Perhaps you are used to using bay leaves to flavor your sauces and soups? However, did you know that the noble laurel had medicinal and sacred virtues? Find out in the next few lines the history of Noble Laurel and its benefits for your health.
Le laurier noble, un arbre sacré
It is said that in ancient Greece, wreaths of laurel berries were given to students who passed their exams. "Laurel berries" is Latin for bacca laurea. As you can see, today's term baccalaureate would be a distant descendant of this ancient tradition.
Why is the laurus tree often associated with glory and triumph? It goes back to ancient and Celtic traditions. This tree was revered as a refuge for spirits. Moreover, remaining green all year round, it symbolizes immortality, a quality particularly valued and sought after by the human race...
Thesacred meaning of noble laurel is also found in purification practices. By burning the leaves, the smoke is said to ward off and protect homes and their inhabitants from evil spirits and bad luck.
Les feuilles de laurier dans la cuisine
In traditional culinary art, bay leaves are widely used to flavor sauce dishes and soups. Combined with other herbs such as thyme, rosemary, oregano or savory, they not only provide a unique flavor but also digestive benefits.
Did you know thatfresh branches of laurel trimmed can be used as skewers to cook pork on the barbecue?
Les bienfaits du laurier au niveau digestif
The leaves of Laurus Nobilis contain an aromatic essence rich in cineole, sesquiterpene lactones and isoquinoline alkaloids. These biochemical compounds have tonic effects on the stomach and bladder.
The baytree thus stimulates sluggish stomachs, opens the appetite and fights against fermentations.
In addition, it is known to have antiseptic and expectorant virtues.
Pour une infusion digestive
16 to 30 g of leaves per liter of water.
Usage du laurier en externe
In southern France, the noble laurel is renowned for relieving joint disorders.
To reduce rheumatic pain, prepare an oily macerate of fresh bay leaves in olive oil, arnica oil or sweet almond oil in an amber glass container if possible.
To avoid premature oxidation, be sure to fill to the brim to leave as little air as possible.
Leave a whole moon to macerate.
Mix from time to time by gently shaking the jar.
This preparation can be stored away from air and light.
Alternatively, you can add 1 to 2 drops of Laurus Nobilis essential oil in your usual ointment or in a little vegetable oil.
Laurier, méditation et émotions
Each plant has a message to convey. That of the Noble Laurel would be "Well done for who you are! ". Indeed, the laurel invites you to celebrate your successes, recognize your journey and appreciate what you already have. It also reminds us that success is first and foremost a feeling of personal accomplishment and not a title we have to wait for others to bestow upon us. The laurier highlights that the individual cannot exist without the collective and vice versa. Everything is a matter of collaboration and co-creation. Each success is a step towards yourself but also towards the other. Each success strengthens your personal awareness and brings you back into the heart of who you are. The laurier tree tells you "it's not what you did that is to be celebrated but who you had to embody to achieve it".
Invitation à la méditation :
If you have the opportunity to be in the presence of a healthy laurel tree, observe it and let its shape, its leaves, its fruits, its branches carry you...Touch its bark in awareness, crush its berries with your fingertips, smell its leaves... And let the Spirit of the Laurel impart its wisdom to you.
Other possibility:
Practice a scent meditation with theNoble Laurel essential oil.
After a few heart coherence exercises to calm the mind, gently inhale the EO directly from the bottle and then inwardly celebrate all your successes and become aware of your inner resources (courage, boldness, ambition...)