I know you’re hearing me when I say life can get a bit ‘cray cray’ sometimes. But what if I told you I found the answer in making cups of tea. Maybe not, let me explain. Balancing the work with life with keeping fit with cooking dinner with everything else. Not to mention somewhere in there I need to make time for rest – like laying down in the sun or reading a book and not to mention SLEEP.
Rest and sleep are two very different things. This is something I learnt very very late.
Looking outward to other mentors, I realised the difference that made the difference were those non-negotiable rituals they added to their day to make them feel sane or whole or just in control when things may not have been. These things can be as simple as making the bed, putting the dishes away, starting the day with a lemon water and the list goes on. Reading this you may think these are fairly trivial, small and maybe not-so-important things. But something I’ve learnt lately is…
If you can’t do the small things, how are you ever going to be able to do the big things?
For me, my list of rituals is growing and I love and treasure them. Of course, life happens sometimes and they are missed and that’s OK. I’ll do them when I can and it will be amazing. A few of my rituals at the moment, making a weekly pot of organic chicken broth, making kombucha, making the bed every morning (something I’ve never thought of as important for as long as I can remember), making a cup of coffee and brewing a pot of what I like to call ‘sleepy tea‘.
Is it the tea that makes me sleepy or the ritual? I think they both play an important part.
With a full to do list and a really good skill of procrastinating I found myself for a good few months last year working quite late. My non-negotiable bed-time is 9pm but I was working until 9.30pm. I’m not sure how I let this happen but it crept in and it sucked. Where was my wind down? Not to mention, for me, productivity and creativity don’t flow at that time of night so most of the time there’d be a half baked attempt to work – not quite working, not resting and definitely not sleeping. What a mess. I’d shut down the computer when I noticed the time and try to sleep…. obviously that’s not going to work.
So I got to making a bed time ritual and this includes making a sleepy tea.
Now I should say, this was to help me sleep but more so to relax and chill out before the ‘going to sleep thing’ started. After a week I was hooked. I didn’t realise how much this ritual would transform my evenings and I found myself moving ‘tea time’ earlier and earlier in the evening. Just the thought of making a tea can make me yawn now (I actually yawned as I typed that!).
My favourite tea blend.
I drink a lot of Pukka tea – which is a staple in my bag. Pukka is a brand you can pick up from any health food store, their blends are beautiful and a great place to start when embarking on a new tea drinking adventure.
I’m really into making my own blends now, its cheaper and you’re in charge of the flavour you create. At the moment the sleepy tea mix is chamomile and elderberry.
Chamomile tea has the ability to chill you out.
It’s used the world over to help insomniacs, people with depression and anxiety. It’s also great for colds and flu’s and can alleviate digestive discomfort. Elderberries are known for their immune boosting properties. They also give the tea a nice purple colour.
I buy my loose leaf tea from the health food store or online.
Sleepy Tea
Ingredients
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1 cup chamomile
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1 cup elderberry
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1/4 cup rose
Method
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In a bowl, mix together chamomile, elderberry and rose.
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Store in a glass jar in the pantry.