What Do Herbal Tonics, Arianna Huffington's and Sheryl Sandberg's New Books Have In Common?

Herbal tonics are the perfect complement to the message Arianna Huffington sends in her popular new book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-being, Wisdom, and Wonder.  
In it she describes her journey to the discovery that accumulation of power and money can no longer be the only definition of success, insisting that wellbeing, innate wisdom, wonder, and empathy are also essential to a healthy, creative, rewarding, and congruent life. Sandberg’s, Lean In, Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, invites women to pursue their career and personal goals with gusto and ambition, suggesting that women can overcome the tendency to shrink from opportunity when demands of home and child rearing give them pause about taking on promotions. Both authors encourage women to step into their careers with a greater sense of inclusion of all the aspects that make a person’s life whole because it is only by the inclusion of these human qualities that any of us can make the most of what we have and want to offer. 
These books herald what Huffington calls “the third women’s revolution”.

In Huffington’s commencement address to the 2013 class of Smith College she recounts her own experience of how stress overload and sleep deprivation caused her to faint, and she broke her cheek in the fall. She wisely understood that this was her wake up call to reassess how she was living and working. She realized too much stress and not enough sleep lead to burnout and that we look after our financial capital but not our human capital. She set out to rework the patterns of her life to include time to unplug from technology and even installed nap rooms at the Huffington Post so other reporters and editors could recharge themselves.

Herbal tonics align beautifully with these messages and are a great addition for anyone to consider who is trying to recalibrate their lives and careers in the ways these popular authors suggest. Tonics are a gentle, convenient and important addition to include in daily, health-promoting regimens. Why? Because they help us maintain the good health and energy that are essential to sustaining the balance that the authors remind us are essential to success.

How do tonics work? First of all, tonic herbs act gently and are safe to take long term to subtly heal, balance and restore body systems to optimum function. As an example, if you have been stressed out for a long period of time because of a trying family and/or employment matter, herbs like ginseng, Ashwaganda and Eleutherococcus can calm the nervous system and help quiet reactivity to all kinds of stress. We call these adaptogenic herbs because they help us adapt whether the source of stress is emotional or physical. Stress can deplete the body of vital nutrients, impair digestion, disrupt sleep and make one more susceptible to illness. When herbs are combined properly in a tonic formulation, its benefits can address all these concerns. Thrive Tonic is just such a formulation of 16 herbs that addresses all of the above simultaneously. The convenience of just one, sweet daily spoonful is the perfect complement for those trying to restore and maintain energy and vitality for better living.

My herb teacher, Michael Moore, once commented that, “Herbs help shift us in ways we cannot shift ourselves.” As we struggle to find healthy work/life balance, let the gentle benefits of herbs assist your efforts to shift to feel better and you will enjoy doing better. That will feel good.