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I like to drink tea. It’s not a daily ritual for me but I enjoy the taste of a hot cup of herbal water and drinking different herbal mixes helps me achieve Dr. Terry Wahls’ protocol of consuming 200 different plant species in a year. Corinne Trang is a holistic health and nutrition counselor and a purveyor of top quality whole leaf tea. I have followed Corinne for a long time because of her simple healthy lifestyle and knowledge of tea so was really looking forward to my “Tea for One” private tea session with her.

The “Tea for One” session was in the tea room of Corinne’s house in High Falls, NY in the Hudson Valley. We drank five different whole leaf teas prepared in the traditional Chinese gong fu method. The teas were chosen based on tea experience, in my case very novice, and we drank them in order of least to highest oxidation. As the tea becomes more oxidized the flavor is more bold. Corinne steeped the tea for seconds in a Gaiwan, a porcelain cup with a lid for steeping teas, then pour a cup for each of us. We drank intentionally slurping to cool the tea. This ritual of steeping and slurping was repeated for a single tea four times, each time the flavor was stronger because the tea leaves were opening up. After 4+ steeps, Corinne would move onto the next tea. I found the gong fu practice of steeping and slurping each of the teas so calming and being served the tea in this way so grand. I can see why this is a form of active meditation.

Corinne is beautiful soul and having her serve tea in a traditional Chinese method while sharing her knowledge was an amazing experience. I left this “Tea for One” session with a calmness that rarely happens in my life and drove one and a half hours home in silence and present with just my thoughts. With so many demands in our lives, making time for self-care is necessary for good health and restoration.

Chrissy xo

A minimalist lifestyle, where the goal is to do and have less, is still a work in progress for me. My desire to accomplish the most out of my day and life many times leaves me with an unreasonable to-do list and lots of stress trying to complete it. As someone who has maximized every minute in a day, having a successful career, experiencing new things, pleasing others, providing a great life for my kids, I can confirm this desire to accomplish so much has given me a constant level of stress and taken some of the joy out of these experiences. My health has suffered from this consistent stress and now I have to be very mindful to control it. One of the best ways I’ve found to control stress is by incorporating a minimalist lifestyle into my busy life.

Here is how:

Do Less. Focus on the “Hell Yes”. I can easily fill my day with things to do.  Chores around the house, grocery shopping and preparing food, getting together with friends, work projects. Many days these things happen right after each other and at the end of the day I’ve checked all the boxes, feel exhausted and stressed out. As a busy mom, I have lots of hats to wear, but I focus on the “Hell Yes”, the things that really matter to me as a woman, mom, wife, friend.  My list of “Hell Yes” are a clean and organized home, preparing and eating nutrient-rich meals for family, time with my MVP (most valuable people), good sleep, work that helps people.  When I’m able to do less and focus my time, I’m able to concentrate on doing a great job on the things that matter the most to me.

Have Less.  Be Less Distracted.  When we have less things and less things to do, our day, mind, and life don’t have unnecessary distractions.

Space for Joy. We all want to be happy and live a fulfilled life.  My biggest regret being so busy is being too tired, busy, stressed, anxious to enjoy it.

I still have busy days.  But I focus my time on the things that matter the most and that means I don’t make every social event, don’t choose to work on every exciting project, don’t have a perfectly styled house. And that’s totally and completely ok.

Chrissy xo

The food we eat has a direct impact on our health. Each bite we put in our mouth can support our health. Here is how:

Fuel for our body to feel good
Food provides our organs and systems the information and ingredients to work properly.  Nutrient and mineral rich foods gives our body functions the information to grow, develop and maintain.  When our bodies are being nourished properly, we physically and mentally perform at our best, we feel good and have energy to do the things we want to do, we feel happy.  To get a great source of nutrients and minerals eat a big variety of vegetables, grass-fed and pastured meat, wild fish, healthy fats like olive oil and avocados, good carbs that won’t spike your blood sugar like vegetables and nuts.

Medicine – to maintain, prevent, and treat disease
When we provide our body too much food or the wrong food, we become overweight, undernourished, and at risk for diseases and conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.  We fuel our body with nutrient and mineral dense foods to maintain and prevent disease.  When we start to or become sick, it’s important we provide our body the necessary support by drinking lots of bone broth because it’s anti-inflammatory and  heals a damaged gut, the root of many diseases.

Supporting our emotional and mental health
Sharing a meal brings us together with our favorite people. Surrounding ourselves with close relationships gives us a long and fulfilled life by supporting our emotional and mental health.  This intimate community pushes us to be our best self, picks us up when we are down, helps us to stay accountable and build resilience.

I’m all about efficiencies in my life so grab a healthy meal with a VIP in your life to support both your physical and emotional health.

Chrissy xo

Time is our most precious, un-renewable resource. Unlike money, we can’t make more time in a day and we have to be intentional with how we spend it. We fill our lives with joy by spending time on things that re-fuel our mind body. That means good food, favorite people, workouts, restful sleep, mindful prayer and meditation.

In very simple terms. We make time for the things we want to do. We make excuses for the things we don’t want to do. In order to create space in our lives for health, it must be something we want to spend time doing.

To your health,
Chrissy