You’ll hear me say it heaps, but the beauty of home herbalism is that when we understand basic remedy-making, we get to add our own spin to the recipes. Hopefully yours won’t look exactly like mine, cause then you’ve created your *own* legacy for your home – and over time, your recipes will get lovingly passed from hand to hand, mug to mug amongst family and friends.

So how does this Herbal Chai Tea Recipe – 4 WAYS work?

There’s lots of ways to customise this, which I’ve noted below, but essentially you’ll make your chai tea the same way each time, by decocting your basic chai herbs. You can also add in different medicinal herbs depending what your health goal is. I’ve given you 4 versions in this post, but there’ll be others you could add as well.

Decocting is a tea-making technique where you gently simmer harder plant parts in water in a saucepan on the stove (learn the 3 tea techniques herbalists turn to and when to use each in my Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day course)

Underneath the recipe is a bit more info about each of the herbs and why I’ve chosen them for the Herbal Chai Tea recipe – 4 WAYS.

The Basic chai* recipe is:

• 3-4 cups water
• 1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken up
• 4-10 cardamom pods, (crushed with side of knife on chopping board or mortar and pestle)
• 1 inch slick fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
• 4-6 black peppercorns (crushed with side of knife or mortar and pestle)
• A few cloves, (crushed with side of knife or mortar and pestle)
• Dash of milk or plant mylk

Then add your other medicinal herbs:

• Deep IMMUNITY: 1 tablespoon astragalus root – DON’T use during active infection
• Glow Up:  1 tablespoon burdock root and 1 tablespoon dandelion root
• Burnout RESTORE: 1 tablespoon ashwagandha root (optional: add 1 tablespoon eleuthero root although this could be too stimulating depending on what your body needs)
• Caffeine-free chai: 1 tablespoon rooibos (if using, don’t add rooibos when simmering rest of herbs. Turn off heat and steep for 5 mins at the end)

To make:

1. Chop or crush herbs you’re using. Most of these herbs are optional based on what you’ve got available and your taste preferences.
2. Boil 3-4 cups water (in kettle or saucepan). Add water and herbs to saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Steep 30 minutes**.
3. Strain tea into mug and add whatever milk you use^ sweetener too if desired.
4. Because I usually decoct enough tea for the day, I’ll leave the remaining herbs and water steeping in saucepan, then gently reheat when I’m ready to drink my next cup. I find this flavour is fine, but then I’m used to strong teas. If you prefer, you can strain out all your herbs, compost them and store tea in fridge. Reheat as needed.

There are as many ways to make this, as there are people. Below are some ways to customise.

How to customise:

* Chai Herbs in this recipe: whilst these are pretty universal chai herbs, feel free to change it up according to what you’ve got, what you enjoy and what your health goals are.

Other herbs: aside from the variations already mentioned, you might also want to add: grated nutmeg, crushed star anise, fennel seeds, sliced vanilla bean, orange peel, rose petals, black tea, rooibos etc

** Time: I tend to decoct my chai for a fair while, if you don’t have much time or like a milder flavour – you can decoct for just 15 minutes.

^ Cooking in milk: I prefer to add milk to my mug once I’m done, but you can also add your milk to the pot when you’re done decocting your tea. You could also sub out half your water for milk (whatever type you drink) for a slightly creamier consistency

To lid or not to lid: I prefer to decoct my chai with the lid on. This traps the precious medicinal volatile oils in your drink. I also don’t see the need to reduce the liquid down as I want to drink several cups. You might see some other recipes however, reducing the liquid down by simmering without a lid on. If that works for you, you’re welcome to.

If you love learning tea recipes this way, you’ll LOVE my self-paced online course Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day.

I take you under the hood to learn so you can confidently blend your own teas – tailoring each brew to what herbs you’ve got, your health goals and your family’s tastebuds!

In this fun, easily-digestible course, you’ll understand the simple how’s and why’s of tea-making for digestion, mood, vitality and immunity so you can really take charge of your own health at home! Get it now!

Let’s take a quick look at what each herb contributes:

The chai spices are all warming carminative spices that improve digestion. They gently warm the gut and increase circulation there, helping ease common digestive symptoms such as bloating, cramping, gas etc. The more pungent chai spices, like ginger and pepper are great circulatory stimulations which warms you up and gets blood moving.

Deep Immunity: Astragalus is a preventative immune tonic, improving the overall health and function of your immune system. Great to use preventatively during winter or a great restorative herb to work with when you’re recovering from illness. Contraindicated (ie don’t work with) astragalus when you’re acutely sick with infection.

Glow Up: Burdock and Dandelion are great alterative herbs, gently supporting the body’s capacity to eliminate metabolic wastes through various channels which supports metabolic and liver health and creates a healthy skin glow. They both also support a healthy digestive system, which enhances our ability to absorb nutrients from the food we eat.

