Bring Me Bliss

Want To Balance Your Hormones? Here’s a Natural Fix.

Are you tired of searching for answers why you’ve been suddenly getting facial hair, losing hair near the temples, having an extremely irregular menstrual cycle, sudden unexplained weight gain, acne et cetera? Have you been caught in a whirlwind of gynecologists and dermatologists, while your emotions, confidence, and most importantly, your divine feminine energy, have gone astray in the maze of life (and meds!)?  Believe it or not, a treasure trove of fixes lie in your mundane lifestyle choices, and practicing them will help you balance your hormones and embrace the goddess that resides within. Healing starts with little changes, which when done consistently, can have a huge huge impact! Despite the initial sense of overwhelm, remember that we are united in this journey, let’s go! Here’s the ‘why’: The symptoms you're experiencing, and perhaps even more, could be attributed to the imbalanced state of your hormones. According to research, achieving hormonal balance within your body is of utmost importance as it affects practically every aspect of your being—from the way your mind functions to how your body behaves. Even the slightest hormonal fluctuation can set off a chain reaction that can have a ripple effect on your entire health.  Now, let's shine a spotlight on androgens, the powerful sex hormones that we’re pointing our fingers at. While androgens play vital roles in both males and females, complications arise when testosterone levels surge in women, giving rise to masculine symptoms in their bodies such as excessive hair growth in unwanted places…. It's crucial to note that this hormonal imbalance is prevalent within the 13-44 age group, even if you haven't received a clinical diagnosis of PCOD. So, what natural steps can you take to alleviate these symptoms? How can you fix hormonal imbalance?  Natural fixes: Start noticing your body: The first step to healing is always awareness, sheer knowledge that something is wrong. The solution to your acne might not just be applying a serum on it, but recognise that something is wrong inside, rather than finding a fix for the outside. Missing a period a month without any reason, being lethargic and moody, unexplained weight gain, lower libido etc. are all signs that you need to dig deep. Balancing your hormones will make sure you ovulate every month, which is ultimately what your androgens want. Taking care of insulin resistance: Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar in your body by communicating with the liver. A high insulin is what causes Type 2 diabetes. So as your insulin levels are low and controlled, your sex hormone binding globulins (SHBG) are elevated. So this will bind the excess testosterone in your body and place them where they’re supposed to be. To lower insulin levels: Do a 1000 step walk immediately post your meals Pair your sweet foods with fiber to avoid insulin spikes Portion control as well as a low carb diet shall also help Introduce intermittent fasting in your life slowly and steadily Manage stress: Stress is one of the biggest causes of hormonal dysfunction, and while it is easier said than done, managing your stress can become the biggest boon for your body. During high stress situations in life, when you just cannot get ahold of your emotions mentally, it can be helpful to induce calming ingredients in your food intake that can help your body react better to the stress you’ve been taking. Some things that can help: Wellness teas: Have a cup of chamomile tea before bed Consume Cosmix Bring Me Bliss or What Women Want which can help your body calm down and ultimately balance your hormones Breathing exercises: Just 5 minutes of deep breathing can do wonders. Yoga: Yoga is an amazing thing that gives you fitness, calmness and hormonal balance all in one plate. Just 20 mins daily, and you are on for a healthy ride. Quality sleep: Sleep is non-negotiable. 7-8 hours of quality sleep according to your circadian rhythm is ideal, but if you’re not able to sleep on some days, introduce Sleep Like a Baby in your regime to finally get that beauty sleep and improve your health overall. Improve your gut health: A bad gut health is an invitation for hormones to go haywire. Eating healthy, home-cooked meals is extremely important to avoid triggering your hormones. Food is medicine. Balancing hormonal levels can be a task to deal with, especially if you’re battling something as serious as PCOS. These tips can not only help you to balance your hormones, but also improve your overall health. A lot of women, just like you, have been facing the music of androgen imbalance. But the good news is that healing starts from you, and you have the ball in your court! You got this!

Behind The Scenes of How Spirulina Is Extracted

Hi! It’s Vibha, the co-founder of Cosmix. Let me give you a glimpse into what happens behind the scenes of the making of Bring Me Bliss, a Cosmix superfood blend you all love and enjoy so much. I’ll share some fun information on how we cultivate and extract one of its ingredients, blue spirulina. It is an adaptogen that protects your body against oxidative stress and also gives the magical blue colour to Bring Me Bliss. We also use blue spirulina in the peanut bars we give to kids from Kolala, to help them overcome malnourishment under our #CosmixNutritionForAll Program. Now, let me give you a virtual tour of how we cultivate blue spirulina. Step 1: Spirulina is an algae. So, an alkaline culture solution with nutrition is poured into a wide shallow culture pond, which is stirred by gentle streams. This allows spirulina to carry out photosynthesis and to multiply. Step 2: Multiplied Spirulina is then allowed to grow and develop. The density of the culture ponds is checked frequently till it drops to 4 cm and the pH levels are low. Step 3: The spirulina is then filtered out from the ponds and taken for drying. Step 4: The thick spirulina is spread like noodle shapes on a platform powered by a solar panel that allows it to dry. Step 5: LASTLY, the dried flakes are then ground to powder form, which we add to our favourite mix - Bring Me Bliss. Fascinating, isn’t it?  If you want some help in managing daily stress, try incorporating Bring Me Bliss into your daily routine. It can help you in addressing stress, whether the source is physical, chemical or biological. It provides a complete sensorial experience - through look, smell, taste and even texture - all to bring you one step closer to Bliss.

