For the first time in my life, I had been having trouble staying asleep. Since mid November, I found myself most nights of the week waking up stricken with panic, fear and dread – the heaviest and most gloomy doomsday feelings of dread as if they were leaping out of my dreams and lingering in my conscious emotions like a suffocating blanket. Everything seems so much more tangible when it’s nighttime and you have all of that still, quiet space to make your thoughts feel even more real. By morning, those feelings would invariably fade away, but still resurface every time I was caught off guard by a news headline…So with the coming of March, I have continued to rely on my tried and true herbal allies to support my heart space, calm my nerves and soothe my panic stricken monkey mind. Chamomile, linden, motherwort, lavender & peppermint have been doing the trick for the past 2 months, and this March Steep has been a regular part of my nighttime routine, working their magic to keep me asleep (and calm), all night long.
I’ve spoken about the calming, soothing nature of Chamomile before, and it blends beautifully with the aroma of peppermint as a perfect nighttime (and after dinner!) digestive soothing tea, but also soothes the mind and central nervous system as well. Linden and Motherwort have such a strong affinity for the heart space and are powerful cardiovascular tonics. Linden is sweet, slightly astringent and a little bit aromatically fruity and is a fantastic relaxing nervine to ease you into peaceful dreaming. Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) as it’s name suggests relaxes the heart and is soothing to the mind and cardiovascular system, being “negatively chronotropic” (slows the heart rate). Motherwort is bitter though, and needs a sweet aromatic partner for a good tea, hence the addition of sweet little lavender. Meant to be, those two.
Per my nighttime ritual, I brew up a pot or mug of this every single night and sip on it for at east an hour before bedtime. The aroma of this warm, blissful blend is such a comfort, and has improved my quality of sleep like magic. But, I suppose that’s what herbs are – magical comforts enchanting the body and nourishing the soul…