Burnout RESTORE: Ashwagandha is a superb remedy for depletion and burnout, particularly when accompanied by anxiety and stress-induced insomnia. When you’re wired but tired, her adaptogen properties will help with cortisol dysregulation, anxiolytic action soothes the nervous system and she helps reset circadian rhythm so you can get back into health sleep patterns.

Caffeine-Free: Rooibos is a lovely caffeine-free replacement for black tea in a chai tea recipe.

I’d love hearing how you go with this recipe – join the newsletter and hit reply and tell me how you go!

Also, let’s keep learning together! All my online courses and in-person Sunshine Coast workshops are designed to be practical, hands-on learning about herbs and remedies you’ll turn to again and again in daily life.

Make teas in Mastering Herbal Tea in 5 Minutes a day and in our DIY Remedy Kits where you’ll also learn other remedy-making techniques.

The post Medicinal Herbal Chai Tea recipe – 4 WAYS appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

Personally (Heidi speaking here) sleep has been a source of trauma for me for many years. As a new mother I had a  baby who didn’t sleep, then another baby, then when they went to school I started a business and I would work in the evening and be so wound up I couldn’t fall asleep, then I stopped working at night and things improved a little until menopause hit and bought with it hot flushes and you guessed it MORE insomnia.  

So how can we deal with these challenges that affect so many of us from new mothers, to shift workers, to the stressed, anxious and depressed masses to the menopausal and the elderly, all of whom are awake at all hours of the day and night….

I actually think the 8 hours sleep a night recommendation is a mythical aspiration. If
you get that, then more power to you! But I think you’re in the minority.  

According to a study by the Sleep Health Foundation most people average around 7
hours of sleep with an average of waking at least twice due to needing to go to the toilet, over active thoughts, or physical pain or discomfort. I would add to that those being woken by children, pets and neighbours.

So with the odds stacked against a good nights sleep what can we do?

Short of restructuring society, bringing down the patriarchy and forming a new way of living that honours human needs and physiology,  we can at best aim for measures to minimise the impact of insomnia and increase our chances of sleep.  

To maximise our chances of falling asleep:

BEHAVIOURAL STRATEGIES

🤾‍♀️ getting adequate physical exercise during the day of at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day. If you can do this outside then it’s even better as the exposure to sunlight 🔆 helps set our biorhythms and sleep wake cycles.

🕯 At night we can continue this by turning off as much electric light as possible and using candles and firelight which increases levels of the sleep hormone melatonin. At least try to do this for the
last hour before bed if its not realistic for the whole evening.

🛀 🫖 An hour before you want to go to sleep, have a warm shower or bath, a nice relaxing cup of herbal tea and put on candles, relaxing music and unwind.

📓 If you are upset of anxious try journaling or
drawing as a way to express what’s bothering you.

When you go to sleep make the room complexly dark to increase melatonin levels and reduce distractions.

If you use screens in the evening use apps like lumen or twilight to reduce screen glare and help you break away from the excess cortisol that keeps you going even though your exhausted and leads to insomnia due to being ‘over tired’.  

HERBAL STRATEGIES

Herbs can be used throughout the day to manage stress levels and at night to unwind. My favourites during the day are Tulsi and Withania (Ashwagandha).

🌿Tulsi reduces metabolic stress through normalization of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, reduces psychological stress by improving memory and mental function and
through its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties.

🌿 Ashwagandha calms the brain, reduces swelling, lowers blood pressure and helps the body adapt to stress by reducing the effects of stress hormones on the body.  

At night herbs can be used to calm the nervous system and help create sleepiness.  

👉👉 Do this! 👇🏽👇🏽

∙Make some herbal tea by adding 1 dessertspoon of herbs to a cup of boiling water.
Let it steep for 10-20 mins, then strain and drink.  
∙Add essential oil of lavender to your warm bath at bedtime to feel a calming effect,
inducing sleep.
∙Massage herb-infused oils of chamomile or lavender mixed with olive, grapeseed,
or coconut oil on certain parts of your body such as your forehead, neck, chest,
wrist, hands, or feet.  
∙ Take an herbal extract supplement


Good nighttime (sedative) herbs include:

Lavender – reduces stress and anxiety and promotes daytime wakefulness and more sustained sleep at night.

Chamomile – reduces anxiety, soothes your nerves, and eases insomnia. It also eases tension in the gut, which is good for those with anxious stomachs and bloating in the evening.

Valerian – reduces insomnia, restlessness, and anxiety and helps relax tension in the muscles

California poppy – Eases physical pain, restlessness, anxiety and insomnia

Hops – Hops flowers contain methylbutenol, a sleep-inducing chemical that is used for insomnia  

Passionflower – reduces stress and anxiety and helps promote sleep

⭐💖 Want to do this but not sure where to get started!?! 💖⭐

👉👉 Find the Chamomile and Lavender Moon Milk recipe in the Herbal Starter Kit:

👉👉 Join us to learn more about Ashwaganda this month at Herb Folk – where you’ll make your own sleepy-time capsules!

