སྨན · Tibetan Herbs

A small shelf
of classical companions.

Not prescriptions — everyday helpers. A handful of Tibetan formulas and single herbs that a Bhutanese grandmother or Himalayan householder might have kept in their kitchen for a thousand years. Curated for newcomers; sourced from vetted brand partners. ཟས་དང་སྨན་གཉིས་ཀྱི་ཁྱད་པར་མེད · Food and medicine are not two things.

པདྨ
Compound Formula · Heart

Padma Basic (Padma 28)

པདྨ་ཉེར་བརྒྱད · Padma Nyerbrgyad

A twenty-eight-herb formula rooted in the Vaidurya Karpo, standardised in Switzerland since the 1960s and clinically studied for peripheral circulation. Traditionally supports the heart, cools inflammation, and clears "bad blood." Perhaps the best-known Tibetan formula in the West.

"Balances blood and Lung, opens the channels of the heart." — Vaidurya Karpo commentary

From Padma AG · Switzerland
Coming Soon
ཨ་གར
Compound Formula · Lung

Agar 35

ཨ་གར་སོ་ལྔ · a gar so lnga

The classical thirty-five-herb formula centred on agarwood (a gar), for anxiety, insomnia, and a Lung disorder that has risen into the heart. One of the most-prescribed Tibetan formulas for the "modern-life Lung" — screens, stress, sleepless nights.

"Settles the wind that scatters the mind. Restores the seven-day sleep of the ancients." — Yuthok, Fourth Tantra

From Men-Tsee-Khang · Dharamsala
Coming Soon
བྱུ་དམར
Compound Formula · Blood & Liver

Byu dmar 25

བྱུ་དམར་ཉེར་ལྔ · byu dmar nyer lnga

Twenty-five herbs centred on red coral (byu dmar), for liver heat, hypertension, and Tripa disorders that have entered the blood. A cornerstone of the Fourth Tantra's blood-disorder chapters, and standard in every Men-Tsee-Khang pharmacy.

"Cools the liver, purifies the blood, silences the fire in the vessels." — classical commentary

From Men-Tsee-Khang · Dharamsala
Coming Soon
གཡུ་ཐོག
Daily Tea · Digestive

Yuthok Digestive Tea

གཡུ་ཐོག་གི་ཇ · g.yu thog gi ja

A gentle daily tea inspired by the recipe attributed to Yuthok Yonten Gonpo — the father of Tibetan medicine. Cardamom, cumin, coriander, ginger, and a hint of long pepper. Warms the digestive fire (me drod) after a meal without over-stimulating.

"Kindle the digestive fire; three sips after eating." — everyday Tibetan folk instruction

From Vetted Brand Partner
Coming Soon
སྲོལ་ལོ
Single Herb · Adaptogen

Tibetan Rhodiola

སྲོལ་ལོ · srol lo · Rhodiola sacra

The high-altitude root the Tibetan doctors have used for centuries against the fatigue of the plateau — depression, altitude sickness, immune weakness. Modern research confirms adaptogenic effects on cortisol and stamina. Best steeped or capsulated.

"Restores the spirit-force diminished by wind and cold at great heights." — Vaidurya Karpo

From Vetted Brand Partner
Coming Soon
དབྱར་རྩ
Single Herb · Deep Tonic

Yartsa Gunbu · Cordyceps

དབྱར་རྩ་དགུན་འབུ · dbyar rtsa dgun 'bu

"Summer grass, winter worm" — the improbable caterpillar-fungus symbiosis harvested at 4,000m across the Tibetan plateau. Classically tonifies the lung and kidney, supports stamina and libido. Culturally precious; sustainability matters — only sourced from cultivated stock.

"Restores what wind and long journeys have depleted." — Sarat Chandra Das, on Tibetan pharmacy

From Vetted Cultivated Source
Coming Soon
སྒ་སྨུག
Everyday Kitchen · Warming

Fresh Ginger Root

སྒ་སྨུག · sga smug

Warm, pungent, universally used. Sowa Rigpa's most everyday medicine for cold Beken and stagnant digestion. A slice steeped in hot water twenty minutes before a heavy meal kindles the digestive fire. In winter, a companion for every Lung-Beken type.

"The greatest of the pungent tastes; medicine for Beken and Lung." — Fourth Tantra, herb chapter

From Any Trusted Grocer
Kitchen Staple
སུག་སྨེལ
Everyday Kitchen · Aromatic

Green Cardamom

སུག་སྨེལ · sug smel

The queen of the kitchen aromatic tastes in Sowa Rigpa. Warms the stomach, opens the channels, calms an anxious Lung. Two crushed pods in warm milk before bed is a classical remedy for insomnia in Lung types. Also in butter tea across the Himalayas.

"Balances Lung; carries the medicine of milk into the heart." — Yuthok's daily formulary

From Any Trusted Grocer
Kitchen Staple
བོད་ཇ
Daily Tea · Traditional

Po Cha · Tibetan Butter Tea

བོད་ཇ · bod ja

Pu-erh-style tea brick, salt, yak (or cow) butter, boiled and churned. The signature drink of the plateau — warms the body against cold, nourishes Lung, and lubricates dry channels. Not a beverage of subtle taste; a medicine that happens to be a drink.

"Four bowls a day, and the wind cannot enter you." — nomad saying, Kham

From Vetted Brand Partner
Coming Soon
གུར་གུམ
Single Herb · Cooling Tonic

Kashmiri Saffron

གུར་གུམ · gur gum · Crocus sativus

The "king of Tripa medicines" — cooling, aromatic, mood-lifting. Six threads in warm milk with cardamom is a classical evening drink for irritable Tripa and mild low mood. Also appears in dozens of Tibetan compound formulas as a "carrier" that guides medicine to the liver and blood.

"Cools the liver; brightens the eyes; opens the heart." — Fourth Tantra

From Vetted Kashmiri Source
Coming Soon
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Twelve small cautions.

  • Herbs are medicine. Real ones can interact with real medications. Ask a pharmacist or doctor.
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding — many Tibetan formulas are not for you. Ask an amchi.
  • Start with small amounts. See how your body responds over three or four days.
  • Buy from vetted sources — heavy-metal contamination has been found in some low-quality imports.
  • Never self-diagnose serious illness. See a real doctor first, herbs alongside if appropriate.
  • Some Tibetan formulas historically contained purified mercury or arsenic — modern versions do not, but buy from certified sources.
  • If you take blood thinners, cardiac medications, or immunosuppressants — always consult first.
  • Kidney or liver conditions — some herbs are contraindicated. Get guidance.
  • Wild yartsa gunbu (Cordyceps) is severely endangered — refuse anything not certified cultivated.
  • Sustainability matters. Ask brands about wild-harvest ethics.
  • Storage matters. Keep herbs cool, dark, and dry. Discard anything with off-smell.
  • Trust your body. If something feels wrong, stop and consult an amchi.

Stillpoint is educational. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prescription. Herbs and formulas listed are traditional companions; efficacy claims reflect classical Sowa-Rigpa understanding, not FDA-evaluated statements. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before starting any new herbal regimen — especially if you are pregnant, nursing, take prescription medication, or have a serious medical condition. Cultivated Cordyceps only; do not purchase wild-harvested endangered species.