Green Tea Blossoms

Green Tea Blossoms has the special honor of being my first custom blended tea.  It is a fragrant blend of Jasmine Green Tea, White Silver Needle Tea, White Peony Tea, Jasmine Blossoms and Rose Petals.  It is lightly caffeinated, certified  organic, and fair trade certified.

Her Majesty's Tea

Her Majesty's Tea is a fragrant blend of Ceylon Black Tea, Marigold, Cornflowers, Calendula and Mango Essence. It's flavor is light and delicious.  Purchase the tea by opening this link to my Etsy Store.

Shop for The Robin's Nest Tea on Etsy

Open this link to view The Robin's Nest on Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/TheRobinsNestLaJolla

Chamomile Tea

Purchase on-line from my Etsy Shop

Chamomile has been used for thousands of years.  Internally it acts as a sedative and sleep aid.  Chamomile stops spasms in the smooth muscles lining the stomach and intestines, and contains chemicals that are anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti parasitic.  In the US, chamomile is one of the most widely used herbal ingredients in teas as well as in cosmetic, health and beauty products.  The amount of chamomile imported into the US each year is between 750,000 and one million pounds, with an estimated 90%used in teas.  The Robin's Nest Chamomile Tea is organic and Fair Trade Certified. 

Darjeeling Tea

Purchase Organic Darjeeling Tea from Etsy

Darjeeling Tea is a tea from the Darjeeling district in West Bengal, India, high in the Himalayas.  It was introduced there by English Colonialists with seeds from a small leaved Chinese variety of Camellia Sinesis differing from most other teas in India which are from the larger leafed Assam variety.  Darjeeling Tea cannot be grown or manufactured anywhere else in the world, similar to Champagne in that region of France.  The Darjeeling Tea we sell at The Robin's Nest is a true, unblended first flush Darjeeling Tea from fresh, green, subtle leaves.  The tea is organic and fair trade certified and it contains caffeine.  Darjeeling is one of the most sought after teas for its astringent qualities and its ability to indulge the taste buds.  When brewed properly it has a thin-bodied, light-colored infusion with a floral aroma.  It has a wonderfully grounding aftertaste, and is complex in characteristics.

Sweet Dreams Tea

A blend of flowers and leafs, Sweet Dreams is a calming tea for evening or whenever you wish a moment of relaxation. Here is a list of the ingredients with a bit of information about each.  This tea is organic, fair trade and naturally decaffeinated. 

Chamomile is known to have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic and sedative properties.  It has been used historically to treat menstrual cramps, to soothe an aching stomach, and most commonly as a sleep aid.  It has been shown an effective therapy for anxiety.

Peppermint Spearmint

Lavender has been thought for centuries to enflame passions as an aphrodisiac.  It has been used to treat insomnia, nervous stomach, anxiety, headaches and blood sugar regulation.

Lemon Verbena has been used to soothe colon and stomach spasms, lower fevers and calm itching.  It has a relaxing effect, and can help muscle tension.

Cornflower has astringent and antiseptic properties, it can be calming to inflammation and boosting of immunity.

Rose Petals have a sedative, antiseptic, anti parasitic, anti-inflammatory,laxative, cholesterol-lowering and heart-supportive properties.  Studies indicate rose oil can induce sweeter dreams and increase concentration and productivity.

Herbal Detox Tea

At The Robin's Nest, the sweetest little tea shop in the west, we carry Herbal Detox Tea, a nutritious tonic for your liver and digestive system.  The ingredients are all roots and the tea has an earthy flavor and light color.  Read about the health benefits of each of the 5 ingredients.

Dandelion root contains many anti-oxidant vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. It is beneficial for the liver and the gastrointestinal tract.  It is a mild diuretic and stimulates the appetite.  Dandelion Root tea is also excellent for balancing blood sugar.

Eleuthero  is an adaptogen, a compound that helps the body copy with stress.  It boosts concentration as well as immunity and has been shown to increase the body's ability to burn fat during exercise. 

Burdock Root is an ancient blood purifier, and in purifying the blood it clears the complexion.  It can stimulate bile production and regenerate cells of the liver and reduce excessive levels or uric acid in the blood, wonderful antidotes to a rich diet.

Milk Thistle is know to protect and regenerate the liver, and it aids the liver in purifying the blood.  It also has a to fitting a calming effect on the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates digestion by helping to increase the production and secretion of bile and hydrochloric acid. 

Yellow Dock can help support the healthy function of your liver, kidneys, gallbladder, bladder and intestines by enhancing your body's efforts to purge itself of toxins that can overburden those organs. Yellow dock extracts toxins from your body's tissues and acts as both a laxative to stimulate bowel movements and a diuretic to increase urine flow--both of which help remove waste from your body. Yellow dock helps your body produce more bile to break down the fatty foods you eat and improves the flow of bile and other digestive juices. It also helps reduce the amount of irritation and inflammation in your bowels.   Yellow Dock also contains iron, vitamin C, phosphorus and calcium. 

