Care in Chaotic Times with AVENA SATIVA
AVENA SATIVA : milky Oats
Wild oats are abundant. Grown commercially as a crop, they gleefully escape cultivation, thriving across Turtle Island in fields, along roadsides or disturbed soil. Both feral and cultivated oats are one of the best nerve tonics we have to work with. Folks are often shocked when I recommend oats as a solution to their problems. Perhaps they thought something more exotic or trendy would do the job better, or bowls of porridge come to mind. Either way, I adore oats’ playful ubiquity and easy abundance. Healing can often be simple and oats provide us with modest yet powerful medicine.
The entire plant is nutritive and medicinal, but the specific medicine most herbalists use are the immature flower heads or leaves + stalks. For one week of their growth cycle, the immature seed pods fill with succulent, milky medicine that is sweet, nourishing, soothing and moistening. This milky sap is what’s referred to as “Milky Oats” and is the medicine I refer to here. “Oatstraw” is the still green stems that are harvested during and just after the milky stage, which will be discussed later on.
Avena is a trophorestorative whose healing power comes from continued long term use. While they may not act with as much strength in situations of acute anxiety or overwhelm (although I find that’s entirely dependent upon the individual) they prove to be extremely effective over the long term when taken with consistency. My body responds to avena instantly with a wave of calm. Instead of feeling hyper sensitive to the world around me, there is a feeling of lubrication and protection. Milky Oats soothes the nerves the way oil massaged into dry skin provides a sigh of relief.
They are especially indicated for the individual who is in constant fight-or-flight with cortisol dysregulation, feebleness and burnout. Other indications include loss of libido, hypersensitivity to touch, chronic fatigue and inability to focus. This is for the frazzled and frayed, the exhausted and depleted. For the new parents, the insomniac, the workaholic, or simply the sensitive soul struggling to work and exist under capitalism.
Milky Oats are people's medicine. In a capitalist world where overwork and exhaustion are considered the norm, Avena is an ally in softly tending ourselves and protesting against the belief that our bodies are merely here for means of production. Oats are medicine for the people because they are common, safe, hardy, and contain a wealth of nutrients (B-complex, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc to name a few). Working with Avena we are able to breathe deeper, calm the racing mind, and nourish and restore OUR nervous system while still existing under oppressive systems.
Oats also tend to the soil they grow in. They make a wonderful cover crop that helps to rebuild and rest the soil, their roots adding back calcium and magnesium. If you have access to a garden, avena is easily grown with little effort. They are not endangered and are highly accessible. A humble plant with huge benefits. In my medicine garden, I grow oats over beds I am allowing to rest, and after harvesting the milky sap, I cut them down and leave them to decompose back to the soil. Healthy soil, like our bodies, needs rest.
Depending on your bioregion and seasonal weather patterns, oat tops will be ripe to harvest at varying times. Where I live, the cooler marine air means my oats won’t be ready until early July, yet a few hours away in the warmer Willamette valley the oat tops can be ready as early as May. When you notice flower heads emerge from the stalk, you’ll know the time is close, as they’ll fill with a latex like fluid growing increasingly plumper. When you squeeze a bud between your fingers and a white milky substance oozes out, you’ll know they're ready. This is a relatively short window, usually around one week to harvest.
The most effective way to work with and preserve milky oats is through tincturing. In my experience, if you want the strongest medicine, giving them a blitz in the blender is the answer. This will break through the external plant material and release the inner milk, allowing for increased extraction. Vitality is key, so I harvest and process on the same day. I tincture at 1:2 at 80% alcohol, and after swirling them in the blender they turn an exceptionally vibrant shade of lime green that settles into a milky hue over time.
The dosage is very dependent on the individual, being such a gentle plant, higher doses are well tolerated when needed. I recommend ½-1 dropperful doses taken throughout the day, with best results seen over a couple months. As mentioned, for some sensitive folks like myself, you’ll feel soothed from the first dose. For others it might take 4 weeks or so to begin to see the results through deeper sleep, more relaxation, and an overall sense of calm and ease.
For cases of severe burnout, milky oats is stronger and more suited medicine, however I’ve come to appreciate the tonic qualities of oatstraw. After harvesting the oat tops, there is still quite a bit of plant left, and the stalks and silky leaves can be cut back and dried to save for tea. Oatstraw is a lovely addition to herbal infusions, imparting a soothing flavor and gentle nervine action. Add with nettle and horsetail for a hefty dose of minerals or pair with skullcap, motherwort, wood betony or other nervines for a relaxing remedy to overstimulation. Oatstraw infusions are safe for those pregnant or in post-partum and support rebuilding energy reserves
