- So today we're making Die Da Jiu liniment,
or "hit and fall trauma liniment."
Die Da Jiu liniment is one of the classic formulas
for topical application that you will see
in many Shaolin, Kung Fu,
and other martial arts studios across China, Taiwan,
and many other Southeast Asian countries.
In today's formula,
we'll be bringing together frankincense, myrrh,
dragon's blood resin, safflower,
da huang, or Rheum palmatum,
and Oregon grape root and dang gui.
So everything is measured to six grams,
and they're ready to put into my one-liter jar.
Frankincense, myrrh and dragon's blood,
we've got three resins in the formulas,
three roots and two flowers.
We don't have arnica today,
but safflower and arnica.
With the three resins,
all of these herbs are really aromatic,
and really, in Chinese medicine, what we call blood moving.
So here, starting off with frankincense, six grams,
smells fabulous,
and six grams of myrrh, or Commiphora myrrha.
Both frankincense and myrrh are in the Burseraceae,
or the incense tree family, and Mountain Rose sources
both their frankincense and myrrh from Somalia.
And dragon's blood is (sighs) so lovely,
and it creates this beautiful red pigment
that can also be used for ink.
And if you look up dragon's blood,
you'll also find some fun recipes
for making witchcraft-type oriented things.
So now moving on to our three roots,
we have two very yellow roots here,
with Oregon grape and da huang, or Rheum palmatum.
Rheum palmatum is also known as turkey rhubarb
in the Polygonaceae family, or the buckwheat family,
and this is sourced from the US. You see the colors
are merging together really beautifully.
Da huang in Chinese medicine is oftentimes used
as a strong purgative, so please consult
with a qualified practitioner before using.
Oregon grape, I modified from the formula from Tom Bisio
to make it easier for Western herbal practitioners
to source their ingredients.
Oregon grape root, or Berberis aquifolium,
this specific Berberis species was sourced
from here in the US, and grows well here in Oregon,
but many other species of Berberis can be used as well.
And then dang gui is in the Apiaceae, or the carrot family,
and (sighs) taking a whiff reminds me of childhood.
Oftentimes used internally for female reproductive health.
And then here we have our gorgeous safflower flowers,
six grams, nice and fluffy,
so it looks like a little bit more than everybody else.
Safflower can be a nice alternative
to the more expensive saffron
to be used in culinary arts as well.
Both safflower and arnica
are in the Asteraceae plant family.
So here we have all the ingredients together,
they compose about one fifth of our one-liter jar,
and we'll just be topping it off
with roughly one liter of alcohol.
So we've got some vodka today, and just pour it on,
and then shake everybody up.
After filling up your jar,
I like to put a piece of bee's wax on top,
because the alcohol can eat up the top of your Mason jar,
if you're using a Mason jar with a rubber top,
and this kind of a container,
with the rubber at the top as well
over time the alcohol will also degrade that,
which might turn your preparations different colors
and lend different properties that you might not want.
So placing wax paper on top to create a nice barrier
between the glass and your liniment
and the rubber at the top.
And then everybody's inside, you can shake it up.
So you can label it with all the ingredients that you have.
I do have a label printer at home
for the patients that I work with,
so I just went ahead and made a label beforehand.
Placing a label on top of your preparation,
and also on the side of your preparation,
which just helps to make it a little bit easier,
regardless of how it is
that you are placing your bottle into your space.
So placing a label on the front of the jar,
and then placing a label on the top of the jar.
So Die Da Jiu liniment, or any other liniment,
being that it's a topical preparation,
you can use a strong alcohol like vodka,
or any other alcohol,
as high proof as you can, 100 proof, 120 proof,
or you can also use isopropyl alcohol.
With this formula, I prefer to use rice wine
or vodka, just to make it a little bit more traditional,
because traditionally the formula is created with rice wine.
So this here is our final preparation,
and I'll shake it at least once a day,
place it somewhere inside of your space
where you will see it pretty consistently
and remindful to shake it every time you go by,
and placing it out of direct sunlight.
And after two to six weeks,
you can strain the preparation, and it'll be complete.
All right, so here we have a jar of finished liniment.
This liniment has been sitting around my space,
getting shaken daily for six weeks now.
And here I have a Pyrex pouring container
with a piece of cheese cloth on top
that I rubber banded in place,
and a strainer for larger particulate matter.
So, thank you so much
for sitting around in my space with me.
Hello there, yellow. All right.
So now that it's open, (laughs) here, let's continue.
Smells magnificent. And in we go.
Can you get a shot of the awesomeness? (laughs)
Mm.
If you have a tincture press at home,
you can use your tincture press to get the dregs
out of the plant material, or the marc.
You see, we're separating the marc, or the plant material,
and the menstruum, or, over here,
this is also, vodka is the menstruum, the liquid,
that we're pulling through the preparation.
This preparation is super sticky
because of all of the resins inside,
so, making sure that whatever container it is that you use,
you're okay with it turning yellow and sticky. (laughs)
So we're pressing everybody through.
All right, that's about good.
So with the leftover marc from your preparation,
if you have a compost, you can place it into your compost.
And something else really nice that you can do
with your marc is you can create a foot soak out of it.
So this one will be a really strong foot soak,
this particular formula is contraindicated
for pregnant women because of all the moving herbs
and really strong herbs inside of the formula.
So not a foot soak for pregnant women, not a foot soak
for people who might have low blood pressure,
because it might descend the blood pressure
a little bit too quickly,
just, this is a very strong formula that we have here
with this beautiful, golden-colored, sticky, fabulous marc.
So I'm going to set that aside for future foot soaks or
usage, but that's optional. (laughs)
So here we have the completed extraction.
And then I'll just rinse this,
and then just pour it right back into the same bottle.
Finishing this up, so we're just going to pour this in,
back into the same jar where we extracted it from before,
and here we have a completed Die Da Jiu trauma liniment,
helpful for rubbing into or onto aches
and sprains and contusions, particularly for acute injury,
but also if you have a chronic injury that gets exacerbated,
this can be really lovely to rub in,
just knowing that we've got some really strong,
yellow and sticky herbs inside,
so it will turn whatever area that you rub it into
this lovely golden color,
and perhaps a little bit sticky,
and the strong smelling aromas of the plants
that are inside of the formula will also make you smell,
what I think is very lovely,
but I always warn my patients
before applying this formula
that "you might smell a little strong
and you might look a little golden,
is that okay?" (laughs)
And use this formula often, particularly in the wintertime,
when many old injuries come back and remind you
of a life well lived,
this is a good time to use this formula.
Okay. Thank you.