Wellness Journal

You’re not losing your spark — your chemistry’s just rewriting the rules. Midlife isn’t a meltdown; it’s your body asking for a new rhythm. Ever felt this way?
You wake at 3 a.m. for no reason, heart racing, mind replaying every conversation you’ve
ever had.
You tear up in the car because a song hits differently.
You walk into a room and forget why you’re there — again.
You’re not “going mad”. You’re experiencing what Dr Mary Claire Haver calls “the
hormonal handbrake” — when oestrogen, our natural emotional stabiliser, starts to dip and
the nervous system scrambles to keep up.

You don’t need a full life overhaul. Just five mindful minutes, twice a day, to remind your
body it’s safe to exhale again. When the wheels start to wobble There’s a particular kind of midlife fatigue that coffee can’t touch.
You wake up already tired, scroll before sunrise, and spend the day chasing clarity through
snacks, lists, and self-pep talks.
By nightfall, your body’s wired but your mind’s foggy.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not lazy — your circadian rhythm is simply out of sync.
As Dr Satchin Panda explains in The Circadian Code, “Every organ in your body runs on a
clock. When that clock drifts, nothing works quite right.”
Hormonal shifts, stress, and late-night screens all push that clock off-beat — and your
nervous system follows suit.
Why ritual matters more than willpower
When the nervous system’s been in overdrive for months (or years), it stops trusting that rest
is safe.
Rituals — the small, repeated cues that signal safety — are how we retrain it.
As trauma specialist Dr Peter Levine says, “Regulation is repetition.”
Tiny moments, done consistently, tell the body: You can stand down now.
That’s why SOMA was designed as a circadian ritual, not just a tea.
Each cup is a cue — a signal that it’s time to shift gears.
Your morning micro-ritual — Vitalitea
☀️ Start your day the slow way.
Before opening your laptop or checking messages, boil the kettle, inhale the steam, and take
three steady breaths. Notice the scent of Tulsi and Spearmint — botanicals shown to balance
cortisol and mental clarity¹ — and let them remind your body it doesn’t need to surge into
overdrive.
Sit outside if you can. Feel the light on your face. That morning sunlight tells your brain,
“It’s time to wake - gently,” helping reset your cortisol curve for the day ahead.
Your evening micro-ritual — Serenitea
🌙 Close the loop before bed.
Instead of collapsing into the couch with your phone, brew your tea and step outside for two
minutes.
Watch the sky change colour. Notice the breeze, the scent of leaves, the quiet that only comes
after sunset.
Botanicals like Passionflower, Lemon Balm, and Linden help calm the body’s stress
response and ease melatonin production² — not by sedating you, but by reminding your
system that night is for repair, not rumination.
You’ll be surprised how quickly your body starts to crave the ritual more than the scroll.
“Rituals don’t fix chaos — they give it rhythm.”
How nature amplifies the effect
Somatic therapists like Dr Bessel van der Kolk remind us that sensory input — breath, light,
temperature — is the language of the nervous system.

Pairing your tea ritual with nature multiplies the signal.
Even a minute of slow breathing, noticing birdsong or the scent of grass, shifts your vagus
nerve into rest-and-digest mode.
It’s the smallest, most ancient medicine we have.
Where SOMA fits in
SOMA’s Circadian Duo is the simple scaffolding for those daily micro-moments.
Morning brings focus without jitters.
Night brings calm without fog.
Together, they become bookends that steady the hours between — a rhythm your body can
finally trust.
The takeaway
You don’t have to hack your hormones or reinvent your life.
You just need small, sensory rituals that whisper, You’re okay.
Over time, those whispers rebuild the rhythm that stress and midlife temporarily stole.
[Insert share to socials links]
Take the next step
Ready to find your rhythm again?
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Shop the Circadian Duo →]
References & Further Reading
Cohen M et al. “Tulsi and cortisol modulation.” J Ayurveda Integr Med, 2014.
Akhondzadeh S et al. “Passionflower for anxiety.” J Clin Pharmacol, 2001.
Panda S. The Circadian Code. Ebury Press, 2020.
Levine P. Waking the Tiger. North Atlantic Books, 1997.
van der Kolk B. The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin, 2015.

