As you explore the benefits of meditation and mindfulness, you’ll probably notice that there are several approaches to meditation and many ways to practice. You’ve probably also started to get the sense that there is a whole lifestyle worth of associated habits and activities that align with increased mindfulness. Drinking tea before, during, or after meditation is one of those. The ritual of drinking tea before and after your meditation can deepen the entire experience, and if you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to enrich your practice. Which teas are best for meditation? Let’s talk about it.
An alert, yet calm, mind and body is a sought-after state for meditation. Green tea, and herbal teas such as peppermint, lemon balm, chamomile, rosemary, and passionflower can each help achieve a meditative state. Additional herbal loose leaf blends such as gotu kola, holy basil, and astragalus can also aid in meditation.
If you’ve never explored your options for tea beyond the standard bulk tea bags, you’re missing out on a whole world of different experiences. If you’re interested in venturing into the world of loose-leaf teas, you’ll have even more options.
Read on to learn how to explore the options and find what works for you:
We’ll cover the following topics:
- Choosing a Tea for Meditation
- What are the different types of meditation?
- What makes a tea good for meditation?
- Easy-to-find, effective teas to get started
- Herbs to add to loose-leaf blends
Choosing Teas for Meditation
What makes a tea good for meditation?
Any form of meditation requires a balance of stillness and alertness. You don’t want to be over-caffeinated to the point where you can’t sit still, but you don’t want to be drifting off to sleep either.
Most practitioners prefer a green or white tea over black tea due to the lower caffeine content, but there are both individual practitioners who prefer a variety like an oolong and certain situations that call for a tea with more caffeine.
“Like meditation itself, noticing the nuances of each tea is a crossing to growth.”
TEA CROSSING
Once you get beyond the basic level of finding the right balance of stillness and alertness to support your meditation practice, you need to consider the different goals that correspond to different approaches to meditation.
As you dig into the details of those differences, you’ll likely find that there are specific herbs that promote the precise physical and mental states that you’re aiming for in that practice.
Even if you’re just getting into meditation or just beginning to explore the relationship between meditation and tea, there are a lot of great options that are available nearly everywhere.
As you learn more about the relationship between various herbs, the mental and physical effects they have on you, and the impact that drinking those teas has on your meditation practice—you can push further into the realm of loose-leaf blends and personalized recipes.
What Are the Different Types of Meditation?
There are at least hundreds – if not thousands – of different approaches, techniques, and practices that come under the broad umbrella of meditation. From the popular guided meditations that many of us use smartphone apps to access the ancient Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist traditions.
What they all have in common is the goal of reaching a deeper understanding of self. But each is unique in how it aims to move you from where you are to where you’re going.
Let’s look at some of the most common and popular types of meditation.
Once you understand what each offers, you’ll begin to see why you might want to choose a particular type of tea to go along with your practice of that meditation style.
Buddhist Meditation
We’ll discuss three distinct practices within the Buddhist tradition: Zen (Zazen) Meditation, Vipassana Meditation, and Metta Meditation.
Zen Meditation
Also known as “seated meditation” or “seated Zen,” this practice involves assuming the lotus or half-lotus position and focusing on the breath. Some people call this practice “just sitting” because rather than having a thought or vocalization to focus the attention on, this practice aims for presence and awareness.
Vipassana Meditation
The goal of Vipassana meditation is insight. Typically, practitioners sit cross-legged on a pillow and proceed from a focus on the breath to achieve “access concentration”. Once you have reached the state of access concentration, you focus on a “primary object”. Ultimately, the goal is to gain insight into the primary object of the meditation. That recognition brings you to equanimity, peace, and inner freedom in relation to the objects of your meditation.
Metta Meditation
The aim of Metta meditation is kindness, benevolence, and goodwill toward the universe. To accomplish this, one assumes a seated meditation position and meditates on loving-kindness as the progress from the self, to friends, to others, and eventually the whole of creation.
Hindu Meditation
We’ll look at the two most popular practices within the Hindu tradition: Mantra Meditation and Transcendental Meditation.
Mantra Meditation
The goal of mantra meditation is inner peace. To practice mantra meditation, you select a mantra and repeat it over and over, either in your mind or as a whisper. There are a multitude of mantras with specific meanings. In order to really get the most out of this practice, you will need to find an experienced practitioner who can serve as your guide.
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental meditation is one of the most well-known practices due to its popularity with celebrities and musicians during the 60s and 70s. It is also one of the most controversial practices because you have to pay a registered teacher to learn the specifics of the practice.
Taoist Meditation
There are several specific practices within the Taoist tradition, but they all aim for the generation, transformation, and circulation of inner energy. Practitioners interested in learning more about the tradition should investigate emptiness meditation, visualization, breathing meditation, inner vision, and internal alchemy as they have been practiced by Taoist practitioners.
Why Choose a Tea for Meditation?
