A cup of American skullcap tea to take the anxiety away...this herb is known as a nervous system nourisher. Like oatstraw, it is supposed to help strengthen nerves. It seems to help promote a calmer attitude when I drink three or four cups during the week. Less stress is, in my opinion, one of the first steps to really improving your quality of life. Make the effort with a simple cup of herbal tea!
Like many of nature's anti-stress herbs, drink your skullcap tea in moderation and avoid if pregnant. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, some American skullcap has been contaminated by other plants that have a connection with liver problems. To be safe, don't just purchase processed skullcap products unless you trust your source. I stick with Mountain Rose Herbs for organic herbs.
Drinking skullcap is great for relieving stress-related headaches, anxiety, and irritability. David Hoffmann's Illustrated Holistic Herbal mentions easing pre-mentrual tention and renewing the central nervous system as some of skullcap's benefits. It doesn't exactly have the best flavor (bitter!). It can be delicious still. I have become used to the taste and actually look forward to the scent and the soothing feeling for my mind and my digestive system. To enjoy your relaxing herbal infusion, steep one teaspoon of dried skullcap leaves and one teaspoon of peppermint leaves. The mint helps to balance the bitterness. Skullcap also blends well with valerian root. You can mix equal parts of all three herbs and then store in a colored glass jar for your own supply of incredibly calming, anti-stress herbal tea. At the end of the day this is a nerve nourishing way to help your body unwind. If you have any good skullcap tea recipes, please share! This is one of my favorite calming herbs.
photo: iStockphoto/Chris Gramly
Autumn is around the corner, time for a warming aromatherapy bath recipe made with comforting essential oils. Fall is the time of year to enjoy being cozy and warm and 
to appreciate what is around you. There is nothing that instills the warmth of hearth and home in your psyche more than a great essential oil blend and steaming mineral waters.
My autumn aromatherapy bath uses a blend of grounding and uplifting essential oils and mineral rich sea salts:
- 1 cup sea salt crystals
- 4 drops cedarwood essential oil
- 4 drops patchouli essential oil
- 4 drops bergamot essential oil
- 4 drops neroli essential oil
- 2 teaspooons carrier oil such as olive or apricot kernel
Add the essential oils to your carrier oil. Stir into the sea salts. Pink Himalayan crystal bath salts work well for this autumn aromatherapy blend. They are packed with trace minerals and they are a perfect fall rose color. Use a fine grain for faster dissolving. Mix into your very hot bath water and then slip into the tub once the water is bearable. Dim the lights, play your meditation music, and breathe. This is a great way to welcome autumn with serenity.
Cedarwood is good for nervous tension, and if you have any arthritis pain creep up during the colder months, a cedarwood and mineral salt bath is a good therapeutic relief option. Patchouli is another woody, comforting essential oil, but it is also really uplifting. Its a classic feel-good oil. Bergamot and neroli are two of the softer citrus oils, perfect for dissolving anxiety and stress.
Move over green tea and mate, the new healthy coffee alternative has made its way onto our mainstream shelves. It is guayusa. Packed with antioxidants (it has twice the ORAC antioxidant value of green tea products), it is a promising potential super food. With only 24 mg of caffeine for a cup of Runa guayusa tea this Amazonian plant crushes a typical cup of coffee (95mg) if you are looking for a boost of energy but not the high caffeine intake.
For me, one of the best ways to prevent tension and stress from ever manifesting on a day to day basis is to drink less coffee or to skip it altogether. I love coffee, the smell, the taste, the comfort, and will probably always enjoy a cup on most mornings, but shifting to tea during the afternoon helps me to feel productive and energized, even after a pasta lunch, with no coffee crashes or jitters.
Guayusa vs. Green Tea
I am a loyal fan of green tea, especially matcha, but I also love trying something new, especially when it comes to soothing, hot drinks. Guayusa is not actually new. It is an ancient brew, shared with the world by the indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. It has more antioxidants than your average cup of green tea, although it probably has a comparable amount of free radical fighting power as a cup of matcha. It is much easier to make than matcha; pour hot water over tea bag and wait a few minutes, or even a delicate cup of green or black tea, which you have to be careful not to over brew to avoid those tannic, bitter notes.
What about the flavor? Well, I have yet only tried the Runa peppermint and guayusa blend (no, no one treated me to a sample), so I am probably tasting a lot of the peppermint. From behind the minty flavor veil, I would say guayusa is much richer than green tea, with a very clean, green taste.
If you haven't tried guayusa tea, then make yourself a cup. It is a great alternative to coffee if you are interested in cutting down on your caffeine intake but still want the boost of energy and clarity, and the ritual of sipping your hot drink of choice during the day.
Disclaimer
I am not a health professional, but a tea drinker! My goal is to share my experiences with teas and soothing baths. This website does not intend to diagnose or treat any disease. If you need medical advice, consult with the professionals!!!
