Tea has a very special place in my heart and also in our pantry, not just because I married an Irish/Englishman who drinks his black tea with milk (like most Irish and English people do!), but also because I was brought up with two Grannies who knew a lot about herbal teas and how and when to pick the plants, flowers, roots, how to dry them, and then store those wonders for later use throughout our long and often brutal winters in Latvia. My Grannies were the holders of treasured knowledge about the use of herbal teas for all sorts of ailments and diseases. Those special teas were a deep-rooted and integral part of my life then, and tea still plays a major role in my life (pantry) now. Later a visit to Japan strengthened my love for green tea and my admiration for their revered tea ceremonies. It also brought me to meditation practice. And even later in my life my husband’s (and his family’s) Irish/English tea drinking habits taught me a lot about the ways (or I should say “the right way”) to prepare black tea.

The author, educator and the co-founder and CEO of the Food Revolution Network, Ocean Robbins writes: “Studies have long been saying that when you drink tea, you support strong bones, a healthy heart, a clear mind, improved muscle endurance, and decreased risk of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer. But what kind of tea should you drink?”

Ocean Robbins formulates his answer succinctly: ”Every type of tea has its own unique health-promoting antioxidant properties: Green teas are loaded in catechins. That’s important because catechins (like the well-studied EGCG) help protect your cells against harmful free radicals and environmental stressors. Black teas are high in theaflavins. Theaflavins act as prebiotics to support healthy digestion. Up to 80% of your immune system lives in your gut. That’s why it’s ground zero for healthy immune system support. Herbal teas are polyphenol powerhouses. The rare antioxidants in rooibos (aspalathin, luteolin and quercetin), are highly regarded for their ability to help support your body’s cellular response system. And now, we’re finding that tea has even more benefits than we realized, including some that are particularly important today. When you drink tea, you may strengthen your immune system by protecting it against oxidants and free radicals.“ It’s such a wonderful concept – that the tea literally helps us and heals us!

It is also important to appreciate that tea (and tea drinking as a mindful practice) can help us on a different level – mentally and emotionally. It’s fascinating to see the clouds above us as part of the tea we drink, as suggested by Thich Nhat Hanh in his beautiful Dharma talk to children “A Cloud Never Dies”. If you have a minute (no, actually the talk is 12 minutes and 46 seconds) I wholeheartedly suggest watching it. Probably even with a cup of tea in your hands. It is a beautiful, mindful meditation. “Looking deeply into your tea, you see that you are drinking fragrant plants that are the gift of Mother Earth. You see the labor of the tea pickers; you see the luscious tea fields and plantations in Sri Lanka, China, and Vietnam. You know that you are drinking a cloud; you are drinking the rain. The tea contains the whole universe.” Thich Nhat Hanh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dn9kqVrKzE&ab_channel=PlumVillage

 

It is also true that my yoga teachers Sue Anne and Jim Parsons always (or very close to always) offered tea (in little Japanese tea cups) after the yoga classes. That mindful after-yoga-tea-ceremony was an intrinsic part of the yoga practice. It created community, demonstrated support and allowed for safe space to express whatever had to be expressed. The after yoga tea time also served as a bridge to the “real world out there” after all and any yoga practice. It is a wholesome idea and a true Let It Go Yoga tradition, generating a life affirming echo for hours and days after the practice. And again, it’s amazing that it is the tea that does it – brings us together and heals! (Well, ok, I am, of course, aware that it was not the tea per say…  Sue Anne and Jim created that oh-so-needed-safe-space for all of us not only during but also after the classes.) 

Both – tea and yoga – help me stay present, see and feel deeply, nourish me and through all that heal the Present, and also heal the Past and, dare I say, send the healing tea vapors also into the Future. I might see it as a cloud then…

American musician, DJ, animal rights activist and photographer Moby says: “I like tea and yoga, but I don’t do yoga.” Well, I had to smile and think that at Let It Go Yoga we like both, too. And we do both. Sometimes I (personally) might even take my after yoga tea with Moby’s music in the background. To me this particular improv piece sounds like clouds and rain, and yoga, and tea…

Moby – Live Ambient 1 | Live Ambient Improvised Recordings Vol. 1

 

Written by Indra Strong, Certified Let It Go Yoga teacher.

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