The post The Mythical 8 Hour Sleep… appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

“express ourselves with honesty and clarity, while simultaneously paying others a respectful and empathic attention. In any exchange, we come to hear our own deeper needs and those of others” (Marshall B. Rosenberg in Nonviolent Communication: A language of Life)

It helps us understand ourselves and others better, as well as helping us move past conditioned patterns such as judgements, criticism, attacking or withdrawing – in short, any and all of our communication pitfalls.

Why is Nonviolent Communication an Everyday Skill?
If you see and talk to people every day, then this is an important skill. Us humans are a beautiful lot, but we are also messy and imperfect, which means conflict and disagreement arises. Rather than letting our habitual, reactive habits dominate, we can learn this beautiful style of communication which allows us to interact with respect for the dignity and worth of ourselves and whoever we’re talking to.

The quality of our relationships is a really important component of our overall health and happiness. We all know what it’s like to be at odds with someone (or multiple someones) and it hurts. It’s stressful, and it can make us angry, sad or depressed. I’m not claiming we’ll never feel these things, or experience great conflict with people, but by using NVC and communicating skillfully we can help to alleviate little everyday relationship stressors. 

How does it contribute to Self-Connection?
Nonviolent Communication gives us an amazing skillset for tuning into ourselves. NVC Is based on universal human needs. We all have them and the quest to fulfill them drives all our skillful and unskillful behaviour. Using awareness and some techniques we can enhance our ability for moment-to-moment self-connection.

How does it help with Health Sovereignty?
Health Sovereignty is taking a proactive, empowered approach to your health. Relationship stress – whether marriage, kids, co-workers or neighbours takes a direct toll on our physical health. Sometimes these physical symptoms shows up straight away and are easy to link to a particular relationship conflict. At other times, it’s just one more stress that contributes to chronic disease and pre-mature aging.

More than just being concerned with direct physical health, I think having good quality, harmonious relationships with those around us is a priority for most people. We love our family and friends, and NVC gives us a toolkit for putting this love into practice, rather than leaving it aspirationally sitting on a shelf, while we yell at the kids… again.

Events
We don’t have any trainings booked at the moment, but we run Foundation training courses and practice days regularly. The best way to hear about upcoming trainings is by joining the newsletter list – sign-up below.

NVC Practice Groups
Nambour
First and third Sunday of the month. 10am – 12noon at Nambour Community Centre.
Contact: Debs Mosely: 0417 624 417, and Glenda O’Sullivan 0405 210 251

Eumundi
First Friday of the month,  9:30 – 11:30am.
Contact Miho: miho.dance.tree@gmail.com

The post Nonviolent Communication appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

We can use this annual time to ensure we’re living the lives we most want to lead.

Before we get to the questions, let’s take some time to set ourselves up:
The following are best answered from a place of stillness and quiet. So make sure you set aside some time for yourself where you won’t be distracted. If it’s part of your practice, or you think it would help you, you can use ritual, such as lighting a candle, sitting outside, making a cuppa, starting with breathwork – whatever would feel supportive and familiar to you.

In case you couldn’t see the images, the questions (more prompts are in the images)

⭐ What do you value most in life?
⭐ Does your life currently reflect those values?
⭐ Who are you now?
⭐ Who do you want to become?
⭐ What small changes can you make to better align with the life you most want to lead?

I really hope these questions prompt clarity and insight.

The post Reflection questions for Winter Wisdom appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

Here’s a few ways to use it everyday!
1. To stop bleeding
Also called soldiers’ woundwort and long associated with Archilles , yarrow is famous for its ability to stop bleeding and help prevent infection – from bloody noses to deep, profusely bleeding wounds.

Use as a: fresh spit poultice, powdered dry herb, tincture

2. Herbal First Aid:
Cuts and scrapes, bee stings, bruises, boils, minor injuries

Use as a: fresh spit poultice, powdered dry herb, salve

3. Fever-reducing Tea
Yarrow is part of a trio that make up the infamous old gypsy fever-reducing tea blend: YEP.
Yarrow, Elderflower, Peppermint

Use as a: a tea, in the bath

4. Menstruation – bringing the body into balance
For menstruating women, yarrow uses its plant intelligence to both balance heay and light bleeding. It’s also helps with menstrual cramping

Use as a: tea, yoni steaming, sitz bath, poultice (cramps)

5. Yarrow acts as digestive bitter (very bitter!), helping relieve digestive discomfits through stimulating the secretion of digestive enzymes (when taken before a meal) and is helpful for stomach cramps and indigestion.

6. As a food.
Yarrow can be used in salads, stews and soups – anywhere you’d use a bitter green.
Alyson Maier, our guest educator at Herb Folk: Yarrow said she likes it as a pesto.

Cautions:
Whilst Yarrow has a long history of use as food and medicine and is generally considered safe:

• Avoid in pregnancy
• Can cause allergic reaction in some people

There are other uses as well, these are just a few common ways.

The post How to use Yarrow in daily life appeared first on Everyday Empowered.