I have been drinking tea since I was ten years old. My mom would always put a kettle of tea on when I came home from school when I was growing up. It has been a daily habit of mine ever since.  I drink it daily, consistently and repeatedly. Sipping on tea comforts me much like a warm blanket. In the winter, tea nourishes me, warms me and gets me through every minute intellectual task that I must do whether it be reading, studying, or researching. It somehow makes the tasks more tolerable.

Tea has many medicinal benefits as well. Teas are not a strong form of medicine- encapsulated forms of herbs and liquid herbs like tinctures are stronger than teas however if you want to get a mild benefit from a specific herb and you like to get more water into your body teas can be a good choice. Teas can be made from the leaves, stems or flowers of herbs. In this case, to extract the medicinal benefit, the plant parts are steeped in water that has previously been bought to a boil and then has been turned off. It may be steeped for 10 minutes or longer depending on the strength that you desire of the particular herb.

The root is another component of the plant that can be used to extract medicinal benefits from. When a root is used, to extract the medicinal substance, it is necessary to bring the root that has been sliced up to a boil and then simmer for up to 20 minutes. Common roots that are used in this method of extraction include licorice root, dandelion root and echinacea root.

Teas are rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutritive substances which nourish the body. I used to drink nettle tea when I went to Bastyr university and got my degree in naturopathic medicine. I drank nettle tea because it is a great mineral rich tonic for the body. Stinging nettles are a common weed that grow worldwide. Nettles get their name from the fine hairs on their leaves and stems that can cause skin irritation on contact. Nettle tea is rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron and vitamins such as vitamin A, C, K, and sulfur.  I feel drinking nettle tea can bring a little color to your skin tone if you are pale. It is a good tea to drink if you have skin disorders such as eczema or acne. It is a blood purifier and thus conducive to detoxification.

Some of the medicinal benefits of nettle tea include it’s antihistamine effects due to its flavonoid content (quercitin) in the roots and leaves. Thus it is useful for people that suffer from allergies or inflammatory disorders like asthma. It is anti-styptic, thus reduces bleeding both internally and externally. It has some effect on reducing rheumatism through its minimal reduction of uric acid. It is thought to have some diuretic action supporting the action of the kidneys. It may provide benefit to men that suffer from BPH and help increase urine output. Because of its tannic acid content it can act as an astringent in the case of diarrhea. These are just a few reasons why I love to drink nettle tea. Steep one to two tsp in 2-4 cups of water for 10 minutes for basic preparation.

General recommendation-Herbal Teas should be avoided in pregnancy. If you are on medication, check in with your doctor to ensure there are no interactions with your meds and the tea you are drinking. Teas should not be consumed daily for long periods of times (> 2 months) without switching herbs. As with most substances, moderation is key for best results.

I went to a social gathering last week and one of the topics we discussed was New Year’s resolutions. One of my resolutions is one that I have on my list every year and do practice consistently. It is doing a daily meditation. I feel that meditation is so important for overall well being – the perfect tool to unite mind/body/spirit. In our crazy stressful demanding lives, we need a tool to help us stay in balance with everything. This tool is meditation. It does not cost anything, you can do it anywhere and it is a great way to start and/or end your day.

The benefits are numerous: meditation improves immune function which is paramount to reducing risk of not only acute colds/flu but also indirectly reducing risk of chronic diseases like cancer and auto-immune disease. Studies have shown that meditation can decrease emotional disturbance associated with neoplastic diseases. Meditation decreases inflammation which is at the root of chronic disease. It appears to do this by down-regulating pro-inflammatory gene expression. It has been shown to decrease c-reactive protein which is a lab marker of inflammation. Many people rely on meditation to live with chronic pain. It can help increase feelings of well being and can help you transcend your current level of pain whether it be physical or emotional.

