This post contains some sponsored content.*

I’ve been writing about some of the steps I’m taking to give my
sanity a helping hand. These past few weeks (months?) have been
stressful and I knew that I needed to take some steps and find balance
again.

Life balance is an elusive beast and I don’t think it can be reined
in all of the time. What we CAN do is find ways get ahead of it before
we find ourselves succumbing to stress. We can also stop beat ourselves
up about not being perfect in all aspects of our lives. I think, as
mothers, we can be particularly hard on ourselves.

I am trying to get a grip on some healthy habits to build up my
resistance when stress starts to get the better of me. The cornerstone
of these is diet, exercise, and sleep. I know that I need these three
things in order to handle the moments when life throws me a curve ball.

One of the things I have started doing is an afternoon meditation.
Here’s why: I was always tired after lunch and found it hard to get
anything done. As a result, I’d sit on the couch and mindlessly surf the
Internet on my iPhone. For a while I had convinced myself that I was
merely taking a healthy break from work, but when I really thought about
it, looping incessantly between Facebook > Twitter > email and
then back again was not exactly healing my busy brain. I decided to turn
this time into a meditation break instead.

The idea actually came to me via an email I received via Tetley
asking me if I wanted to sample their new Tetley Ayurvedic Balance teas.
The timing couldn’t have been better – for me and for my goals – so I
decided to combine my meditation time with a cup of tea.

I learned that these new tea blends aren’t very “new” at all. They
are actually inspired by Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old system of knowledge,
which teaches that balancing of the mind, body, and spirit is essential
for holistic well-being. Working with Ayurvedic experts, the Tetley
blends were created to address the needs for balance at all stages of
our lives.

Each blend is made with all-natural ingredients. For example, the Poise-Vata
blend contains cinnamon bark, chamomile, fennel, tulsi, licorice root,
orange peels, cardamom. This particular blend is designed to be calming,
to help attain focus when feeling worried or scattered. It’s what I’ve
been brewing for my meditation moments.

Cool-Pitta blend contains peppermint, hibiscus,
spearmint, lemon balm, coriander, and lavender. It’s touted as a
“cooling” tea to help calm you down when you’re feeling overheated.
(This might be a nice way of referring to hot flashes. I am not quite
there yet with the hot flashes but I do like this blend!)

Vigour-Kapha is really unique: ginger root, tulsi,
peppermint, spearmint, clove, turmeric, and cumin. This is what I reach
for when I need something to perk me up at around the 3 p.m. mark when
I’d normally be craving another coffee or foraging in the pantry for
something sweet.

You know what, I am really enjoying this healthy new habit. To hold
myself accountable, I created goals in my Google calendar so I wouldn’t
forget and work through it or decide to skip it. My rule is that if I
have a meeting or a deadline, I can postpone it, but I can’t cancel my
meditation time.

Turning my ringer off and sitting down in a quiet corner with my cup
of tea – with nothing to think about but my steady breathing – has
become one of the best parts of my day.

Sidebar: for those who aren’t yoga or meditation devotees, it’s easy
enough to just call this your quiet time… because that’s exactly what it
is! It’s a quick and easy way to recharge my batteries and I feel
stronger and more capable of taking on the afternoon ahead.

* Tetley Tea is the sponsor of this post but my experiences are
my own. And I do recommend taking a bit of quiet time for yourself
whenever possible!