Although this time of year presents itself with a myriad of distractions, it’s also a time to pause and reflect on the past 12 months, and yep life in general. Travelling always teaches you a few things and ever since my travels took me to Asia for 6 months many years ago I learnt to appreciate their way of spiritual and holistic way of thinking…and then encompassed many of their holistic ideals into my everyday life. Okay I’m not quite the yoga addict I would like to be (in fact not much at all!) but if you read my last post on Finding a little Indian Spirituality and Holistic Wellbeing you would already know I’m an Ayurvedic fan. Developed more than 3,000 years ago, health and wellness are at the core of its beliefs and also the balance between the mind, body, and spirit and the holistic approach by emphasizing a careful consideration of diet, herbal remedies, exercise, meditation, breathing, and physical therapy.

With an extension of that I also learnt to appreciate Yogi Tea which has roots in India but is available all over the western world too. It’s a much loved and well respected herbal tea brand which uses the Ayurvedic principles to formulate the teas for well-being. Offering a huge variety of teas, they use unique blends of aromatic spices which aim to ‘nourish the mind and spirit’ with their cleansing, balancing and restoring qualities. The new jewel in the brand’s crown is their health vitalising, immune-boosting and detoxifying ‘Turmeric Chai tea which is to be realised in January 2018. Endearingly otherwise known ’Golden Milk’ there’s probably no better time to enjoy the special powerful but pleasant-tasting blend of a high concentration of turmeric rounded off with black pepper and apple than during the ‘Golden Hour’ – that magical time when the sunlight turns a glorious shade of amber just shortly after sunrise or sunset.

I tried it for myself first time mixed with warm almond milk (apparently the tea tastes even better mixed with a milk of your choice), the colour was so vivid no Instagram filter is needed and the taste is sweet but with a potent, spicy and almost peppery kick which warms the whole body and leaves you slightly tingling.

The taste instantly invoked a nostalgia trip of my travels to Asia and beyond – of watching the warm descent of a sunset from a beach or a balcony window surrounded by the heady aroma of pungent spices. Turmeric – part of Ayurvedic medicine – is a potent spice and medicinal herb that has been used in India for thousands of years and has (now scientifically proven) anti-inflammatory properties so the drink is not only a tasty alternative to a coffee latte its nourishing beverage packed with antioxidants and all kinds of health benefits. In India, it’s used from everything from coughs to more serious ailments and now the rest of the world is cottoning on fast – apparently, Google singled out turmeric’s ascent after searches for the spice increased by 56% from November 2015 to January 2016.

Yogi Tea also challenged me to reflect on my own #GoldenMoments to mark and celebrate the last ‘Golden Hour’ of the last year and also the ‘Golden Hour’ of the new year. Personally for me, one of the past year’s golden moments have been the website and more specifically the blog rebrand which signified a new beginning in both my personal life and the direction the site was heading. The team also grew and we took on some new, very creative people including our new videographer Gary Nunn who with his unique aesthetic vision has already proved a huge asset!

Over the past 12 months we’ve worked with some incredible names including Vauxhall, Germany Tourist Board and Destination Canada and between us visited some truly beautiful places, including my new happy place – Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains, USA (anyone looking to reflect on life and find some peace and solace seriously needs to head there)! Looking to the next year I would love 2018’s #Golden Moments to include finally journeying to the places I have longed to go for many years now including Cape Town, Buenos Aires and Cambodia. Share your #GoldenMoments and tag Yogi Tea, please add in Yogi Tea’s social channels:

 https://www.facebook.com/YogiTea

 https://twitter.com/yogiteaeurope 

https://www.instagram.com/yogiteaeurope/

With Yogi Tea.