naturopathic touch
see the ritual in action
The Meaning Within SOMA
voices from the ritual
suzi armstrong, 50-55
trudi powell, 40-45
esther marks, 55-59
stories that hold you
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.
Oestrogen doesn’t just govern reproduction; it keeps cortisol (our stress hormone) and
melatonin (our sleep hormone) in rhythm.
When levels fluctuate, the brain’s stress circuits — the HPA axis — become more reactive.
Neuroscientist Dr Lisa Mosconi describes oestrogen as “the conductor of the brain’s
orchestra.”
When the conductor steps back, the instruments keep playing — just out of tune.
That’s why midlife can feel like anxiety, insomnia, brain fog and mood swings rolled into
one.
As somatic therapist Dr Peter Levine explains, “Our bodies hold the
story until it’s safe enough to release it.” (Waking the Tiger, 1997) — a
reminder that the surge of midlife symptoms — from racing thoughts to
sleepless nights — isn’t punishment or weakness.
When declining oestrogen makes the HPA axis more reactive, the
nervous system simply becomes louder in its request for safety and
rhythm, asking for calm rather than chaos.
“You’re not broken — your nervous system is just trying to find its rhythm again.”
The nervous-system ripple
Cortisol and melatonin move in opposite rhythms, guided by your
body’s internal clock. When stress or your environment keeps cortisol
humming after dark, melatonin’s rise is delayed — leaving you wired at
night and weary by morning
The answer isn’t forcing calm — it’s supporting the system that interprets stress, so it
stops firing false alarms.
SOMA was created for this exact season of life — to help you steady, not sedate.
Rather than mimic hormones, our teas nurture the nervous system directly.
☀️ Morning — Vitalitea
Gotu Kola • Siberian Ginseng • Tulsi • Spearmint • Meadowsweet • Rooibos • Sage
→ Supports calm focus and balanced daytime energy without caffeine highs.
🌿 Evening — Serenitea
Passionflower • Chamomile • Lemon Balm • Linden • Sacred Lotus • Sage
→ Helps the body switch from “go” to “exhale”, easing you toward natural rest.
Every ingredient is certified organic, ethically sourced, and blended on the Gold Coast
using clinically guided ratios — not token sprinkles for label appeal.
“Steady is the new strong.”
The takeaway
When you calm your nervous system, cortisol steadies, melatonin rises on time, and your
brain finally stops treating a grocery list like a threat list.
Midlife doesn’t need a miracle; it needs rhythm — small daily cues that remind your body,
we’re okay.
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Take the next step
Curious whether it’s your hormones or your nervous system driving the chaos?
[Take the Rhythm Quiz →] [Shop the Circadian Duo →]
References & Further Reading
Haver M C. The New Menopause. Harper Wave, 2024.
Mosconi L. The Menopause Brain. Penguin Random House, 2022.
Levine P. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books, 1997.
Newson L. The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause. Penguin Life, 2023.
Panda S. The Circadian Code. Ebury Press, 2020.
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.
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
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
immune-stimulating botanicals, every woman’s body is unique
your healthcare practitioner before use.
blend should not be consumed immediately before surgery due to its naturally calming
botanicals.
— gentle, evidence-based, and non-hormonal.
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.
