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.
Whether you have stress-driven soreness or you spent too many hours at the gym yesterday, this muscle soothing bath recipe can help. I blend calming, anti-inflammatory essential oils with those amazing magnesium sulfate crystals that are a dream for relieving muscle soreness, a stiff neck, and minor back pain; epsom salts! Yes I advocate them all the time, but they are inexpensive and amazing.
Eucalyptus has a warming effect when it comes to bathing for muscle soreness. It stimulates blood flow and quickly eases aches and pains. I also love the aroma of eucalyptus. I actually use it to make a homemade after-cooking-dinner room freshener. Eucalyptus combined with peppermint, you get the perfect combination of warming and cooling. Mint cools, refreshes, and revitalizes. Adding it to your bath is a great way to relieve soreness while also helping your mind focus; perfect for reading after your bath. I keep the peppermint dose low, while non-irritating, I find menthol to be a little too much. I also add chamomile essential oil to this mix. The scent is really overpowered by the eucalyptus and mint, but you still get the anti-inflammatory benefits of this essential oil.
To make this muscle soothing bath, you will need:
- 8 drops chamomile essential oil
- 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 3 drops peppermint essential oil
- 1 teaspoon carrier oil, such as sweet almond, sesame, or avocado
- 2 cups epsom salts
Run very hot bath water. While it is filling, stretch your muscles, hydrate with a cup of juice or water. Swirl in the epsom salts. Two cups seems like a lot, but with muscle soreness, you want a lot. Add the essential oils to the teaspoon of oil and then add this to your bath water right before getting in (wait until the water cools to a tolerable temperature for you). Try to stay in the water for at least 20 minutes to really get the benefits. Relax after your bath and sip some herbal tea, juice, or water. You will sweat with two cups of epsom salts, so rehydrate!
Sit back and relax this summer with a cool, fragrant glass of iced passion flower tea. This herb is great for calming the nerves and really allowing you to enjoy the sultry days of summer. According to The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal by David Hoffmann, passion flower has sedative, hypnotic, anti-spasmodic, and nervine benefits. Try one of these recipes, take a sip, and relax.
Tropical Passion Juice
- 1 teaspoon dried passion flower leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried chamomile blossoms
- 1 cup mango juice
Brew the herbal infusion with the passion flower and chamomile and two cups of boiling water, infusing for a full ten minutes, covered. Let the tea cool to room temperature. Fill your glass with ice. Pour half of the mango juice and half of the tea. Store the leftover in the refrigerator or share with a friend.
Strawberry Passion Smoothie
- 1 teaspoon dried passion flower leaves
- 1/2 cup sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
- 5 or 6 ice cubes
Brew your calming passion flower tea and let it cool. Throw all ingredients in the blender. Blend for a full 30 seconds. Sip through a colorful straw.
Iced Passion Mojito
- 1 teaspoon dried passion flower leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
- 1-2 tablespoons honey, depending on how sweet you would like your drink
- juice from one lime
This is an amazing twist on a classic summer cocktail. Brew the passion flower mint tea with two cups of water, steeping for about 10 minutes. Melt the honey in your tea while the water is still hot. Cool the infusion in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Pour over ice and squeeze in the juice of a lime. Stir. Garnish with a mint leave. Serves two.
Making homemade aromatherapy bath salts is remarkably easy. Make them for yourself, we all deserve a little luxury. They also make excellent gifts, especially if you use pretty pink Himalayan sea salt or vibrant Hawaiian salts and cool glass jars. You can re-purpose jelly jars to make your bath salt mixes a little more eco-friendly.
What are the benefits? Well, aside from the instant stress and tension melting from soaking in an aromatherapy bath, you get a dose of minerals from the salts. This is why you do want to use high quality sea salts and epsom salts, nothing processed! This is one of the big reasons that I am such a big fan of epsom salt baths, the magnesium and sulfates, which are both important anti-aging minerals. Magnesium helps to prevent calcification and sulfur (found in onions, garlic, and eggs), helps to 'protect against the harmful effects of radiation and pollution,' thus slowing the aging process (Balch's Prescription for Nutritional Healing). I don't know how effective my idea is, but I figure epsom salt baths are a win-win. They are relaxing, I sweat out a few toxins, and they do really help with sore, stiff muscles.
Here is the basic recipe for aromatherapy bath salts and a few suggestions for different essential oil combinations. You will love having plenty of ready-to-use salts for luxurious baths on hand; so much better than paying $15 or $25 dollars for a small container of aromatherapy salts. Plus, you get to have fun with the ingredients.
To make natural bath salts, you will need:
- 2 cups epsom salts
- 2 cups coarse sea salts
- 1 tablespoon jojoba, sweet almond, apricot kernel, or any other carrier oil that you have around
- 20-25 drops essential oil
- 1 cup milk powder (optional)
First combine the epsom salts and sea salts. Add your blend of essential oils to the tablespoon of oil. Then, stir this super fragrant oil into your salts until well-mixed. If using the milk powder (try goat's milk or coconut milk powder), add to the initial salt mixture. Fill your jars. Seal tightly. Label. Essential oils do degrade over time when exposed to light, heat, etc, so don't be afraid to use your salts quickly.
Essential oil blends for aromatherapy baths:
Calming:
- 10 drops lavender
- 8 drops chamomile
- 7 drops neroli
Rejuvenating:
- 10 drops sandalwood
- 10 drops frankincense
- 5 drops carrot seed
To clear the mind:
- 5 drops geranium
- 5 drops peppermint
- 5 drops clary sage
- 5 drops rosemary
Uplifting:
- 10 drops bergamot
- 10 drops rose
- 5 drops jasmine
Swirl a full cup of your blended salts and essential oils into running bath water.
Nothing calms me, body and mind, like a hot soak in fragrant waters. For me, this is the best meditation preparation technique; to melt away my worries and concerns with a sandalwood bath. If you are new to meditation or have trouble relaxing and entering a meditative state, then get a little help with this bath recipe. Relax in the tub for 15 minutes, slip into a comfortable towel or robe, get into your relaxed position, put on your meditation cd's, and go for it.
Sandalwood is one of the best essential oils for meditation. It is warming and grounding, which helps to create feelings of serenity and security. The centering properties of sandalwood are perfect for preparing the mind for meditation. I combine sandalwood with cedarwood, for strengthening and comfort, and lavender for the gentle, calming effect.
To make this meditation bath, you will need:
- 7 drops sandalwood essential oil
- 2 drops cedarwood
- 3 drops lavender
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Add the essential oils to your carrier oil. Sesame is great, but you can also use sweet almond, avocado, or even virgin olive oil. Disperse into warm bath water. Dim the lights, or if you have a few aromatherapy candles use them to set a more relaxing space. Enjoy your meditation bath for about 15 minutes. Sip some water, herbal tea, or room temperature juice when you get out. Make sure you are comfortable and start meditating.
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!!!
