Sage is brain medicine, he really likes to be meditated with. Use him in your meditation to help you get deeper in your connection with your self.

Hormones

Sage comes from the Mediterranean which is close to the midline of the Earth. This means it holds the vibration of balance. Sage is amazing womb medicine for women (especially, Clary Sage) and balances hormones in both men and women. It does not matter if your hormones are too high or too low, Sage knows what to do and will help teach your body to be in balance.

Improves Bone Health

Sage has a super high level of Vitamin K helping keep bones healthy and strong. Sage teaches the wisdom of a strong foundation to allow everything else to fall into place.

Mouth/Teeth Health:

Use Sage as a mouthwash. Science has proven it to help treat gum disease, throat infections/sore throats, and canker sores. I like gargling with it because it blesses my mouth with wisdom helping my words come out with love and understanding. Energetically, Sage uses wisdom to help guide you to finding your truth (something to meditate on: most mouth illnesses come from a reaction to not living in our truth).

Purifies us:

Sage is high in antioxidants to neutralize free radicals. This keeps our immune system strong and our skin beautiful (more discussed on this below). It has also been used for thousands of years to rid EVIL. Use the smoke to release “evils”/bad energy or cleanse negative vibes from a room or object, and use the oil to get rid of the darknesses that live within you (we all have them). I like to use Sage if I have nightmares: it helps those bad thoughts go away.

Sage is also great to have around if you are around people or places that are lower vibration. He will teach you to not go lower in your vibration and act evil, unloving, hateful or “bad” too: he will show you not to judge, just to take care of yourself and operate from a place of love. Sage reminds us that evil never beats evil, only love does. This can be hard for us to understand, so he starts to teach you how to live in this.

Digestion

Sage uses its wisdom to help make it comfortable for you to digest life. It is used for digestive problems, including loss of appetite, gas, stomach pain/gastritis, diarrhea, bloating, and heartburn.

Manages Diabetes

As said, Sage works to balance. Research shows it contains certain extracts and chemicals that mimic the drugs typically prescribed for managing diabetes. It appears to regulate and inhibit the release of stored glucose in the liver, preventing major fluctuations of blood sugar, which can help to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes or at least manage the condition if it has already manifested.

Beautiful Skin

Sage is the wise old man who really doesn’t look old. Aside from keeping the brain youthful, it also full of calcium and vitamin A, which protect your skin against free radicals and aid in daily cell regeneration (which gets rid or minimizes wrinkles). Energetically speaking, when you operate from a place of love and wisdom in your mind, everything else will de-age as well. Thoughts become things, right?