The Mindful Migraine

When I was a child, it was fairly standard to spot the golden yellow flowers of a dandelion in unmown grass, head over, and gently pluck out one of the fluffy-seed-puff-balls. Then you would blow on the poor uprooted plant and make a wish as you watched the winged-seeds fly away.

Last year, my sister (who wrote a guest post about her own chronic pain here) sent me some photos of a dandelion she took on her phone-camera, including this one, my favorite:

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I love how the ball looks quite solid and substantial in the solid glass vase, but both glass and puff-ball become more ephemeral when seen as their shadow selves.

Dandelions have always been a ‘weed’ in my mind, pretty though they are. However, I do vaguely remember reading somewhere about dandelion tea having healing properties – so – I decided to get googly.

Taraxacum officinale is the botanical name of the ‘common’ dandelion, and whilst Wikipedia says it IS generally considered a weed, it is also “an excellent wildflower for attracting both pollinating insects, and birds that feed on the seeds […and] The leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes used as food and in herbal medicine” (although they don’t specify the whats and hows).

[Disclaimer – please remember that this blog is NOT intended as a source of medical advice – be sure to speak to your own healthcare professional for specific information or feedback regarding your healing journey.]

I really loved the phrase the site used in passing – “silver-tufted fruit” – to describe the dried part of the plant that is designed to be blown to the wind, as well as the other colloquial names: “clocks” or “blow balls”.

[Maybe you grew up with a different name?]

Wikipedia also mentioned that cultures around the world have different stories about the dandelion. A Native American folktale, for example, tells the story of a golden-haired girl who attracts the fancy of the South Wind. The South Wind, [presumably more of a balmy breeze than a mighty gale force] was too lazy to pursue the young beauty. Then one day, he returns and realizes she has grown old and her hair has turned white. Supposedly, when the South Wind sighs over his lost chance at pursuing the golden-haired girl, his breath sends the white-haired dandelion seeds scattering across the meadow to propagate more golden-haired daughters [for him to harass??]

Now that I’m a grey-haired lady (read more here), it feels a bit ick to be sigh-worthy in the wrong way, but I found another interpretation of the dandelion that I like better. It’s from Victorian Flower Language (here): “rustic oracle”.

Anyway – all of this is starting to sound like an odd-round-about post – BUT – it does have a purpose: BREATHWORK.

I found this great breathing exercise a while back – but just realized it was perfect for dandelions! “Smell the Flower, Blow Out the Candle” is what ImagineYogaLife calls the technique in their post to help kids breathe through big emotions: 5 Simple Breathing Exercises to Help Kids Calm Big Feelings. You imagine a flower in one hand and a candle in the other – you breathe the fragrance of the flower IN, then blow the candle OUT…

Here’s a (2min) video I found that follows the same process, but has graphics to help kids (and us big kids) visualize the activity:

[Video source: Candle and Flower Breathing – Relaxing Mindfulness & Deep Breathing Exercise for Calm & Focus]

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I had a go at changing the exercise to use dandelions and it worked nicely.

Breathe in the scent of the golden flower in one hand, then turn your head and make a wish blowing on the “silver-tufted fruit” as you breathe out.

In, out, gold, silver, sunshine, wind, young-new-air-in, old-air-out…

Whatever message you want to read into it, I love that the humble dandelion is more potent than it is usually given credit for.

Take heart; you matter!

And remember: one man’s weed is another woman’s wise wonder!

Take care taking care, Linda xx

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PS – I just realized dandelions have been a recurring image in my mind, long before this post – they make a spectacular arrival in my short story genre mashup “uncanny” – in chapter 5 ‘Devolution’ (scroll down on the Gothic Migraine page here).