a very old mushroom
reishi...
The other day I was walking in the woods with an old friend, when my eyes landed on a beautiful big Ganoderma applanatum, our local reishi mushroom, growing on a mossy bay tree. The water was rushing in the creek nearby, and dripping off every leaf. Our knee high rain boots were a must. Finally, the rain has saturated us all.
As I looked close at the perfect marriage of green tiny mosses, tall fragrant tree, and deep red mushroom, I remembered learning how amazing reishi is at transforming damp places - absorbing the excess water to balance out the surrounding ecosystem. They do that in our bodies too, creating flow in our potentially water-logged system(s). Kidneys rule the fluid flow of the body, so when things are backed up or stagnate it may result in water retention, fatigue, lack of sweat/eliminaton, irregular cycles, etc. Winter is the time of year to really support the kidney/adrenal system, and mushrooms are a potent diuretic option that's easy on the kidneys. The are particularly beneficial for kids, whose spleen/kidney energy is still developing and don't transform damp as easily (oh the every present runny nose!)…one of the main reasons I use so much of it in my Wellness Syrup.
Mushrooms are best extracted in water, so enjoy your tea, broth, or soup with some reishi, turkey tail, or shitakes and know that your own little personal ecosystem is as important to take care of as our great grand earth...we are all part of the whole.