How To Perform A Tea Meditation

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Why bother with a tea meditation? One of the reasons we love tea is because it makes us feel good. It gives us the warm fuzzies and allows us to ground & find our center. We love meditating for these same reasons. By turning the process of making tea into meditation, you can invite more mindfulness into your day.

SEE ALSO: The 12 Different Types Of Yoga

A note on meditation

Although long-time meditators, we do not claim to be experts. We have only experienced the wonderful benefits, such as greater attention, lowered stress and anxiety, feeling more compassion. The licensed nurse part of my brain craves to know why we feel so good while meditating, while at the same time my intuitive nature loves the mystery of it all. Many studies have found a multitude of benefits of meditation, including a significant increase in brain volume in several regions. Including…

The hippocampus, which is involved in learning, memory, and emotional regulation, and the temporoparietal junction, that is involved in empathy and compassion. On the other hand, strikingly, brain volume shrank in the Amygdala which is a region of the brain much associated with fear, anxiety, pain, and stress.

“Imagine that – meditation can make you have a younger brain. It can cause your brain to grow new neurons, contrary to the antiquated theory that once said this was impossible.” – Joe Dispenza

Incorporating mediation into the daily habits you already have (like making a cup of tea) can be incredibly beneficial. Keep reading to learn how to create a sacred ritual in making your cup of tea.

Choosing a tea for your meditation

This isn’t something you need to overthink. Any tea will do. Personally, we love loose leaf tea. It’s fresh, and for some reason seeing and interacting with the tea leaves feels more intimate than a random bagged tea from the grocery store. Choosing tea that is sustainably sourced and ethically produced, like Bodhi Tea, will enhance the prana (life force energy) of your cup of tea.

Choose your favorite and you’re ready to begin.

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How to perform a tea meditation

Allow the entire process, from start to finish, to be your tea meditation. We’re so busy in our day-to-day lives that it can seem hard to squeeze in time to sit down for a meditation. Leave your phone in the other room for now and allow these 5-10 minutes to be yours.

Step one

• Allow yourself to choose a mug for your tea. Which vessel calls to you today? Perhaps it’s a dainty, vintage teacup. Is it one you made at a pottery class? Or one that was gifted to you by a loved one?
• Choose your mug with love.

Step two

• Grab your kettle and add cool, fresh water. As you wait for it to boil, take this opportunity to select your tea from the self and prepare your strainer.
• While you wait, close your eyes and take some deep, mindful breaths. Inhale for 4, exhale for 4 with no pause at the top or the bottom of the breath. Connect each inhalation and exhalation to each other with a rhythmic flow.
• This pranayama will soothe and nourish your nervous system. A much-needed practice in our busy worlds.

Step three

• Each tea is different, requiring different temperatures of water to boil with. To craft the perfect cup of loose leaf tea, you may have to let your water rest for a few minutes.
• While your water is resting, continue to have awareness of your breath as you move through your tea meditation.
• Inhale.
• Exhale.
• No need to rush the process.
• Inhale.
• Exhale.
• Notice any tension in your body.
• Inhale spaciousness.
• Exhale heaviness.

Step four

• When your water is at the perfect temperature, gently pour it over your leaves into your mug.
• Watch the leaves begin to expand, releasing their divine flavors.
• Notice the aroma that begins to radiate from your mug.
• Feel the love emanating from your lovely steeping cup of tea, ready to engulf you in comfort.
• Pause in a moment of gratitude for the present moment.
• Nowhere else to be, nothing else to do.
• Allow them to steep fully, watching them expand and dance around in your cup.
• This tea meditation is a time for you.

Step five

• Once your tea is steeped, you may choose to add sweetness or cream.
• (Optional): as you stir your honey in, imagine that you are stirring in magic. Infuse your tea with intention.
• You may choose to repeat a mantra or affirmation as you do this.

Step six

Your cup of tea is now ready. Deeply inhale and exhale as you acknowledge all of your senses. Notice the sensations as you take your first sip. Savor each and every sip, pausing to acknowledge how you’re feeling in between. If any emotions come up, acknowledge them, thank them, and allow them to drift by.

As you finish your last sip of tea, allow your body to come back into your surroundings. You may wiggle your toes and reach your arms above your head for a stretch as you might do at the end of a yoga class. Give yourself permission to move forward in your day with this sense of peace and groundedness infused in all you do. Allow your tea meditation to carry you through your day.

Will you try a tea meditation?

This tea meditation is nothing more than letting yourself concentrate on one thing at a time. You can apply this meditation to any task you do in the day, no matter how mundane. From folding laundry to doing dishes.

In this case, it’s a good cup of tea.

Much love.

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