August 18, 2014
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Personali ‘tea

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 Today I am quietly sitting at my desk looking out onto the sea in West Palm Beach, how lucky am I? The sea is quite beautiful and calm, the fish are jumping on this clear day, and even though its  already hot and humid at 84 degrees at 830 am,  I am enjoying a cup of soothing warm rooibus tea.

Teas, just like us, have their own personalities.  I could feel rooibus tea calling me this morning  with its big and soothing personality ready to wrap its arms around me and give me a big hug. A much needed hug which makes me grin from ear to ear, relax and know that life is good.

Allow me to explain a little more. As you sip your chosen tea,  very slowly the tea will reveal its color, aroma, taste and then  finally, the impact you feel on your senses.  You will retain this sensory memory and for the future will choose your tea as you recollect how it made you feel, whether it was soothing, uplifting, calming, made you sleepy, helped you meditate, gave you stamina, helped you focus, opened your heart to reach out to someone …  however it works for you, the tea is encouraging you to trust your inner voice on what feels good to you.

Peppermint tea for example, to me, is peppy, peppermint patty type personality, bubbly, light and makes me laugh when I drink it!  Black tea, on the other hand, is my traditional afternoon drinking tea to help me focus and always shared with a decadent cookie, or biscuit as we say in England. No matter how hard I try to avoid it, that little nibble of sweetness is my delight … 🙂

Back to my tea of choice this morning. My rooibus with  a beautiful reddish brown color along with  a tiny amount of ginger powder and honey added adds to the depth of flavor.  As the earthy almost chocolatey fragrance rises from my teacup I feel relaxed, and I purposefully close out the rest of the day, the projects, the schedule etc and have a mini vacation.  For any scientists out there, Rooibus is known to melt away tension or irritation owing to its nothofagins (antioxidants) that calm the output of my adrenal hormones, and the quercetin (a super antioxidant) is easing inflammation in my body … In addition the ginger is warming and settling my digestive system… and all I did was put a tea bag in the teacup… and I have become the tea alchemist.

The personality of rooibus originally came second to the forcefulness and power of black tea, but rooibus made its debut during World War II when black tea supplies were difficult to secure. Produced in South Africa, rooibus won through with its abilities to regulate blood sugar, Diabetes Type 2 , and help insomnia and even high blood pressure.  Its skin care benefits are also legendary with its ability to cool sunburn when applied to the skin (cold tea), heal eczema and rashes, and can even slow down the aging process.

I love tea! Its so simple and so amazing.  If you would like to find out more about the healing qualities of herbal teas, traditional teas, essential oils and follow my suggested recipes and blends for  health and skin care, perfume, tea cocktails  and more, I am happy to be offering my Hot Water for Tea, e-book for Kindle, Nook and  I Book for a limited period of $2.  To become the tea artisan visit my apothecary store to download.

In good health,

Nicola

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July 18, 2014
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Tea and ch’i for inspiration

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Until I started writing my book I hadn’t really thought much about the impact of tea on our inspiration. In fact, now I would rather have a cup of tea and ch’i and forgo the tea and cookies any time! To begin with, ch’i is the subtle energy of life that runs through all living things. You can’t see it but some people can feel it.  Ch’i is an energy or electricity if you like that is created in our cells and helps to keep each cell healthy.  When we drink tea or eat foods that have just been picked we absorb the ch’i of that plant, and it helps to expand the ch’i in our bodies.  Eastern medicine recognizes that illness can originate in the subtle energy field that surrounds our physical body.

In Qi Gong and Acupuncture we use techniques to move ch’i that has become stagnant in an area of the body and may be contributing to ill health.

We can take care of ch’i  with simple methods at home.  I see tea as a plant medicine. A simple fresh handful of herbs picked straight from the garden and placed into a teapot, with hot boiled water, and then left to steep for 10 minutes, will bring you the goodness of the herb plus its ch’i.  The ch’i/energy will impact on your energy through smell and its ability to help you relax and expand your energy field.

With this, comes room for inspiration.

