Mindfulness and Tea
photo by Jessica Macrino
What is Mindfulness?
To be mindful is to set an intention to pay attention to what is going on within us and around us. It is to acknowledge the reality of things without judgement and accept circumstances as they are, as best we can. In doing so, we may find that life is richer and fuller—full of experiences, insight, and connection.
Mindfulness is not about solving a problem, but rather it is the awareness of how we relate to the experience at hand. By setting time aside to cultivate mindful awareness, we can enhance our ability to tap into a wonderful, free resource within us! Practicing mindfulness does not have to take a lot of time. With practice, it can have tremendous benefits in all aspects of well-being. When we choose to be mindful, we are showing up for ourselves and the world around us.
How can practicing mindfulness benefit you?
Mindfulness can help reduce stress and blood pressure, while improving sleep, gastrointestinal issues, productivity, athletic performance, weight management, focus and concentration, pain management, social connections, emotion regulation and much more! Thousands of thoughts swirl around in your mind each day. It’s easy to get caught up in fears, desires, and dreams for the future, multitasking, avoiding, or checking out. This can lead to a general sense of discomfort as well as physical and emotional distress. When we make a choice to be mindful, we learn what we need to better take care of ourselves and our community.
How can drinking tea help me practice mindfulness?
A cup of good quality tea has so much to offer in the experience of mindfulness. The aromas, colors, textures in the mouth, and body sensation as you sip provides the perfect landscape to explore through your senses. There are so many complexities within a simple cup of tea. Tea has an amazing ability to not only be meditative but also social and connective. Similar to enjoying great conversation and connection over a tasty meal, tea can also act as a bridge to bring people together. Mindfulness helps improve connection with self and with others therefore opportunities to practice solo and in group settings can help expand on your experience and your practice.
What is the Sensorial Tea Workshop?
This experience is intended to walk you through using the 5 senses to practice mindfulness. Loose leaf tea is the medium in which this will be done. Different styles of brewing tea will be used depending on the tea selected. Most commonly Gongfu style, one of the many Chinese styles for brewing tea, will be used. This involves steeping tea leaves for seconds at a time, adding 5 seconds or so to each steeping. A larger tea leaf to water ratio is used which allows for a stronger extraction both aromatically and for flavor. It also allows the tea to gently open up over time and to enjoy the many complexities of good quality tea. There are no sweaters (honey, sugar) used during this process. Note that if you are sensitive to caffeine, you can request an herbal experience. Groups up to 10 or less are welcome.
Shinrin-yoku
(Forest Bathing)
Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, is about mindfully exploring nature through the senses. Lots of research has been done on the positive effects of spending time in nature but the term was coined in the 1980’s by the Japanese Forestry Agency. Scientist from Japan and other areas around the world have spent a considerable amount of time researching the many health benefits of such a practice on well-being. While it may come as no surprise that spending time in nature can help us, it can feel difficult to find time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life’s demands. We may not have access to a forest, beautiful nature scenery, or we may struggle to drop into nature even with it all around is.
In terms of finding ways to incorporate more mindfulness into your daily life, going outside and enjoying nature just because is an easy way to start. Focus in on the feeling of the air or the sun on your skin, the sounds of animals, water or grass/leaves under your feet as you walk. Walk slowly and observe the colors and textures of what’s in front of you. Smell the air and the flowers and touch the foliage (with caution and never remove items from the area and take it with you).
Don’t have access to green spaces in your area? Bring nature home to you! A few ways to do this without disturbing the natural habit would be starting with house plants you can buy at a store or planting seeds and creating your own little greenhouse or terrarium. Add a small water fountain on an end table, pictures of nature, play soundscapes of nature, even just opening your windows for a bit of fresh air is a small way to bring the outdoors inside.
You can also learn about mindful walking exercises that are intentional practices aimed to cultivate mindful awareness with movement. If you are interested in learning more and experiencing a guided walking meditation, consider scheduling one of our workshops.
Erie, Pa. photo by Jessica Macrino