A Herbalist's Guide To Burnout: How I Healed Myself in 3 Months

It’s hard to describe a burnout until you’ve really felt it. The problem is that it’s not as easy to tell when one starts to creep up. You believe that you are doing everything you are supposed to - acing those high stress projects, not missing a single day of your HIIT class and doing that extra course on the weekends to add to your resume. Last year, around October I was in a similar phase where I was doing everything possible till I physically and mentally couldn’t anymore. I thought a weekend of some R&R should do the trick like it always has? Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong! It was in fact a 3 month journey to bring myself back on track and it all started with learning how dysregulated my nervous system had become.  It all starts with the nervous system: the science behind a burnout To understand a burnout, we need to first understand the autonomic nervous system -  The autonomic nervous system, as the name suggests, operates automatically, regulating functions beyond our conscious control – from heart rate and digestion to our fight-or-flight response. Here's where things get interesting: the autonomic nervous system has two key branches: Sympathetic Nervous System: This branch kicks in during stressful situations, triggering the "fight-or-flight" response. It elevates your heart rate, increases blood pressure, and puts your body on high alert. Parasympathetic Nervous System: The yin to the sympathetic yang, the parasympathetic nervous system promotes relaxation and restoration. It lowers your heart rate, aids digestion, and helps you return to a calm state. Sounding the alarm  Thanks to evolution and survival mechanisms, humans developed a stress response, also called the “fight or flight” mode when faced with a life threatening situation - could be to save yourself from a tiger 1000s of years back or an incoming car in our direction today. When we were faced with a threat or danger of some kind, the body had to respond with alertness and help fight, that’s your sympathetic nervous system playing up. (1) It is literally thanks to this that humans have survived so many years. Cortisol, our stress hormone, is the key player in making you alert and helping you “fight” or “take flight” in a stressful situation.  Rest and Digest  This is the normal state of our body, one where we are at balance. When our parasympathetic nervous system is switched on, our body prioritises regular daily functioning like digestion, immunity, reproduction and growth. (2) When the sympathetic nervous system switch is turned on, your “rest and digest” is turned off. Think of this as a see-saw. While both the branches are working simultaneously, there is always one that is particularly activated. While the body is fighting, fleeing or freezing, the priority is obviously not to digest food or produce babies as a lot of primary body functions like digestion, reproduction and growth will have to shut down in order to prioritize the “life and death” situation that has been put into play by our sympathetic nervous system.  Your mom was right. It is your phone…well, kind of.  Cortisol, our stress hormone, is often made to be the bad guy because excess cortisol can lead to a lack of resting and digesting, but it’s not really cortisol’s fault! Who’s to blame then? Our moms were right when they said everything was the phone’s fault. (Sorry ma for not listening to you then!) Today we’re in a chronic state of high cortisol - the never ending emails, constant WhatsApp notifications and all-time easy access to our friends’ lives and comparisons. And this has made us very sympathetic dominant.  Understanding the role of the autonomic nervous system allows us to approach burnout not as a personal failing, but as a physiological response to chronic stress. By addressing the root cause and working to restore balance, we can reclaim our well-being and navigate the demands of life with renewed resilience.  Well then, how do you find out which nervous system is ON at the moment or that you’re approaching a burnout.  A feeling of being tired all the time, poor appetite, disturbed sleep or not able to sleep on time, loopy thoughts, unable to calm down, craving sweet, fried or salty foods, being highly emotional and irritable and a decreased sex drive are all signs that you’re in “fight or flight” mode or that your sympathetic nervous system is switched on.  How to turn on the right switch? Today we tend to accept a lot of these feelings mentioned above as common, but remember just because something is common doesn’t mean that it is right. You’re here on this planet to feel good, feel bliss and feel at ease!  The good news is that by being conscious about what we’re feeling, and making some positive lifestyle changes, we can support our body back into balance and turn on the parasympathetic nervous system. Here are a few ways that helped me in the past:  Breathwork - When our body is in fight, flight or freeze mode, most of the oxygen is sent to our arms and legs in order to have a quick response action for the life threatening situation that our brain has perceived. Deep and slow breathing helps send more oxygen to our brain, signaling our body that it is safe and it can relax and thereby switching on the parasympathetic nervous system. (3) Boundary management - One of the most pivotal moments of my self regulating journey was starting therapy. It helped me understand the power of boundary management, which is so crucial when it comes to protecting your time & energy for what truly matters.  A good sleep routine - You’ve heard this a million times before, but it all starts with a good sleep routine. Sleep is how we regulate our emotions, heal our body, and get the energy to tackle the world. So prioritising a good night sleep is one of the best things you can do to help battle a burnout.  Herbs can help - In my practice, I love to incorporate nervines when it comes to regulating the nervous system. Nervines, a class of adaptogens, work to shift our nervous system from “fight or flight” to “rest & digest”. They are our closest allies when it comes to deepening our body’s ability to rest. I’ve incorporated these in our Bring Me Bliss mix which helps with stress relief and helps to nourish & strengthen the nervous system.  Shake it off - Lymph, although often ignored, is an essential organ system that helps remove waste products, toxins and unwanted substances from our body. Massages that promote lymphatic drainage help alleviate physical symptoms that come with burnout, such as fatigue. (4) Something else that I’ve seen that worked wonderfully for me is limiting my time on social media. While completely cutting it off may not be realistic, I try to be more intentional with it. Of course, I’m not perfect at staying away from the doom scrolling but I don’t intend to be perfect either. It’s all about balance! Feel free to mute people that don’t spark joy into your life and overtime work on feeling inspired by those who might be doing something you envision yourself doing. Self-regulation is a journey, not a destination. Don't get discouraged if you don't see results overnight. You deserve to feel your best, and with a little effort, you can switch off fight-or-flight and embrace the power of relaxation. Citations:  (1) Russell, G., Lightman, S. The human stress response. Nat Rev Endocrinol 15, 525–534 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0228-0 (2) Chu, B., Marwaha, K., Sanvictores, T., et al. (2024, May 7). Physiology, stress reaction. StatPearls.  (3) Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B., & Gemignani, A. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 12, 353. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353 (4) Xu, J. Q., Liu, Q. Q., Huang, S. Y., Duan, C. Y., Lu, H. B., Cao, Y., & Hu, J. Z. (2023). The lymphatic system: a therapeutic target for central nervous system disorders. Neural regeneration research, 18(6), 1249–1256.  https://doi.org/10.4103/1673-5374.355741

