I'm lucky enough to be a mom to a vibrant, twinkle eyed rascal, Jasper James. Every day he pushes me in amazing ways and into fits of exhaustion. This road of parenting is all encompassing and full of extremes that I never could have imagined prior to just being here. As a result, 4 years later, I feel like I'm just waking up and coming into myself again. I am realizing that even though I'm a healer, and work with people daily around their health concerns, that I am needing, once again, to take a deeper look into my own well-being. At some point pushing through has stopped working.
So what to do? As a busy parent and business owner it has to be simple. So I am starting with tea. The nettles are abundant here in the Pacific Northwest offering up their mineral dense nutrients to those who know the plant well, and are brave enough to harvest its stinging leaves. So instead of jumping into a 'detox', or a fast, or some other kind of extreme, I am just going to add one simple nutritive tea to my daily routine. It's been my personal experience, and my clinical experience, that one tiny gesture like this holds real power in its ability to change a body's ecosystem and a mind's perception. I invite you to join me if you've been running a little ragged, with maybe too many trips to the coffee shop. I know I've been leaning on coffee a little too heavily as of late. If you have an especially demanding job or circumstance it is good to always have a thermos of nettle tea with you and to help strengthen you for the task at hand.
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To make a cup of nettles tea you can either make an infusion of the fresh leaves in the spring from a local clean source, or often times you can find a bunch bundled up for you at the farmer's market. I usually use dried Nettles and make a strong overnight infusion. I'll take a big handful of nettles leaves, throw them in a quart jar, and let it steep overnight until the tea is a deep green black color. Sometimes I'll add a little mint, or some oat straw. But mostly I just really like the flavor of nettles that I can only describe as green. In the morning simply strain and reheat, but don't bring to a boil. I usually make enough for about 3-5 servings and pack it up in a thermos so I can drink it throughout the day.