Safety & Use Guidance

While every care has been taken to ensure our blends contain no potent hormone mimics or 
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique.

If you live with any chronic health condition or take regular medication, please consult 
your healthcare practitioner before use.

Our blends are not intended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and our night 
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming 
botanicals.

SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

Why Ritual Calms the Chaos — The Science of Stillness in Motion You can’t outthink stress — but you can out-ritual it. When life feels like a never-ending to-do list, the fastest way to reset your nervous system
isn’t a big overhaul.
It’s the quiet repetition of small things — simple acts that whisper safety until your body
starts to believe you again.
The nervous system runs on repetition
When we’re anxious or depleted, our body isn’t misbehaving — it’s protecting us.
After months (or years) of juggling responsibilities, hormones, deadlines, and care for
everyone else, the stress response forgets how to switch off.
Trauma specialist Dr Peter Levine puts it simply: “Regulation is repetition.”
The nervous system doesn’t listen to pep talks — it responds to consistent cues of calm.
Every time you repeat a soothing act — boiling the kettle, holding a warm cup, stepping
outside to breathe — your brain gets the message: I’ve been here before, and I’m safe.
Why ritual works better than willpower
Willpower is mental; ritual is biological.
Your vagus nerve — the super-highway between brain and body — monitors everything:
breath, heart rate, tone of voice.
When you create gentle, predictable patterns, it triggers your parasympathetic (rest-and-
digest) state automatically.
Dr Stephen Porges, who developed Polyvagal Theory, explains that “safety is not a
thought; it’s an experience.”
That’s what ritual provides — a physical experience of safety, one your body can learn to
trust again.
Neuroscientist Dr Bessel van der Kolk calls this “completing the stress cycle.”
Without these small moments of pause, stress hormones remain trapped in circulation — and
we stay stuck in survival mode.
“Rituals don’t fix chaos — they give it rhythm.”
The science of sensory anchors
Every sense is a gateway to the nervous system.
Scent, warmth, light, and touch all send data to the brain faster than words can.

That’s why grounding practices — lighting a candle, feeling the weight of a mug, inhaling
herbal steam — can calm anxiety when logic can’t.
Dr Satchin Panda, author of The Circadian Code, notes that our body clocks rely on light,
temperature, and routine to maintain hormonal balance.
When these cues are steady, cortisol and melatonin — the hormones that govern wakefulness
and rest — find their rhythm again.
Ritual, in essence, re-educates your biology about when to be alert and when to let go.
Why SOMA builds ritual into everything
At SOMA, we see ritual as medicine for modern life — an anchor for women whose nervous
systems are running on empty.
Our blends are intentionally designed to slow you down, inviting you into that daily pause
where your body recalibrates.
Whether it’s the warmth of the cup, the scent of botanicals like Tulsi or Linden, or the act of
breathing between sips — the ritual is the remedy.
It’s not about perfection.
It’s about presence — coming home to your body, one small moment at a time.
The takeaway
You don’t need a silent retreat to feel steady.
You just need repetition — a handful of moments each day that signal safety instead of
urgency.
One breath. One sip. One pause repeated often enough to teach your nervous system the new
normal: calm.
Take the next step
Ready to create your own rhythm of calm?
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Shop the Circadian Duo →]
If you’d like to learn how to turn this science into daily practice, read [From Fog to Focus
→] — our practical guide to anchoring calm through morning and evening rituals.
References & Further Reading
Levine P. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books, 1997.
Porges S. The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory. Norton, 2017.
van der Kolk B. The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin, 2015.
Panda S. The Circadian Code. Ebury Press, 2020.
Cohen M et al. “Tulsi and cortisol modulation.” J Ayurveda Integr Med, 2014.
Safety & Use Guidance
While every care has been taken to ensure our blends contain no potent hormone mimics or
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique.
If you live with any chronic health condition or take regular medication, please consult
your healthcare practitioner before use.
Our blends are not intended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and our night
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming
botanicals.

SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance — gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

Redefining the Third Act — Midlife Women as Pioneers, Not Passengers Our mothers whispered about menopause. We’re ready to rewrite it. Midlife isn’t the end of anything. It’s the beginning of a more honest story — one where
women stop apologising for evolving.
The quiet revolution
Across Australia (and around the world), women in their 40s and 50s are stepping into a
conversation that used to happen behind closed doors.
We’re talking about hormones, burnout, rage, libido, purpose — all the messy, magnificent
things that happen when oestrogen declines and identity expands.
As journalist Mia Freedman says, “We’ve spent decades pretending to be low-maintenance.
Midlife is when we finally stop.”
That moment of truth isn’t weakness — it’s cultural correction.
Why it feels like the wheels come off
During perimenopause, oestrogen — the hormone that steadies serotonin, dopamine, and
cortisol — begins its unpredictable exit.
Neuroscientist Dr Lisa Mosconi calls this “a neurological transition as significant as
puberty.” (The Menopause Brain, Random House, 2024) But because it often
arrives amid mortgages, careers, and teenagers, the internal shift can feel like betrayal.
Add in years of people-pleasing and chronic cortisol, and your nervous system can’t tell if
you’re facing a deadline or a bear.
That’s why anxiety spikes, sleep disappears, and confidence wavers right when life should be
ripening.
The power pivot
Here’s the reframe: midlife isn’t a collapse; it’s a calibration.
Your brain is literally rewiring for clarity — pruning old patterns, strengthening new
pathways.
As trauma expert Dr Bessel van der Kolk reminds us, “Change requires safety.”
When you create that safety through nervous-system regulation, you access energy,
creativity, and boundaries that used to leak away.
This is where the nervous-system route matters more than ever.
While HRT and botanical hormone mimics can support the physical shifts, calm and
consistency come from retraining your stress response — teaching your body that you are no
longer in danger.
“You’re not losing your spark — you’re shedding what dimmed it.”

blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming
botanicals.
SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

Small Things That Steady You — Micro-Actions That Compound Calm Big change rarely comes from big moves. It’s the tiny, loving ones that shift the ground beneath you.
The myth of massive change
We’ve been sold the idea that transformation needs to look dramatic — new jobs, new
routines, new personalities.
But when your hormones, sleep, and sanity are all fluctuating, the last thing your body needs
is another big overhaul.
Neuroscientist Dr Andrew Huberman reminds us that “consistency trumps intensity” when
it comes to rewiring stress patterns.
And Dr Mary Claire Haver says that for women in midlife, even the smallest acts of
nervous-system support — a walk in morning light, an evening cup of tea, a slower breath —
“compound like interest.”
Your nervous system speaks micro
Think of your nervous system as a tuning fork.
Every sound, sight, scent, or thought vibrates through it.
Big shocks throw it off key — but small, steady rhythms tune it back again.
That’s why micro-actions matter:
Opening the curtains before you check your phone.
Stepping outside to feel the air.
Sipping something warm instead of scrolling.
Breathing out longer than you breathe in.
Letting your shoulders drop before the next email.
Each one tells your brain: I’m safe enough to slow down.
Over time, those tiny acts re-train your body’s threat system. Cortisol softens. Digestion
returns. Sleep deepens. You start to feel like yourself again — not because life got easier, but
because your body stopped bracing for impact.
Circadian rhythm: your body’s original metronome
Dr Satchin Panda describes your circadian rhythm as “a 24-hour orchestra,” with every
organ playing its part.
When that rhythm gets scrambled — from stress, late nights, or skipped meals — the result is
chaos in mood, hormones, and focus.
The fix isn’t complicated.
It’s light, movement, nourishment, and rest — in rhythm.

☀️ Morning cues: sunlight, hydration, gentle movement, Vitalitea.
🌙 Evening cues: dimmed lights, slower breath, Serenitea, gratitude, stillness.
Tiny anchors at the bookends of your day keep your body clock in tune — and when the body
feels rhythmic, the mind follows.
“Regulation isn’t a single act — it’s a thousand small ones repeated with kindness.”
How SOMA was designed for micro-moments
SOMA was built on this principle: that midlife calm isn’t about control — it’s about rhythm.
Each blend is crafted to fit into your life, not overhaul it.
Vitalitea steadies daytime energy without stimulants.
Serenitea cues rest without sedation.
Together, they’re not just teas — they’re daily timestamps reminding you to pause, breathe,
and notice.
Pair your cup with a breath, a stretch, a step outside — that’s how you compound calm.
The takeaway
You don’t have to do everything right to feel right.
Your nervous system doesn’t need grand gestures — it needs gentle consistency.When you
choose one or two small actions and repeat them with love, you’re building safety in real
time.
Take the next step
Start small. Stay steady. See how calm compounds.
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Shop the Circadian Duo →]
References & Further Reading
Haver M C. The New Menopause. Harper Wave, 2024.
Huberman A. Huberman Lab Podcast: Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety. 2023.
Panda S. The Circadian Code. Ebury Press, 2020.
van der Kolk B. The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin, 2015.
Mosconi L. The Menopause Brain. Random House, 2024.
Safety & Use Guidance
While every care has been taken to ensure our blends contain no potent hormone mimics or
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique.
If you live with any chronic health condition or take regular medication, please consult
your healthcare practitioner before use.
Our blends are not intended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and our night
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming
botanicals.
SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

Where It’s Grown Matters — The Soil Story Behind SOMA It’s tempting to think “Australian-grown” always means better. But with botanicals, potency
begins in the soil — and not all soils speak the same language. Why place matters
Plants are like people — they thrive where the conditions feel right.
For herbs, that means the perfect mix of temperature, altitude, rainfall, and soil chemistry.
Chamomile, for instance, loves the sandy loam and cooler summers of Croatia’s Podravina
region. Rooibos can only grow in the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa, where the soil
is acidic and the climate swings between hot days and cold nights.
Try to plant them in Queensland and they sulk.
It’s not because Australian farmers aren’t capable — it’s because the land simply has a
different rhythm.
Some botanicals flourish here (lemon myrtle, eucalyptus, wattle seed). Others, like sage, tulsi,
or gotu kola, have evolved for centuries in completely different ecosystems.
So when we say SOMA sources globally, it’s not for trend or exotic appeal — it’s for
chemistry.
A few of our roots
Chamomile — Croatia: grown in light, mineral-rich soils that yield the highest
essential-oil content and gentle floral aroma.
Rooibos — South Africa: unique to the Cederberg, where iron-rich mountain soil
gives the leaves their deep amber hue and low tannin content.
Sage — Turkey: harvested from high-altitude regions that produce a strong, clean
resin profile prized for clarity of flavour and stability in blends.
Butterfly Pea — Thailand/SE Asia: thrives in humid tropical soils and heavy
monsoon rains that intensify its vivid indigo pigments.
Gotu Kola — Madagascar: cultivated close to the coast, where volcanic soils are
high in minerals that concentrate its triterpenes — the compounds linked with
cognitive and circulatory support.
Tulsi & Rose Petals — India: grown by smallholders using regenerative, organic
methods — the same traditions that have supported Ayurvedic medicine for centuries.
Each origin was chosen for what it gives back: purity, potency, and consistency.
Why we still buy local
We may source our herbs from around the world, but every leaf and flower passes through
our local Gold Coast importer and blending partner — a certified-organic business that
works directly with audited suppliers.
That means SOMA supports Australian jobs and quality systems while respecting the places
each plant calls home.
And when we say ethical, we mean it simply: fair pay, sustainable farming, and traceable
supply chains that protect both people and the planet.
No greenwashing, no hidden trade-offs — just integrity from soil to sip.
The takeaway

We’re proud to buy Australian when the soil allows — and just as proud to reach further
when nature asks us to.
What matters isn’t a flag on a bag of tea.
It’s that every botanical in SOMA was grown in the environment where it can do what it was
meant to do: nourish you.
Take the next step
Curious about how region and ritual shape potency?
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Explore Our Ingredient Ethos →]
References & Further Reading
Croatia Week. Croatian Chamomile Global Export, 2023.
Rooibos Council of South Africa. The Cederberg Terroir, 2022.
Turkish Agricultural Journal. Salvia Species and Cultivation Zones in Turkey, 2021.
SOTRAMEX Madagascar. Centella asiatica Export Profile, 2023.
FAO Trade Data. India Mint and Rose Exports, 2022.
Safety & Use Guidance
While every care has been taken to ensure our blends contain no potent hormone mimics or
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique.
If you live with any chronic health condition or take regular medication, please consult
your healthcare practitioner before use.
Our blends are not intended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and our night
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming
botanicals.
SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

Two Support Pathways Through Midlife: Hormonal & Nervous System — What’s the Difference? You’ve been told it’s “just your hormones.” The truth? Two systems shape how you feel in midlife — and one of them you can calm directly. When everything feels off-key
One day you’re fine. The next, you’re teary, restless, or oddly anxious over nothing.
It’s not that your body has turned against you — it’s that two internal systems are trying to
renegotiate peace.
Hormones shift, yes. But the nervous system — the one that governs stress, sleep, and
emotion — also rewires itself in response.
That’s why two women with similar hormone readings can feel completely different.
The first pathway — the hormonal route
This is the path most people know: working directly with hormones.

HRT replenishes oestrogen and progesterone.
Botanical mimics such as red clover, black cohosh, or maca act on oestrogen receptors in
gentler, plant-based ways.
For many women, this route is life-changing — it can relieve hot flushes, improve bone
density, and sharpen focus.
But it’s not right or available for everyone.
If you’re already on HRT, live with oncology concerns, thyroid sensitivities, or simply prefer
a non-hormonal approach, there’s another path worth knowing about.
The second pathway — the nervous-system route
Think of this as training the translator, not the hormones themselves.
When oestrogen declines, the brain’s stress circuitry (the HPA axis) loses its steady rhythm.
Cortisol surges more easily; melatonin lags behind.
The nervous-system route helps restore that rhythm — teaching your body how to respond
more calmly to hormonal change, instead of being hijacked by it.
You’re not “balancing hormones.”
You’re steadying the stress-and-sleep circuits those hormones influence — which, in
practice, often feels like balance from the inside out.
“You can’t always change your hormones — but you can change how your body responds to
them.”
Why this matters
Researchers such as Dr Lisa Mosconi and Dr Louise Newson have shown that hormonal
decline affects brain chemistry and stress regulation.
At the same time, studies on adaptogenic and calming herbs — like Tulsi (Holy Basil) and
Passionflower — show they can help balance cortisol, enhance mood, and improve sleep
independently of oestrogen levels.¹ ²
So while hormone therapy treats one pathway, nervous-system support works through
another, giving you steadiness, clarity, and rest — even if your hormones remain in flux.
Where SOMA fits
SOMA was designed for women walking that second path — or those combining both.
☀️ Morning — Vitalitea
Gotu Kola • Siberian Ginseng • Tulsi • Spearmint • Meadowsweet • Rooibos • Sage
→ Supports calm focus and sustainable energy, easing the morning cortisol curve without
stimulants.
🌙 Evening — Serenitea
Passionflower • Chamomile • Lemon Balm • Linden • Sacred Lotus • Sage
→ Encourages the body to down-shift into genuine rest — not sedation, but the deep exhale
where repair begins.
Each blend is clinically guided in ratio, each ingredient organic, and ethically sourced from
regions where soil conditions maximise potency.
“Balance isn’t about chasing perfect hormone numbers — it’s about steadying the system that
hormones talk to.”

The takeaway
Hormone therapy works beautifully for many women — and nervous-system support can
complement it.
For others, it offers an alternative route to feeling calm, clear, and in control again.
Either way, the goal is the same: a body that feels steady.
Because when your nervous system finds its rhythm, everything else — can finally fall into
place.
[share to socials links]
Take the next step
Not sure which system your body’s asking you to support right now?
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Shop the Circadian Duo →]
References & Further Reading
Mosconi L. The Menopause Brain. Penguin Random House, 2024.
Newson L. The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause. Penguin Life, 2023.
Cohen M et al. “Tulsi and cortisol modulation.” J Ayurveda Integr Med, 2014.
Akhondzadeh S et al. “Passionflower for anxiety.” J Clin Pharm Ther, 2001.
Panda S. The Circadian Code. Ebury Press, 2018.

