Maureen Cooper is the founder-director of Awareness in Action, a consultancy that focuses on bringing wellbeing into the heart of the workplace through training in meditation. Here JING tea and Maureen share some practical tips on how to benefit from mindfulness.
A Japanese Tea ceremony is well-known for its serenity and elegance. As the ceremony progresses, participants are invited to experience a sequence of present moments as they unfold and to appreciate the unique, fleeting nature of each one.
We do the same thing in meditation - we rest our attention in the present moment rather than worrying over events in the past, or stressing about things that may happen in the future. The benefits of meditating in this way are becoming well known and there is increasing interest in learning to meditate. It is not always easy to find the time to meditate and to build it into a reliable practice, so we need to look for opportunities to bring mediation into our ordinary activity.
For example, in the spirit of the traditional tea ceremony, the experience of making and drinking tea can become an everyday meditation practice.
Try following these simple steps:
As you go through the stages of making the tea, you will use each stage as a focus for your attention just as you did with the breath:
When the tea is ready, notice how each of your senses engage with taking the first sip:
Conclude the meditation by quietly clearing the dishes, washing them and putting them away.
You can grab a cup of JING tea at our Battersea and Hammersmith studios - with flavours such as Jasmine Green tea, and lush Lemongrass & Ginger, you'll be swept away to herbal tea heaven....
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