Meditation decreases feelings of loneliness, decreases depression and anxiety and can improve your ability to regulate your emotions. I see clients regularly that are having a hard time keeping their emotions in a balanced state so I always recommend that they start meditating. It can increase feelings of social connectedness thereby reducing  feelings of isolation which are a known health risk. It can help you feel more compassionate and allow you to access your heart space more easily.

As I work with corporate clients on a regular basis, meditation serves their needs very well. It increases gray matter in the brain and increases attention and memory which can come in handy when you need to be productive and multitask at your office.  Meditation improves your overall focus. I start my day off with a 10-20 minute meditation in the am. I find it increases my clarity and connection to my intuition which serves me in my job. It allows me to remember important details and increases my retention of important facts. Meditation helps you function under higher stress levels while reducing those negative effects of stress on the body/mind/spirit.

Start with a simple ten minute exercise: focus your attention on your breath. Buy an egg timer and set it for 10 minutes. Sit in a position that is comfortable for you and breathe. Meditation is a discipline and your mind will show up to distract you with many random thoughts. Keep returning your attention to your breath. Over time it will get easier to focus your attention on your breath. There are many styles of meditation to choose from- explore your different options-mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, compassion, yoga nidra, vipassana, etc. I highly recommend that you stick with it because it will change your life. If you want further instruction, please book an appointment with me at parallel wellness. Until next time, be well…

References:Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Health-Care Professionals. Int. Journal of Stress Management, Volume 12(2), May 2005, pg. 164-176.; Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training reduces loneliness and pro-inflammatory gene expression in older adults. Vol. 26, Issue 7, Oct. 2012, pg. 1095-1101.; J. Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 95 (5), Nov. 2008, 1045-1062.

I had an interesting experience last weekend. I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth and I noticed a single medium sized ant walking up the wall beside my mirror. When I stopped to look at it, it stopped walking and looked at me. I was thinking to myself ‘where did this ant come from? where is it going and are there more ants to follow?’  The ant had stopped and lifted one of its legs up- almost like a yoga pose with its antennas quivering. It made me laugh initially but what really struck me about this little interaction that I had with the ant was that it was alone. It almost looked scared and lonely; like it had lost its ant hill.That got me reflecting on this time of year and how important it is to have community around you especially if you are on your own and don’t have a family that is in close proximity to you.

You need to find your own community or even build your own community of like minded souls around you. How do you do that? First of all start with your immediate neighborhood- get to know your neighbors- say hello to them when you go out to start your car if they happen to be outside. Find out about them- what do they enjoy doing with their weekend- do they have a significant other or do they have kids? Start to care about your neighbors by building a relationship with them. I am grateful because my sister invited me over to her annual neighborhood potluck block party. It is a potluck dinner so everyone including myself brought a dish of our choice to share with everyone. What a great way to get to know your neighbors! At the end of the night, I concluded that my sister lives in a warm and welcoming environment of people. We all have interesting people around us- we just have to find out about them and this is a way to open our hearts to others and receive love coming back from them. This honors the spiritual law of brotherhood.

I walk every weekend with one of my neighbor friends. We head out the door at 9 am for a walk. We both get our exercise and we both get a social interaction. One of my other friends in the neighborhood has a potluck brunch that she hosts probably four to six times a year. Another friend hosts A Course in Miracles night from time to time. There is something you can always bring to the table so to speak to build community. I invited an older woman that I see at the bus stop to a Christmas concert that my local church was hosting last weekend. She loved it. I asked her last year as well because I had found out that her husband died and she was missing him.

Another person that I ride the bus with occasionally mentioned a singles group that he attends that meets on Thursday nights and he invited me to come to the group about a month ago. I have been going regularly to this group and I appreciate it. Last week we put together Christmas hampers and delivered them for people that were alone and were in need. It felt great to be in the company of like minded souls. There are plenty of other ideas that I am sure you can come up with to build community. Host a book club or a prayer group, arrange to go snowshoeing with a group of people- open your hearts and minds and seek to build love in your community. Until next time, have a happy holiday with all the people that you love…XO