The 3 Benefits of a Daily Tea Ritual
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” —Joseph Campbell
The pace of life today leaves us little time for leisure and even less for ritual and reflection. The world spins around as if to fling us off into space, and before we know it our days become years and we’ve lost track of the journey we were meant to take.
Rituals bind us together with existence again. They mark our handprint on the wall of time, and crystalize mindfulness of our place in the moment. We are human beings. We need rituals. But where do we find them in all this craziness?
Look no further than your cup of tea.
A Tea Ritual for Now
Like everything today, you can just slap a tea bag into a disposable cup and get on with the grind of functional life. It’s Starbucks. It wasn’t trying to be good, right? But making tea shouldn’t be grinding.
It should be grounding.
When performed mindfully, a tea ritual is an act of physical presence and spiritual permanence that opens a window into a better dimension of living. Tea rituals are old, old, old, and anywhere you look on earth you’ll find tea at the axis of social and ceremonial culture.
In Morocco, mint tea is traditionally prepared for guests as a welcoming spectacle. Yak butter tea is offered to exhausted travelers in the Himalayas.19th century Russian households always had a samovar of black tea for friends to share, and in Japan, green tea has been elevated to the loftiest realms of worship and art.
Of course, you neither need to copy one of these nor invent a religion for yourself. A tea ritual can be simple; just take your time and think about what you’re doing! That little cup of water is a mirror, and if you make it a space for meditative focus, you will begin to unlock the benefits a tea ritual can bring to your life.
And believe us, there are many.
1. Break the Stress Cycle
Brewing a cup of tea is magical. As it steeps, the tea leaves slowly unfurl and release their mystical vapors, infusing the water with calm and serenity.
As you watch them dance, you’ll discover your stress melting away with them, and that’s the secret at the heart of a tea ritual: what’s happening to the leaves is happening to you.
You are the tea leaves.
The purpose of ritual is to manifest the energy you want in your life so you can take it into yourself. Tea ritual choreography is all about creating that relaxing resonance, and it’s not just metaphorical. It’s backed by plenty of science.
Breathe
Many studies have shown that taking a few slow, deep breaths can instantly lower cortisol levels and reduce anxiety. Enjoying the aroma of your tea is an integral part of any tea ritual, and if you mindfully engage your breathing with the experience your tea will help you get the most out of it.
Float
Taking a few minutes and watching your tea leaves gently mingle with the water is definitely meditative, and there’s a reason.
Scientists are discovering fascinating links between lowering stress and visual stimulation. The gentle swaying of ”green”environments—those filled with leaves and grass—have a naturally calming effect and promote neuron development, and researchers are now finding similar links with “blue,” or water environments.
Well, guess what’s right there in your cup! Your teacup is a miniature landscape of water and nature, and those few moments being present during your tea ritual can stimulate theta waves in your brain that boost meditative thought.
Oh, and the L-theanine in green tea? It’s shown to increase our alpha wave production, which calms us down and stills the waters of our conscious mind.
2. Become Mindful of the Big Picture
Rituals teach us that a small act can be instructive for how we handle many other experiences. When you slow down and take the time to enjoy making a cup of tea, you’re actually practicing being a little more mindful all the time.
Stuck in traffic and losing your mind about work? Let’s look inward. Bring some of your tea ritual energy into the car.
In two minutes, your heart rate will be back down, and you’ll realize that all that noise is the paper tiger world, not you.
3. Creating Space
A tea ritual happens in a specific environment with specific objects. You have your favorite teacup, a table or space, a spoon, a saucer—all of these things live around you every day, and they’re not just infusing your tea.
They’re being infused with the energy of your ritual.
Your tea accoutrements become a visual reminder in your home of the changes you’re trying to make in your life. Where you live should be a sanctuary for relaxing and recharging, not a storage facility for the anxiety and demands that follow you from the outside world.
The objects of a tea ritual will consecrate your space with the warm, healing energy of your tea, and remind you every day that it’s worth taking a little time for wellness and reflection.
Let Leaves of Leisure Complete Your Tea Ritual
A tea ritual can change your life one cup at a time, and Leaves of Leisure’s handcrafted herbal and green tea blends are made to be at the center of it. We’re dedicated to producing high-quality teas that are free from the heavy doses of caffeine and sugar that put you on edge and spike your glucose levels.
There’s no doubt about it, tea is transformative, and we want to be a part of your better life! Visit Leaves of Leisure and infuse your tea ritual with the calming, restorative power of our teas.