Kava was actually one of the first herbs that I sought out for a more a more serious reaction. Sure I had had my share of herbal supplements and teas during my life, but I have always had some sort of nasty depression and anxiety ribbon littering my life. I found out quickly the beneficial results from the occasional use of kava. My wife, at first was concerned at the possible addiction to kava. She soon realized and has now fully seen that there is no tolerance, addiction, withdrawal, or side effects form kava consumption. Kava has worked so effectively for me as a stress releaser and anxiety reducer that she may have had reason to doubt that it could possibly be 100% okay. I have always made a strong cup of tea and sipped on it for a bit. My mood has calmed, my mind becomes clear and I can handle stressors much easier. It has been a bridge for me between the anxiety and stress to the learning of concrete methods of handling these stressors in my life. This is how I suggest using kava for stress and anxiety. In addition to this I used to have anxiety related insomnia, which prohibited me from catching all but a few hours of sleep every night. When I combined Kava with Valerian I could go to sleep within fifteen minutes. I tried using each herb by itself, but the combination works so much better. I woke up refreshed. I also have extensive experience using kava in a professional setting. Since I work at Christopher’s Herb Shop I get plenty of people coming in with stress, anxiety, and insomnia. I have suggested kava for many of these instances with outstanding results. In fact I made a formula in which I have given to dozens of people, which includes kava and valerian as the main herbs, but also includes skullcap, hops, mistletoe, gotu kola, and lobelia. My mother-in-law uses it very regularly as a sleep aid. She is able to sleep through the night without interruptions. I have used it for this same purpose with similar results. Wendy at the School of Natural Healing asked me for the recipe because she had such good results from this combination as a sleep aid. I suggested this to a man that had terrible anxiety and hadn’t slept well for as long as he could remember. He tried it and came in the next day saying that he had tried all kinds of sleep aids without result, but the blend of these few herbs given to us from God had done the trick. He continues to use it without developing a tolerance. In smaller doses it has become an invaluable stress reducer. I have also combined kava with ginger and cayenne to push the kava into my body with good results. It might make it more effective, or maybe I just feel its effects more quickly. I have tried to make it from a cold decoction the way it is traditionally made. A few publications have suggested that heating the kava kills the kavalactones. I have also used 1 TBSP of lecithin with 4 oz of powder kava in 16 oz of cold water. Lecithin is supposed to extract the kavalactones better. I let it macerate for an hour, ran it through the blender then let it set for another hour with the lecithin in it, then manually squeezed out the liquid with my hands a few times. This was supposed to be a super powerful way of making kava. It was definitely a different taste. I need to point out that kava is an acquired taste and most people trying it for the first time don’t really enjoy it. Anyways, it worked very well. Don’t get me wrong. But in the end I still like my familiar cup of hot kava tea for relaxation. It works well for me and that’s all that matters. I don’t know the chemical composition of each cup that I drink. Nor does it really matter, because every time I sit down and indulge in a strong cup of tea, I feel good.