Inspiration means being ‘in spirit’, in touch with your inner voice, as I say in my book, ” .. that inner feeling of being inspired to follow your dreams and follow the beat of your own drum”. When you are quiet your ch’i is more expanded, your energy field reaches out further around you, you are able to ‘hear’ ‘feel’ intuitive messages for yourself.

I like using powdered green tea matcha to help me get to this space, its great for relaxing the mind, and builds stamina for meditating or exercise.  In addition, one cup of matcha tea is the equivalent of 10 cups of green tea in terms of antioxidant content. It also has a high level of L-theanine which helps put the brain into an alpha state – good for relaxation and happiness.

Combine this, with 2 drops of Frankincense essential oil at the base of your neck, earlobes and wrists, and you are set for a relaxing 10 minutes or more, of tranquil contemplation.  You can also use Frankincense in a room diffuser. Frankincense is widely known for its ability to deepen breathing and is often used for asthma. The deeper you breathe, the greater you relax.

Today, I am drinking my green tea matcha with almond milk and honey, whisked to a froth, and delicious.  🙂

Gain more fun and informative insights into the use of tea and essential oils for health issues , meditation, cooking, skin care and weight loss, in my new book Hot Water for Tea, as seen above. Available at Amazon.

For QiGong and Acupuncture experts visit my site at www.nicolasalter.com

 

 

 

June 27, 2014
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Finding some peace in diversi’tea’

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I am sitting on the plane with a cup of hot steaming peppermint tea (I brought along my own tea bags, including green tea and lemon). Peppermint helps you focus and also keeps the sinuses open when you are flying.  I am working on the small edits for my book, Hot Water for Tea.  But my mind keeps wandering to just how much diversity is going on in the world right now, globally and on a personal level for many.

Diversity means  – the state of being diverse: variety. Variety is the spice of life they say.  Well there certainly seems to be a lot of that going on right now. I personally am working on being clear and centered so I can support family members and friends with some serious health issues, be available for my clients, enjoy the lovely things happening in my own life and so forth, whilst managing the variety of challenges and new opportunities for growth at the same time too.

I am hearing the same from others feeling like jacks of all trades and masters of none, as they seek to juggle all of the spinning plates life is giving them right now.Beneath all of this there is a sense of calm and peace, and that everything will work out fine, its just dealing with all  of it at the same time, and how best to handle that.

Whilst writing my book last year about tea and aromatherapy, and their unique health benefits backed with huge amounts of research, I experimented with my recipes for blending and formulating teas and essential oils. I became so engrossed in what I was doing that even though I still noticed life’s challenges and opportunities,  my priority and focus were  placed firmly on the book … and tea. The book became the goal out of all of those  other spinning plates of goals and opportunities whizzing around me. I was just like one of those  plate spinners at the circus. But, my focus organically evolved without me needing to do much at all because I was enjoying what I was doing.

I have noticed that when people are dealing with a ‘full plate’ that life is serving them, stress runs high as they are reacting to every scenario doing they very best to meet expectations and to keep every plate spinning as best they can.  Its impossible.  Some of those plates will drop and crash.  I have found that more than likely one of those plates needs your attention right now ..? Right now in this moment … May be it is poor health that needs immediate attention so you can move on with the rest of your life, may be its  doing that project which should have been completed last year and will set you free if you do it now … may be it is to start writing that book you have always wanted to do … or take that vacation you have always dreamed about.

You can choose whichever plate you want. Good to know 🙂

It may seem small, but managing the diversity in your life quietly for a few minutes each day may help by having  quiet time with a cup of tea, to reflect and think about your options.  In my book I write a whole chapter about drinking tea to help meditate, just like the Buddhist Monks use green tea matcha to maintain their stamina and relax their minds whilst they meditate in the temples.  A green, white or herbal tea will help you relax and create space in your life.

May you find peace and happiness as you manage your diversity and may you find the ceremony of tea a useful tool to help you stay calm, clear and focused.

Much love

Nicola

Nicola