Just Say "YES!" Marketing Plan

I can feel it, I'm getting older, things are changing.  It's a good thing, like the aging of a good California red wine.  I am feeling different about myself and where I have found myself in life.  I am coming out of a decade of play mixed with work and study and I'm feeling proud of where I've brought myself.  For a few years I thought I might just be playing at life, and that was somehow not legitimate adulthood.  But I'm beginning to understand that my playing at life is my greatest skill and it creates a healthy, strong and balanced therapist able to truly help others.  But still I feel the daily struggle of money and recognition pulling on me.  I love my new shop, but it has taken so many attempts to get to my Nest that the growth of my business has been slow, and I feel every day the need to grow things, to make things around me better and better.  This leads me to my new marketing plan.  I have a great location, tens of thousands of people drive by my shop every day, but not so many stop.  Lots of potential, but in my first 3 years, not so many new customers.  So I started putting a sandwich board sign out, decorating it myself with different chalk designs.  It wasn't helping much, maybe an occasional summer rental customer, but not a big surge of new clients.  Then I came up with a great slogan a month ago, and I've probably gotten ten new clients.  People love the sign!  It's funny, relieving some of the anxiety of a stranger giving you a massage.  But the humor is backed up by self-conviction.  I believe my massage is an out-of-this-world experience.  I believe my shop is a cozy sanctuary safe from life's stresses.  I believe I can help others to feel more connected to their bodies, their minds and even their dreams.  It has been a lifetime of deep study into my own body, mind and dreams that has prepared me for this particular moment, 2012, La Jolla, 34 years of age.  I'm saying "YES!" to this crazy skill set God has given me, and I'm asking the Universe for all that I need, and she is responding with a "YES!"  Schedule a massage right now!

This new marketing plan is deeply influenced by my special play time, surfing.  I grew up getting tossed around the ocean with my brothers.  Adulthood and the love of my life (who I met 12 years ago while sitting on a bench looking at my favorite surf spot) elevated surfing to a new level of performance, challenge and opportunity in my life.  For many years I have been laying down the foundations, learning the mystical movements of the Ocean in her different hours and seasons, assessing the crowds, perfecting my equipment, placing myself in dangerous situations I have survived.  And now I find myself entering the Ocean like a Queen, self assured and ready to dominate!  At my favorite surf spot, the waves come in as A-frame peaks, allowing for two surfers on each wave, one going right and one going left.  Sometimes there are as many as 60-80 surfers (almost exclusively of the male type) paddling around the peak, hoping to be graced by God with the perfect position to catch those beautiful waves.  If you don't believe 100% that the wave is coming directly to you and that you are chosen by God to surf that wave into the beach, you won't catch it, the guy next to you will.  As I paddle to the peak chanting in my mind mantras to the Goddess, I am thinking "YES!" and the Universe is responding "YES!"

And here's another fun photo of me catching a big one on my friend's website A Day with BA

Private Yoga Lessons

Private Yoga Lessons are available at The Robin's Nest or in your home.  It is an amazingly effective way to go deep into your yoga practice quickly and safely.  Most often those who choose to take private lessons are needing some special assistance that isn't available in large studio or gym classes.  Some examples of therapeutic needs that can be addressed in private lesson include shyness, pregnancy, cancer, obesity or injury to name a few.  At your class you decide what's important.  Do you need to improve flexibility or strength?  Maybe life has been pretty tough and what you need is some positivity and some deep relaxation.  Whatever the life situation, there is a yoga exercise or meditation that will uplift you and strengthen your energy field.

Touch for Health

I am excited to now offer Touch for Health at The Robin's Nest.  Touch for Health is a healing modality that combines applied kinesiology with acupressure massage to bring greater balance and vitality to the individual. I personally received enormous health benefits from the Touch for Health sessions I have been receiving from my chiropractor, Dr. William Lerner, over the last few years.  I wanted to learn how to work with people in the effective, diagnostic way he had worked with me and he pointed me in the direction of Touch for Health.  I am fortunate that the system was developed by a chiropractor in Los Angeles, Dr. John Thie.  His son, Matthew Thie, now runs the organization and I have had the tremendous honor to study Touch for Health from Matthew directly.

A Touch for Health session can range from 30-90 minutes.  It is not so much of a massage but more of a series of interactive exercises.  Each exercise will isolate a particular muscle and determine the relative flow of energy to that muscle and it's coordinating organ meridian.  Based upon the pattern discovered in the body, acupressure points are massaged to bring greater balanced and then the deficient muscles are retested to see if a positive change has taken place.  The session is most effective when are particular goal or intention is created at he beginning of the session.  In this way the blanching becomes specific to an aspect of our life, and can be an effective tool for goal setting and enhancing wellness.

I am currently offering Touch for Health sessions at no charge while I am still in the learning, or student phase of my practice.  These complimentary sessions are available until August 31.  Beginning September 1 I will offer Touch for Health sessions on a donation basis through the end of the 2012 year.  If you would like to schedule a Touch for Health session please click on the following link to use my on-line scheduling system Schedulicity.