Sugar blues? Cinnamon to the rescue.
“…You touched
your belly to my hands
in the dry air and said
I am the cinnamon
peelers wife. Smell me…”
My favourite excerpt from Michael Ondaatje’s poem The Cinnamon Peelers Wife speaks of the lingering sensual essence of cinnamon. I love this poem, it is so full of subtle sensuality and the desire to be the one love marked by your lovers scent.
Cinnamon triggers so many scent memories.
There is no hiding from the bold sweet sensuality of this alluring smell. It is in perfumes that call to the exotic desires of our imagination. It teases us in baked goods, chai’s, and sweets with its irresistible mischief.
Cinnamon, the spice that created legends, stretched borders and moved explorers to risk their lives at sea. It is the middle note in my teenage memory from the popular perfume Cinnabar (remember that?). Estee Lauder described it as a fragrance that fulfills every woman’s yearning for the exotic and mysterious. I remember feeling that way about it entirely.
Can you conjure up this aromatic spice without awakening a delectable memory? Close your eyes. Breathe. There it is.
And not only is it good medicine for a dampened spirit and stirring fervent desires but cinnamon has been revered as an Ayurvedic remedy for the sugar blues and other ailments of body, mind, and spirit.
CINNAMON TEA. 1 tsp cinnamon + 2 cinnamon sticks in 12 oz. hot water. No sweetener.
Here’s why you want some of that good aromatic medicine every day: