There's a famous saying in Chinese Medicine, "Whenever there is stagnation, there is pain." This pain can be both physical and emotional in nature. In fact, many of the menstrual disharmonines such as PMS, irregular periods, painful periods, fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are all due to either the stagnation of energy or blood.

I’ve been drinking tea for as long as I can remember. A while back, a friend introduced me to the herbal teas made by Bozhena Orekhova – and I fell in love with them. My favorite is the “Magik Potion.” As the name suggests, it's magical, and it's become a favorite companion through my menstrual cycles. So I want to share these wonderful teas with you too!

This cycle, my PMS symptoms are stronger than usual. I’ve felt stifled, irritable and fatigued. To combat these symptoms – along with going to bed early and taking good care of myself – I started drinking an herbal tea recommended by Dr. Maoshing Ni, co-founder of Tao of Wellness healing center in Santa Monica.

I love my tea. There’s just nothing quite like a fresh cup of hot tea – the warmth, the subtle and delightful aroma, and the feeling of calm and freshness that often comes with it.

For thousands of years throughout China and Asia, angelica root, or dang gui, has been used to maintain women’s health. In fact, it’s gained a nickname as the “female ginseng,” thanks to its many amazing benefits for women’s health, especially the reproductive health.

In my recent interview with Jason Moskovitz, a licensed acupuncturist at the Tao of Wellness, he pointed out that menstrual cramps, pains and mood swings are generally caused by some kind of stress, whether internal or external, that interrupts the natural blood and energy flows of the body.