Safety & Use Guidance
While every care has been taken to ensure our blends contain no potent hormone mimics or 
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique.

If you live with any chronic health condition or take regular medication, please consult your healthcare practitioner before use.

Our blends are not intended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and our night 
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming 
botanicals.

SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

Not All Teas Are Created Equal — Functional Botanical vs Supermarket Herbal Blends
Ever bought a “sleep tea” that smelled like heaven, tasted like potpourri, and did absolutely nothing? You’re not imagining it. When “herbal” doesn’t mean “helpful”
The tea aisle is full of promises — calm, clarity, balance — but most blends are designed for
flavour, not function.Supermarket or retail teas are often built on marketing keywords:
“detox,” “sleep,” “stress.”
The label lists herbs like chamomile or ginseng, but when you look closer, those ingredients
are often sprinkled in for show, not in the clinically meaningful amounts your body actually
needs.
It’s the herbal equivalent of adding one spinach leaf to a burger and calling it a salad.
The difference lies in dose and design
Functional teas, like those used in clinical herbalism, are built around therapeutic ratios —
precise quantities of each botanical based on research and traditional evidence.
As herbalist and researcher Dr Marc Cohen puts it, “It’s not what’s in the cup that matters
— it’s the concentration that makes it count.”

Here’s what that means in practice:
Supermarket blends focus on taste, colour, and shelf life. Ingredients are chosen for
aroma and low cost.
Functional blends are formulated for effect — using the parts of the plant with the
highest active compounds, in ratios shown to support the body’s systems (like cortisol
regulation, digestion, or sleep).
At SOMA, we design every blend to support the nervous system pathway — helping
recalibrate stress and circadian rhythm rather than trying to mimic hormones.
Why sourcing and potency go hand in hand
Potent herbs need healthy soil, slow drying, and clean processing.
When botanicals are mass-produced for flavour teas, they’re often heat-dried quickly or
harvested before peak maturity — reducing the very compounds that make them effective.
That’s why SOMA works with organic growers from regions where each botanical naturally
thrives — from Croatia’s chamomile to Turkey’s sage and South Africa’s rooibos.
When nature does the heavy lifting, we don’t need additives, flavour enhancers, or synthetic
extracts to make it work.
“A tea’s power doesn’t come from its marketing — it comes from its integrity.”
The hidden cost of “cheap”
It’s easy to assume that a $9 box of tea is just as good as something from a wellness brand —
until you consider what’s missing:
Traceability: Where did those herbs come from, and how were they grown?
Purity: Are they organic, or sprayed with pesticides?
Potency: Are you drinking a meaningful amount, or a decorative sprinkle?
When blends cut corners, women in midlife feel it most — especially when their nervous
systems are already stretched thin. The wrong kind of “calm tea” can actually aggravate
sensitivity if the herbs are too weak, stale, or poorly matched.
You deserve better than that — not luxury for luxury’s sake, but efficacy with evidence.
What makes a functional tea “functional”
Functional teas are designed around five key principles:
1. Clinically guided ratios — not token herbs for flavour.
2. Certified organic sourcing — free from contaminants that interfere with hormone
and nervous system balance.
3. Ethical supply chains — protecting people and biodiversity.
4. Targeted intention — every ingredient supports a defined body system.
5. Synergistic formulation — herbs chosen to amplify each other’s effects, not
compete.
This is the difference between drinking something that tastes nice and drinking something
your body actually recognises as support.
The takeaway
Herbal tea can be more than a comfort ritual — it can be functional medicine in a cup when
made with integrity.

You don’t need to memorise botanical names or clinical studies — just remember that
potency lives in the details: soil, sourcing, and formulation.
Because when it comes to what you put in your body every day, “close enough” isn’t good
enough.
Take the next step
Curious how functional blends work for your body’s rhythm?
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Explore the SOMA Circadian Duo →]
References & Further Reading
Cohen M. Understanding Herbal Potency. J Ayurveda Integr Med, 2014.
Newson L. The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause. Penguin Life,
2023.
Mosconi L. The Menopause Brain. Penguin Random House, 2022.
FAO Trade Data. Global Herbal Tea Market Overview, 2023.
Rooibos Council of South Africa. The Cederberg Terroir, 2022.
Safety & Use Guidance
While every care has been taken to ensure our blends contain no potent hormone mimics or
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique.
If you live with any chronic health condition or take regular medication, please consult
your healthcare practitioner before use.
Our blends are not intended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and our night
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming
botanicals.
SOMA teas are designed for everyday nervous-system support and circadian-rhythm balance
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.

