MONDAY MUSINGS | Feminine Herbal Infusion, What I’m Reading, Health Struggles + Link Love.

Hello Beauties,

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. I am back with my new Monday Musings series.

I am excited to share with you all some of the things I reveled in this weekend and am enjoying today…

You will notice a few things are geared towards balancing hormones. As many of you know, I suffer from a few chronic health conditions which was the inspiration that lead me on this path of living a natural and holistic lifestyle. One of the conditions I have dealt with is Endometriosis. I have suffered from this condition since the young age of 15. I have been treating it naturally for the past six years now and it’s been very difficult to control the pain and other issues that come along with the disease such as chronic iron deficiency, which due to my compromised digestion has been a very, very difficult thing to manage.

Lately I have been experiencing more pain than normal and have noticed a great deal of hormonal imbalance. I contribute this to the on-going stress I am under due to the health issues (it’s a vicious cycle!) and quite recently I have been under even more stress as I have been undergoing many extensive tests for Lyme Disease among other conditions which my amazing team of doctors are trying to rule out. All of this has made my body and mind feel very anxious.

One huge and incredibly positive thing I have learned over the years of struggling with chronic illness is that I have become much more in tune with my body and I often know what is off-balance and in need of remedy. I am thankful to have so many inspiring and helpful sources that are providing me with more knowledge on how to find more relief.

The first thing I have been loving is this Herbal Infusion Blend which I would recommend to almost all women out there looking to balance their hormones and/or calm anxiety and stress.

HERBAL INFUSION |

This recipe was inspired by the always lovely and inspiring Lacy who recommended I use Nettle Leaf, Red Raspberry Leaf + Lemon Balm. I decided to also add in some Yarrow Leaf as well as Rose Petals. It’s currently steeping now (I like to let it steep for a few hours to make it very strong). I like to add organic Honey and/or Ghee and I am currently adding a teaspoon of Ashitaba from Sun Potion.

Ingredients:

(I buy all of my ingredients in bulk from Starwest Botanicals)

Nettle Leaf – used for centuries to treat allergy symptoms. reduces inflammation. used to treat anemia, excessive menstruation, pms, arthritis, rheumatism and skin complaints, especially eczema.
Red Raspberry Leaf – naturally high in magnesium, potassium, iron and b-vitamins which make it helpful for nausea, leg cramps, and improving sleep. beneficial for the female reproductive system. It strengthens the uterus and pelvic muscles.
Yarrow Flowers – reduces menstrual cramps, encourage menstruation, relieve inflammation, and stimulate the release of stomach acid to digest proteins and fats. treats colds, fevers, and indigestion, and used in skin treatments of slow-healing wounds.
Red Rose Petals – relieves menstrual cramping, contains high amounts of vitamin c, reduces anxiety and mood swings.
Lemon Balm – helps relieve anxiety, heart palpitations, headaches, high blood pressure. relieves pms. can be used for nervous agitation, insomnia, stress, functional gastrointestinal complaints, menstrual cramps and urinary spasms.

I use one part of each herb and mix together very well. I then add the mixture to a mason jar, pour hot water over the mix, put the top on the jar and I let the mixture steep for 2-4 hours. You do not have to steep it this long. I like to do this to make it more of a potent blend/tonic. If you are making just one cup of tea you can take a tablespoon of the mixture and steep it for 5 minutes and then drink as it or sweeten with some raw honey or ghee.

Some beauty I stumbled across this past weekend… I can never see flowers and not stop to smell them or capture them. They bring so much happiness into my life.

KEEP GOING. KEEP GROWING.

What I’m Reading:

Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life – Acheiving Optimal Health and Wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western Medicine by Dr. Claudia Welch, MSOM

As I mentioned above I have been dealing with some hormonal imbalances and this book stumbled into my life recently and so far it’s been such an insightful and helpful read. Even if you do not suffer from hormonal issues, I highly recommend this book for over-all wellness.

Tired? Overworked? Stressed? Out of balance? Welcome to the twenty-first century, where women’s stress levels have reached unprecedented heights. Between myriad responsibilities, women burn through even the energy gained from sufficient sleep and a healthy diet. The result? Hormonal havoc. In clear, accessible language, internationally renowned doctor Claudia Welch explains hormones from A to Z, specifically how they relate to each other, how and why they become imbalanced, and how women can restore that balance. Welch includes simple diet tips, stress-management techniques, and natural sleep secrets. Using the principles of Ayurveda (popularized in the West by Deepak Chopra) and the holistic sensibility of Dr. Christiane Northrup, Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life gives women the essential tools to achieve the perfect balance between their yin (sex hormones) and yang (stress hormones), and between the body and the mind.

Articles, interviews + massive inspiration I am currently swooning over…

Link Love:

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Love, Health & Blessings,

❤️ xoxo, Britanie

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DISCLAIMER: *All of my reviews are based on my own personal experiences with the brand/products. I am never paid to give my honest opinions and will only review and recommend products and brands I love and use myself! All Photographs are (C) Britanie Faith unless stated otherwise.*

7 thoughts on “MONDAY MUSINGS | Feminine Herbal Infusion, What I’m Reading, Health Struggles + Link Love.”

I just wanted to say that, to a certain degree, I understand what you’re going through with hormonal imbalances and pain. While I don’t have endometriosis, for the past 8 months I’ve been dealing with reoccuring ovarian cysts, which led to emergency surgery last year, and I just got over another cyst a couple of weeks ago. The cyst that had to be surgically removed was more painful that giving birth to my daughter! It is a terrible thing to go through chronic pain and I know how it can seriously affect your life. I just wanted to commiserate with you and wish you well. I, too, have been trying to take care of my body in as natural and holistic a way as possible.

Oh Britanie – sorry to hear that you are still experiencing the unknown related to your health. I hope you get some answers soon. If it helps you to know that I was diagnosed with endometriosis and told I had a very slim chance of having a baby.. 4 boys later… Hang in there. Lyme can be very complicated and does not always show positive in the tests…

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Sorry to hear you are going through such a rough time with your health. I have suffered from M.E. for the last 10 years so I know how frustrating, stressful & exhausting it can be looking for answers & treatments. I wish you all the best with your journey to health.

I’m sorry to hear that you are have such a difficult time with your health. I have suffered from M.E. for 10 years now so I understand how stressful, frustrating & exhausting the search for answers and effective treatments can be. I wish you all the best with your journey towards health.

Thanks for this post! I am going to make that herbal infusion for myself. You mentioned getting tested for Lyme. A friend of mine was diagnosed with Lyme a few years ago and her full time “job” is taking care of her body. She has a blog: fromlymetolimeade.blogspot.com. She also is treating her Lyme primarily holistically. If you are interested in connecting with her, I’d love to set that up! I know she is open to building a community of people with similar experiences, and I believe in strength in numbers.

I had Lyme disease and PCOS, arsenic poisoning (to the point my skin was a dark grey color). Don’t give up, ask God and keep peaceful. Cat’s Claw really helped with my lymes….majorly.