So, why would you want to choose a specific tea to compliment a specific meditation tradition or practice?
Simply put, the tea leaves and herbs that you use will put you in a particular mental and physical state, and some teas align with some practices better than others.
We’ll go into more detail on the effects of different herbs below. For now, let’s look at some easy to find tea bag varieties to help you ease into the process of discovering which teas suit your meditation practice.
6 Teas That Complement Any Meditation Practice
Meditation is great for stress management and has a wide range of specific mental and physical benefits such as lower blood pressure, a lower pulse rate, and changes to metabolism and blood chemistry.
When you practice meditation for long enough, you can gain insights into yourself as well as opening up to new ways of understanding your inner life and the world around you.
While all of the teas that we’ll talk about in this section meet the basic requirements of helping you reach a point of balance between calm and awareness, each of them has specific properties that are worth knowing about.
As you try each of them out, pay attention to how they affect you, and take note of whether they deliver in ways that meet your expectations. Then begin to take note of how they influence the effects of your meditation practice.
Pay particular attention to these four basic effects that the teas have in common and make note of how each one might benefit your particular meditation practice:
- Calm Wakefulness: These teas help to mitigate insomnia and other sleeping disorders which helps to restore calm and wakefulness during the day.
- Saliva Production: The simple act of swallowing can be a distraction that interrupts your meditation. These teas all mildly astringent and work to produce a pleasant level of dryness in the mouth.
- GABA: This is a compound the body produces that induces calm and reduces brain activity. Each of these teas increases the body’s production of GABA.
- Cortisol: Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. Each of these teas reduces the body’s production of cortisol to help increase relaxation without causing drowsiness.
Now that you have some tips for what to look for in a tea for meditation, let’s cover the teas themselves:
#1: Green Tea
The compound polyphenol is responsible for green tea’s primary effect, which is the relief of stress and anxiety. Green tea is relatively high in caffeine, which might prove disruptive to meditation if you are sensitive. Green tea is adaptogenic, which helps to keep drinkers alert and wards off drowsiness.
#2: Peppermint Tea
One of the most common uses of peppermint tea is to treat indigestion and upset stomachs. If you need to soothe your belly to clear away a distraction prior to meditating, this is the way to go. But peppermint tea also boosts creativity and helps to relax the drinker. People who use it as part of their meditation practice claim that it helps to balance the solar plexus and sacral chakras.
#3: Lemon Balm Tea
Like peppermint, lemon balm is a member of the mint family. The leaves of lemon balm trees are commonly used in aromatherapy, but they can be dried to make a tea with a sweet citrus essence. Lemon balm tea increases GABA levels and induces a state of calm and restfulness. Lemon balm tea also helps to reduce cortisol levels. Even a small amount of lemon balm in your tea blend will provide big benefits.
#4: Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea has long been a favorite choice of tea drinkers for a relaxing beverage before bedtime. But more recently, we’ve come to understand some of the science behind how it earned its reputation. Chamomile tea fights inflammation, insomnia, and anxiety through a combination of mild tranquilizing effects and a boatload of antioxidants. One of those antioxidants is apigenin, which combines with receptors in the brain to reduce anxiety and induce sleep.
#5: Rosemary Tea
Rosemary tea is used as a homeopathic remedy for headaches, and it is rumored to work especially well on stress headaches. Removing the distraction of a headache has clear benefits for your meditation practice, but there are reasons to choose rosemary tea even if your head feels fine. It improves mental clarity and increases both oxygenation and metabolic processes in the body. It is believed to have long-term benefits for the heart and brain.
#6 Passionflower Tea
Passionflower tea might be a little more difficult to find in packaged tea bags, but it is becoming more common and almost any health food or natural food shop is going to carry it. Like lemon balm tea, GABA is the primary active agent in passionflower tea. That gives it properties that help to lower anxiety and fight insomnia.
Beneficial Herbs for Loose-Leaf Tea Preparations
As you can see, there are plenty of good options to choose from and a lot of exploring to do before you need to step outside the familiarity of teabags.
Spending enough time to really get to know each of the six varieties discussed above can take weeks or even months. There’s no rush to get through it because there’s no finish line to cross. This isn’t a race. It’s a process of building a supplemental habit that aligns with your meditation practice.
As you explore new directions in your meditation practice, you’ll find that the ideal tea to compliment it will change.
Eventually, you might reach a point where the blended and pre-packaged bags seem too simplistic.
There’s more ritual in preparing loose-leaf tea. And since you can experiment with creating personal blends for specific purposes the opportunities for experimentation are limitless.
Some of the herbs that we’ll discuss below have been studied extensively and even have peer-reviewed journal articles published to substantiate the claims made about them. Others are still waiting to receive that kind of attention and only have anecdotal evidence to support the claims about their benefits.
While all of the herbs we’ll discuss are safe for human consumption, it is important to do some research about the recommended amounts to use in a single serving of tea before getting into blending your own.
