|| YOUR TEA || Nourish & Revitalise ||

It’s true 💜

As the weather begins to change it is important that we adapt our meals to reflect what’s going on around us. This can be moving towards warmer, nourishing foods as we approach autumn – typically it’s important we eat what’s in season. So you can use this recipe and call upon any variation depending on what’s on offer – I’m using pumpkin but you could use sweet potato, apple, banana – depending on what you enjoy.

Ingredients

1/4 of a small pumpkin, seeded, peeled and cut into small cubes (roughly 1 cup) 3/4 cup brown rice (or you could use quinoa or oats depending) 4-5 cups of water 1/2 cup of almond milk (or your choice) 1 Tbsp honey or rice malt syrup 1 pinch of salt 2 tbs of pumpkin seeds 2 tbs chopped walnuts 2 tbs pine nuts

Directions

You might choose to serve with yoghurt or more almond milk.

“Qi” is a Chinese word, used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which can be loosely explained as your energy, soul, reason for being; basically everything minus blood and bone in your body. Your Qi often cops an absolute beating from things out of our control. External influences such stress, anxiety, even pollution and the food we eat; all impact our Qi.

Dr. Nat Kringoudis TCM., is our ambassador and a Doctor of Chinese Medicine; she explains…

“When we face these negativities, our Qi can run overtime and cause us to feel hyperactive or it can go the opposite way, becoming severely depleted and leaving us feeling very lethargic.

Our Qi is designed to flow in a smooth motion around the body – when it is restricted or hindered by negativities, such as those listed above – your body tries to find a way to set your Qi back on the nice, flowing motion.”

Sometimes in ways we (or our partners) don’t want…

“…such as crying, screaming, yelling – or oddly enough – resolving the issue at hand (unfortunately this is generally the last to be attempted!) – some of us run.

Running is fantastic for moving stagnant energy.

If you go for a run on a day you’re feeling highly strung, frustrated, annoyed or angry – then the run generally dispels these feelings. Yes – key word – dispels… not resolves.”Back to Qi.

Back to Qi.

In layman’s terms; it’s energy. And when the energy isn’t flowing the way it’s meant to, it becomes blocked and builds up in one area. Like your mind, which, unfortunately partners tend to bear the brunt of… Other times it builds up into a physical response. You may have an injury, muscle tension, a build up somewhere. The neck and the hips tend to be the epicentre of this build up and where a lot of emotional energy is stored. Do you crack your neck? Stagnant Qi.

Not surprisingly, blocked Qi is also linked to, and often the cause of low libido.

Dr. Nat TCM explains, in reference to libido, how one of the ingredients in Sex Tea work to unblock Qi.

“Yin Yang Huo…helps to treat impotence and issues with sperm. It also assists in ‘unblocking’ the flow of nutrients and energy (Qi) which helps to turn things on in the time of need. On the whole, it too aids in improving circulation.”

So you see, blocked, stagnant Qi can be a real issue for anyone.

The beauty of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that it goes to work on the root of the issue, rather than just masking the symptoms of the issue. And with that, it assists to clear Qi.