I found this site while looking up Kava Reverse Tolerance – I can’t remember if I blogged about that before, but it’s when you appear to not get the effects of Kava the first few times you take it. I definitely got it for a couple of weeks while I was on my honeymoon period with kava. It does start to get you thinking that the stuff doesn’t actually do anything.
However, as a calm adult about a year later who has no need for that extra glass of wine in her life, I can say it’s definitely worth keeping with it if you experience this period of getting used to the root. It’s like your body is detoxifying and priming yourself to get into the Vanuatan vibe. Yep – Vanuatan kava is my new thing since I discovered the Borogu strain – oh wow it’s so serene!
Anyway if you find yourself suffering from not feeling anything from kava – and wow you need to feel something with putting up with that taste, check out the Love Kava blog I linked to at the top – it’s a really informative article about the whys and wherefores of the reverse tolerance phenomena.
So I thought I write a bit about a couple of the most used Christmas pressies ever, as usually they’re stuffed in the cupboard, never to be seen again, until they get taken to the charity shop a couple of years later.
The man in my life got a Star Trek onesie – like this this year. He looks just like Picard – bald head and all hehee. I never thought I’d see him in a onesie but that was until I discovered these Trekkie ones, now he’s neverout of it! I could probably buy Star Trek lingerie and he’d wear it. He’s a space nut and even though I can’t tell the difference between Cardassians and Kardashians I’m so glad I bought him this cosy sleeping bag to wear!
Onto our joint present and we decided to buy ourselves a telescope, a Celestron SE4 goto scope. I haven’t had a telescope since I was about 10 but I still know all the constellations. Every night we’ve had for the past month where it’s been clear skies we’ve been out doing the Sky Tour that is built into the telescope’s database. Once you’ve aligned the scope to a couple of stars it knows where it is and “slews” to any object you key into the handset. It’s awesome, especially on night’s where there’s been no moon getting in the way. Highlights so far… a bowl of kava and Orion’s nebula. It’s stunning. The nebulosity is very much apparent even through this wee scope. The moon has also been a revelation once we realised we needed a moon filter – it’s too dazzling, otherwise.
It’s so chill going out and stargazing after a bowl of the good old Fijian. Wrap up warm, put on your onesie!! and stare at the heavens. It’s bliss!
I’ve never used the Satellite radar so much looking forward to another clear night. Bye for now xx
So, I’ve been taking this kava for about a month now – just the odd cup here and there and I suppose what I’ve been feeling so far was just a placebo effect as it hit me full on today. Wow!
Kava For Four
Last week my sister was over and she got interested in this kava stuff – between you and me I think she went off and researched it thinking I was getting in over my head on some hippy dippy drugs or something.
So she and her family were over for a cook-out and the sun was blazing. I had already prepared a flask of kava with ice in it (oh it’s putrid without the ice!) and she asked if she could join me while everybody else was enjoying pina coladas. I warned her about the taste and she turned her nose up as she sank the cupful of muddy river water. She said she probably wouldn’t “get it” as she had read about something called reverse tolerance.
This came to me today as I took my morning chug of kava. I’d been taking it in the morning as I had read that it’s more effective on an empty stomach, and I always felt a little more relaxed this side of lunchtime if I took it then. But today about 10 minutes after taking the drink I was staggered with a serene calmness falling over me like I’ve never known. I was chatting to our neighbor, George and I couldn’t stop talking! I’ve never talked so much or felt so uninhibited with him before.
I’m used to running into the house at the first sign of a conversation. To tell the truth I had to sit down as a pleasant, slightly high-pitched angel seemed to sing into my ears. The blue sky was so deep and felt incredibly calm and relaxed. This was not what I’ve been used to with the kava so far. This was much more.
From what my sister said, was this reverse tolerance coming into play? I’m looking it up right now, because if this is what kava truly does, then I’m even more blown away by this herb than before.