The Journey from Stress Me Not to Bring Me Bliss

When I initially began formulating all the mixes for Cosmix, my primary focus was always only the formulation. While formulation being very important, it was through years of experience and of course customer feedback that I realised how important things like taste, colour and so many other things really mattered in the overall experience. Let’s be honest, if something doesn’t taste good we wouldn’t really want to consume it on a daily basis.  What went wrong?  Stress Me Not was one of our OG Cosmix mixes that I made for managing stress and promoting a sense of calm. While the formula was great and helped many users, we received constant feedback from our community that the flavour could be improved and it hampered them from using it daily. After a lot of surveys and taste trials, we understood that even though the formula worked well, the taste of Stress Me Not did not contribute to the calming experience. And in retrospect, when you’re stressed or have anxiety, do you really want to consume something that didn’t taste good? I would not.  Well then the answer was before us - we HAD to reformulate. I believe this has been one of the biggest learnings for me, that when you’re creating a product for consumption, taste can never take a backseat. So began the whole process of formulating, product development, some more research and finally ‘Bring Me Bliss’ was born!  What changed?  The number one thing that changed in the reformulation, yes you guessed it, was the taste. We stuck to our principle of no BS ingredients and no sugar and found the solution in ‘Blue Spirulina’ and ‘peppermint’.  Blue Spirulina was added to the mix as it is known to protect the neurons and support the development of the nervous system and thus safeguards the body from outside stressors. (1)  And of course the soothing colour of blue spirulina elevated the entire experience of feeling relaxed compared to the previous reddish brown colour.  Nettle was another nerve strengthening herb that was added in, that helps to relax the muscles and nourish a frazzled nervous system. (2) The second change, post the ingredients, was the name! While "Stress Me Not" was a good name but with the upgraded experience that brought on calmness and bliss, we wanted to focus on a slightly more positive name by naming it "Bring Me Bliss".    The results are in!  Ever since the upgrade, our community has been in love with the blue drink and it has become an absolute community favourite. The love we've received on 'Bring Me Bliss' has been phenomenal! The calming smell of peppermint and the blue colour from the blue spirulina added to the therapeutic effect that 'Bring Me Bliss' provides.  This is how our current 'Bring Me Bliss' mix works:    - Replenishes frazzled nerves: Blue Spirulina and Nettle leaf in the blend can help nourish the the nerves and relax the muscles to provide a sense of calm.  - Helps become more resilient to stress: The mix contains brahmi and ashwagandha, which are adaptogenic herbs that are known to help increase stress tolerance and support adrenal glands that may be overworked due to chronic stress.  - Helps reduce feelings of nervous tension: Bring Me Bliss contains rhodiola which has mood boosting properties can help in easing feelings of physical and mental tension.  If you have more questions about our 'Bring Me Bliss' mix, drop a comment below or write to us over email or Instagram and our team will help you out!