Herbal Support for Pain & Circulation in Winter: A Simple Beginner’s Guide

Winter has a way of slowing everything down — including us. Cooler temperatures, less movement, and more time indoors can leave some people talking about stiffness, cold hands and feet, or general discomfort. While this is a normal seasonal shift, it’s also a time when many herbal traditions turn to “warming” plants.

In this post, we’ll be looking at a few herbs commonly used to support circulation and comfort during colder months, and how people typically work with them.

🌶 Warming Herbs in Herbal Tradition

Many traditional herbal systems describe plants in terms of their energetic qualities: warming, cooling, moistening, or drying. Warming herbs are often aromatic or spicy, and are frequently used to encourage movement and heat.

Here are a few examples:

Cayenne (Capsicum spp.)

 

Cayenne peppers contain capsaicin, which gives them their heat. In herbal preparations, cayenne is well known as a warming stimulant and is often used in very small amounts. You’ll see it in teas, topical oils, liniments, and salves.

 

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

 

Ginger has been part of food and herbal traditions around the world. Fresh ginger has a bright, spicy heat, while dried ginger tends to feel deeper and warmer. People commonly use it in teas, syrups, poultices, and infused oils.

Arnica (Arnica montana)

Arnica is a well-known topical plant often used by hikers and athletes. You’ll find it in many commercial creams and salves. It’s important to note that arnica is for external use only, and should not be applied to broken skin.

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

This sunny plant thrives in the summer but has a long history as a topical herb. Many traditional herbalists prepare it as an infused oil for seasonal projects.

🧼 How People Work With These Herbs

These plants show up in a variety of forms:

• Teas & infusions: ginger and cayenne are popular in warming tea blends.
• Soaks & compresses: herbs can be added to warm water or cloth compresses.
• Infused oils: many herbalists create oil infusions for salves or massage oils.
• Salves & balms: infused oils are combined with beeswax to make topicals.

Each method has a different purpose, and not every herb is suitable for every format (for example, arnica is not used internally).

🧴 Why Topicals Are Appealing

Topical preparations are popular for a simple reason: they allow people to interact with herbs in a direct but gentle way. Balms, oils, and salves offer a way to incorporate herbal knowledge into daily life without making internal claims or focusing on treatment.

🧪 Something New in the Apothecary…

Here in the Raven’s Remedy apothecary, I’ve been working with herbs traditionally associated with warmth and circulation as part of a new pain salve formulation. It’s still in the testing stage, but it brings together some of the ideas mentioned above.

I’ll be sharing more details over the next few weeks as it gets closer to release. If you’d like updates, you can join the email list — it’s where I share behind-the-scenes info, seasonally relevant herbs, and product announcements.

 

 

Thanks for reading, and for being part of this little herbal community.

Winter is a quiet season, and a wonderful time to learn from the plants.

— Raven’s Remedy