It’s definitely been of benefit so far but it’s been in the background, a kind of guiding hand, that helped me get through the day. But This! This is something new to me and somewhat of a revelation. I’m gonna post a bit more about this later because I need to understand what is happening here.
I know a few of my friends have been reading this blog. We all know I’m no Shakespeare, but the consensus was that it might help me plan, organize and perhaps just give me more of a sense of perspective of my life if I was to jot things down.
# But it’s all a bit too rambly and untidy!
Maybe that’s the point? Like good sleep can help to unscramble the mess in your head from the day, perhaps these ramblings can knit a more cohesive life back together?
Anyway, I just thought that I’m open to suggestions or improvements to this blog if anybody has anything they think would be super-creative or just to help tidy it up a bit. I was thinking of adding a calendar, but then I thought that would just heckle after my OCD issues. I quite like the way it just seems a bit timeless, anyway.
Hit me with some comments if you’re not already bored to death. Ha!
Had a funny thing happen today, while I was at home working. I noticed our local tabby, a gray cute feline called Poppy was prowling the garden.
She was just out of my peripheral vision, slinking across the bottom of the lawn. The back door was open and I was sat in the kitchen trying to get some work done. I’d just had some Kava so was just getting into the chill and words were starting to flow.
All of a sudden a rat (yes, a big brown RAT!) crept (or so it thought) over the threshold into MY kitchen and went for some crumb from the floor near the stove. This was while I was sitting (motionless) just a couple of feet away. We’re pretty countrified here so seeing the odd field mouse isn’t that unusual but this thing was huge!
The gall of the thing coming into my kitchen when it thought nobody was looking! (I dread to think how often rats are getting in when I’m not about to see them – have to wonder about keeping the back door unlocked now!).
Anyhow, I was just staring, incredulous. The kava vibe was just starting to give me that tickling glow, so it all seemed pretty magical, if not a little far out. Once it had secured the crumb (mental not to self – keep the kitchen tidier) it turned and hopped over the doorstep and slinked off back into the garden.
I thought that would be the last of it – but Poppy had other ideas!
All of a sudden there was a flash of gray across the green lawn. Like one of those Japanese bullet trains it was there and then gone. Out of nowhere a huge screaming and yelping emanated from near the back door, under the bench. I immediately got up to see what the cafuffle was.
I saw something very similar to this:
Rat Catcher
Well – this was all too exciting for me and I had pretty much forgotten the mellow vibe the tea had brought on. I just had to interrupt my work to write this post. Unfortunately, life has been a little drab for me recently, but this episode stood out as it got my heart pounding a bit!
Things are generally going well and I think my new diet regime that’s helping the kava do it’s thing is really helping me lose quite a few pounds. It’s not that I’m not eating. I’m just not over-indulging like I used to. A good hefty breakfast and lunch then just pretty much a light snack in the evening seems to let the kava sing the most to me.
Having said all of this, I can tell that this Loa Waka is doing the trick because I’ve completely lost my train of thought. And usually, if I seen a rat in my kitchen (isn’t that a song?) I’d be in full-on panic mode.
My life has been going really well for the past few weeks. Previously I had been really anxious and down about things.
I was struggling with my weight, I wasn’t exercising and generally I was really beginning to feel like my life was heading downhill. That obviously made things worse and I think it was like a snowball effect in the end.
But now I really do feel on top of the world.
I have worked hard on my diet, to improve it, I have substituted carbohydrates and sugar for more wholesome foods, lots more vegetables and things like smoothies.
I’ve also ditched caffeine and am now drinking more herbal teas, and also kava tea. I’m finding that the kava is having a really positive effect on me.
I have found that since drinking kava tea I have started to sleep better and feel calmer. I don’t know how much of that is reality or just in my mind, but I feel it is definitely working.
On top of the kava, I have also now stopped drinking alcohol and am exercising as well.
So things are really positive and I have really made some positive changes I feel.