The Becoming — Why the Midlife Shift Leads to Power, Not Decline Midlife doesn’t break you. It breaks you open. When the ground starts to move beneath you One day, you’re steady. The next, your body feels like a stranger. Sleep vanishes, moods swing, patience evaporates, and tears arrive for no clear reason. You wonder if you’re falling apart.
But here’s the truth — you’re not falling. You’re reforming.
This chapter of life isn’t a slow fade. It’s a seismic re-wiring: hormonal, emotional, and
spiritual.
It’s the undoing of the roles we were handed — the people-pleaser, the caretaker, the fixer — so that what’s left is what’s real. The biology of the becoming

Neuroscientist Dr Lisa Mosconi calls menopause *“a brain transition, not a malfunction.”*¹
Oestrogen drops, yes — but so does the brain’s stress threshold, which is why small things
suddenly feel seismic.
That’s not weakness. It’s sensitivity, and sensitivity is data.
Your body’s saying, “What once worked no longer does.”
It’s an invitation to redesign how you live, sleep, eat, move — and yes, how you rest.
Dr Mary Claire Haver, a board-certified OB/GYN and Certified Menopause Practitioner,
notes that when we honour these physiological shifts instead of fighting them, women
experience improved mood, cognition, and vitality.²
So the storm isn’t punishment; it’s the process of becoming someone steadier than before.
The emotional weather of change
You’ll grieve — the woman you were, the seasons that are gone.
But on the other side of that grief is space: for truth, for boundaries, for rest.
When you stop sprinting to keep everyone else afloat, you finally have time to notice what
you need.
A morning walk without your phone.
An evening cup of Serenitea instead of scrolling.
A moment of stillness that says: I’m here. I matter.
As somatic therapist Dr Peter Levine reminds us, regulation begins in awareness — breath,
presence, noticing.³ That’s where nervous-system support meets emotional evolution: in the
small rituals that whisper, “you’re okay”.
“You’re not losing your spark. You’re refining your flame.”
The shift from doing to being
For decades, we’ve defined our worth by output — what we produced, who we cared for,
how much we achieved before 9 a.m.
But midlife asks a different question:
Who are you when you stop performing?
When hormones fluctuate, the nervous system doesn’t want more stimulation — it wants
rhythm.
That’s why gentle, circadian rituals matter: sunrise light, steady meals, regular rest, calming
teas.
They tell your body, “You’re okay – you’re safe.” And safety is what allows power to rise.
The beauty of the other side
Talk to women who’ve moved through the transition and you’ll hear it:
They feel lighter. Clearer. Less willing to apologise.
This isn’t the end of relevance; it’s the beginning of resonance.
It’s the season where clarity replaces chaos, where the noise quiets, and what remains is you.
The takeaway
There’s no finish line to cross, no version of youth to chase.
There’s only this becoming — slow, imperfect, sacred.

So anchor yourself through the rough water.
Sip, breathe, recalibrate.
Because what’s waiting on the other side of the shift isn’t loss — it’s liberation.
Share the Becoming
If this spoke to you, share it with another woman finding her way through the shift.
We rise quieter — but stronger — together.
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Tag us @soma.wellness.co — your story might be the one that steadies someone else.
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References & Further Reading
1. Mosconi L. The Menopause Brain. Penguin Random House, 2022.
2. Haver M.C. The Galveston Diet: A Doctor’s Guide to Menopause and Metabolism.
Rodale, 2023.
3. Levine P. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores
Goodness. North Atlantic Books, 2010.
4. Newson L. The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause. Penguin Life,
2023.
5. The Guardian, “The New Midlife — Why Menopause Is Becoming a Movement,”
Sept 2025.