Have you ever thought about what effect the beverages you drink have on you? Do they fill you up? Do they nourish your thirst? Do you typically choose ones that make you thirstier? What about their nutritional value? What about any value beyond that?

I've had this great little book on my bookshelf for a longtime now and this week decided to sit down and give it a read. Chakra Tonics by Elise Marie Collins claims that there is much more to the beverages that we drink than just the taste or even the calorie count. In fact, her book is all about creating "Essential Elixirs for the Mind, Body, and Spirit." That's in fact the subtitle of this interesting mini-guide.



The book itself is 136 pages and can be used like a reference book. I found myself flipping to the different sections on different chakras and looking for quick and easy recipes to help with this or that.

The organization of Elise's book is very educational. The introduction does a great job of setting up the premise of the book and giving solid reasons why what we drink is important to our overall well-being. In particular, Elise writes about the vibrations inherent in all things and how raising our energetic vibrations can positively affect our lives. She states that the drinks that we consume have energetic patterns/vibrations that raise our own vibration, maintain it, or worse - decrease it. She goes on to explain how these changes affect our mental and physical well-being in addition to our spiritual well-being. This effect can range anywhere from an upset stomach to overall depression.

Another key concept she writes about in the introduction is the acidity and alkalinity of foods. She states that our bodies naturally tend towards a state of alkalinity and that many common beverages (think soda, coffee, juice, etc.) and foods are acidic in nature. Too much of these substances can throw our bodies out of wack, causing various physical ailments and mental anguish. She lists this as more motivation to seek out better quality beverages and become mindful of what we are imbibing.

All of this in the introduction is a great setup to the rest of the book. Each chapter after the introduction and the first chapter, which explains the chakras in brief, focuses on a particular chakra. Elise goes into greater detail about that chakra and then gives a number of drink recipes to balance that chakra's energy. The ingredients in the recipes range from commonplace to specialty items ordered online or found in natural health food markets. All of them are very simple to make however and I haven’t come across one yet that doesn't sound delicious.

I've really enjoyed reading through this book and though I haven't tried a recipe yet, I have been able to make the connection with some of the things I already drink and how they are affecting my chakras for better or worse. I think it's an invaluable guide, especially as we as human beings are becoming more fully aware of how everything is interconnected. I recommend checking it out!