On top of that I have got a promotion at work. I said yes to my boss and I am now a week away from starting a new position. It’s a good progression for me and several thousand more per year, so it’s a challenge, but not one that will be too big for me and one that would make my anxiety and natural fear of failure be even worse.
So it is all really good, and again as I’ve said before, my defences are up because I know how life can turn round and slap you in the face at a moments notice. I’ve learnt that when things are going well you have to really enjoy them, because when things are going badly that time will feel twice as long and feel like it’s going twice slowly. So you really have to grab the good times while they are there.
And now I have finished writing this blog post I’m going to go and have a lovely cup of kava tea and chill out and feel happy with my life.
I’ve been telling this blog for a couple of weeks about how I am on a health kick. I have cut out bad foods, I am also starting to exercise and I have started to substitute normal foods for health foods, and also smoothies and kava tea.
I am feeling really good after a couple of weeks, I feel a lot healthier than I have done for years. It’s amazing how little changes in your diet, and a little more physical exercise can really make a big difference to how you feel about yourself. It has made me more confident and it has raised my self-esteem.
I’m also sleeping better and I am also feeling less anxious, I think it’s a combination of the soothing properties of the Kava tea and my body generally getting better rest and more good nutrients into it.
So that’s all really great news and I am really pleased to be reporting that my diary.
Obvious I am aware that when I suffer from anxiety ever been can go down the pan very quickly. And I know that unless I stick at it the exercise will disappear very quickly as well, and then I will be back to square one in a few weeks, so I really have to stick at this and make it normal and make it a habit.
In other news, I think I might have a promotion at work. The boss spoke to me yesterday and asked if I would like to step up, and I said that will be good but I would need to think about it, so it looks like I’m in the frame for a promotion. I spoke to my husband about it earlier and he said go for it, he said that we are fine with the kids and that he can take on a bit more home, and I must go for it if I really want to.
So things are all good and exciting at the moment, and I suppose am a bit sceptical because I’m waiting for things to go wrong.
I had a knock on the door today from my neighbour. She’s a lovely old lady and she told me that she had found her lost cat.
It’s a lovely story. I had just been drinking a cup of kava tea when she knocked on the door, and I was feeling really relaxed. And it really made me happy.
She knocked on the door the other day to say the cat had gone missing. I didn’t think much of it, because cats go missing all the time, and they either turn up, or they are never found again.
She was very upset because she loves that cat, and I said I would keep an eye out for it.
Well apparently, it had jumped into the back of a van that was delivering on the road. Because it was the last drop of the day, the van then went back to its depot and was parked overnight without being opened again.
When they opened it up the next day, the cat was there and nobody knew where it had come from. They took it to a local rescue centre and thankfully the lady had had it micro-chipped, so they knew who it belonged to. They rang her this morning and she got back from collecting the cat just a few hours ago.
So it’s a lovely story and it made me really happy. I’m feeling a lot calmer, especially after the phone incident the other day, and I have to say I think that drinking kava tea is having a therapeutic benefit for me. It could be psychosomatic, but at this minute time, I’m thinking that kava does have some calming properties.
I’m also happy to report that generally my health feels on the up. I am eating much more healthily, drinking kava tea, doing exercise and trying to keep my mind healthy as well, and I have to say that overall I’m in a different world to where I was a fortnight ago. Hopefully will continue, because obviously am aware that with anxiety in the next issue can just be round the corner.
Today has not been a fantastic day at all. I went into the city and did some shopping.
I was really pleased with myself because I even managed to go to a health shop and I got some Kava tea.
I’m really excited about trying Kava, because I have heard so much about the health benefits it has. I think I’m a bit sceptical that something as simple as a drink containing Kava could help with insomnia, calmness and other things, so I’m really looking forward to trying it.
After I had bought the Kava tea I went to meet my friend for lunch. We sat outside at a table on the pavement and had a lovely chat.
But unfortunately I left my mobile phone on the side of the table close to the road, it’s a pedestrianised area down a side street, so is very quiet. Before I could realise what was happening, somebody had lent over, grabbed my phone and was running up the street with it.
Because the street is so quiet, nobody could stop him, and as he was running away nobody got a good look at him, and before I knew it, he was round the corner and gone.
It’s a brand new iPhone and so I’m gutted. Thankfully it’s insured and all my data is backed up online, so I will get everything back.
I was quite shaken up by it, and it was quite ironic that I had just bought Kava tea to calm myself down, and now I’m even more stressed and anxious than I’ve been for months.
Anyway, at least I’m in one piece and I’m going to report back once I’ve actually spent a few days testing the effects of the Kava.
Right a must get on, the kids will be home soon and so will my husband and I’m going to make them are really nice tea, then I will sit and I will tell my husband about my horrible day and hopefully I can then chill out and have a nice evening, perhaps watch a movie or something like that.
This blog post is about me confronting things I need to deal with in my life to be healthy.
My diet and exercise has really suffered over the past few years, and I’ve had a range of health conditions which are getting more worrying for myself.
I have started to get anxiety very badly at times. It’s not bad most the time, but it’s getting worse. One thing I’ve read about is Kava tea. Apparently one of its benefits is that it can relax you and make you calm. I’ve read that it can help people who have social anxiety, and I’m wondering if there’s any truth in it.
I think it’s something I need to look into. I think if I could find something as harmless as a Kava drink that could calm me and give me some confidence then perhaps my anxiety could be dealt with and would eventually go away.
While I am on the subject of Kava, I’ve also heard from a friend that it can help with sleeping. I’m suffering from insomnia and of heard from her that she has been drinking Kava tea and found that her insomnia has eased. Now I’m sure that as with anything it’s not a miracle cure, but it might be better than going straight for alcohol, antidepressants, sleeping pills, or something like that.
Anyway, I’m also thinking about the fact that I have to do some exercise. Exercise is well known for making you feel better, and I think it’s something I need to look at, it’s years since I have done any exercise. I’m thinking about joining a gym and doing exercise there.
I think I’m also going to look into a diet that includes a lot of vegetable smoothies. I think if I can pack in lots of good food, exercise and maybe something like Kava tea then I might find a good combination it really helped me.
Now I just have to get up and do it, because as everyone knows, the first step is always the hardest. If you are going to do something new, you have two push yourself to take that first step, and then every step after will get easier.
I’m a first time blogger, I have never had a blog before, but I have decided that now is the time in my life to have one.
When I was little I used to have a diary, and I used to find it really therapeutic to sit down at the end of the day and write about my thoughts, feelings, and the things that had happened to me during the day. It helps me cleanse my mind and feel a lot better.
Now in adult life I am finding I am suffering from increasing anxiety and other issues, some mental, some physical. None of them are really serious, but I am a little bit concerned I need to adjust my lifestyle, my diet and importantly my exercise.
So I suppose part of the reason I’m going to blog is to motivate myself, so that I can write here what I am planning to do and then it will be something to confront myself with if I don’t achieve it. So I’m hoping that as well as being able to talk about my feelings here, I’m also hoping to use it as a motivation tool.
An important thing I’m looking at doing first of all is changing my diet, things have not been great and I have slipped into really bad habits over the past couple of years, so I’m going to be looking at that, and I will probably talk about that in my next blog post.
Other than that, I’m pretty happy person, I do get a bit of anxiety, but generally I get on well with people and have a decent life. The love my kids and my husband and I try to be upbeat and positive in everything I do.
So I suppose that’s why I’m blogging, and I have to say that I’m sorry if it’s not particularly exciting for anybody reading it, but my reasons for starting a personal, and that’s also why it’s going to be completely anonymous, because I don’t want to compromise myself because I will talk about things here that I wouldn’t want people to know are in my mind.
live life and kava 