As with any natural or manmade supplement, you should be aware of your own health condition and consider any medications that you are taking. It is always a good idea to consult your physician to discuss whether a specific herb has negative interactions with prescriptions you are taking or if it might be contraindicated for a health condition that you have.
“Finding teas to complement your meditation is a combination of research, trial and error, and following your gut.”
TEA CROSSING
Ayurvedic Tradition
Many of the herbs that we’ll discuss are known to us thanks to the received wisdom of the Ayurvedic tradition.
Ayurveda believes that the body and the mind are linked and that what affects one influences the other. The translation of Ayurveda is “life science.” A healthy diet is a necessary complement to exercise that pursues a healthy body and meditation that aims for a healthy mind from the Ayurvedic perspective.
While not all of the herbs that are discussed have a long-standing place in the Indian study and practice of Ayurveda, the global spread of this knowledge has brought many herbs that aren’t native to that region into the scope of Ayurvedic study.
These herbs each have beneficial properties that may take your meditation practice to a new level:
Kava
Kava originates in the Pacific Islands. It is a ritual tea that targets GABA receptors in the brain to relieve anxiety.
Gotu Kola
Gotu Kola holds a special place in the Ayurvedic tradition and is esteemed in India. A member of the parsley family, this herb is known to offer stress relief. It is commonly used by Yogis prior to meditation and is believed to stimulate the crown chakra. Gotu Kola improves neurotransmitter performance and balances the functioning of both the brain and the nervous system.
Holy Basil
With more than 3000 years of evidence to support it, there is little wonder that Holy Basil is among the most highly regarded herbs in Ayurveda. It is called the “holy plant of Vishnu,” and it is used to make Tulsi tea. Holy Basil brings balance to the energy system to allow relaxation and calm.
Astragalus
Astragalus is recognized for bringing positivity and balance to users. Practitioners believe that it benefits meditation by opening the heart chakra. It is also known to aid in stress relief.
Thyme
Thyme is an herb that is believed to improve the mood and aid in communication. This corresponds to a beneficial influence on your meditation by way of an opening of the throat chakra. The result is an improved ability to express your thoughts in words. There is some science to back up these claims as studies have shown that the active agent carvacrol in thyme affects neuron activity.
Lemongrass
If procrastination is a problem for you, you’ll want to investigate the benefits of lemongrass. Lemongrass tea is believed to aid in productivity and increase clarity and focus. Scientific studies have shown that lemongrass aromatherapy is an effective way to combat anxiety.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus enjoys a long-standing reputation as a homeopathic remedy for anxiety and depression. While scientific studies have refuted the claim that hibiscus aids depression, the jury is still out on its effects on anxiety. Still, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that drinking hibiscus tea will help you get in touch with your emotions and connect with loved ones.
Dan Shen
If you’ve ever tried to center your emotions prior to meditation, you know that it can be hard to overcome anger sometimes. Dan Shen is believed to reduce or eliminate anger and aggression. It is known to have physical benefits for blood pressure and atherosclerosis, but there have not been any studies to explore its impact on mental and emotional health. Dan Shen has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine.
Fennel
In contrast to hibiscus, there is solid scientific evidence behind the claims that fennel is beneficial in the treatment of depression, stress, and negativity. Use it in your tea to help you achieve inner peace as part of meditation practice. Fennel is also believed to help suppress the appetite and reduce food cravings.
Brahmi
When an herb is named in tribute to a Hindu god, it’s a safe bet that it will have some beneficial effects to confer on your meditation practice. It is nicknamed “the Yoga of Herbs” and holds a special place in the Ayurvedic tradition. It is believed to confer knowledge of the supreme reality in addition to numerous mental and physical benefits like calmness and concentration. Scientific studies have backed up the claims that Brahmi improves cognition and reduces anxiety.
Nettle
The stinging nettle plant has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that support numerous physical benefits and increase energy. Since the basic premise of Ayurveda is that the mind and body are linked, we can conclude that if Nettle is good for the body, then it must have benefits for the mind as well—at least as it relates to your meditative practice.
Ginger
Ginger tea is an important meditation herb due to its ability to enhance the mood and reduce stress. It is believed to combat undesirable emotions such as jealousy and clear the way to a sense of inner balance, calm, and serenity. There is scientific evidence to support the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Ginger and the physical benefits that follow from those effects.
Rose
Using Rose tea as part of your meditative practice is said to boost feelings of love and compassion. Practitioners believe that it opens the heart chakra and that it increases awareness of how we speak and improves concentration. Rose is also a strong antioxidant with demonstrated abilities to elevate the mood and reduce stress.
Korean Ginseng
Ginseng is another herb with centuries of anecdotal evidence by way of its prominence in Chinese medicine. It is believed to reduce both stress and fatigue and respected for its benefits to overall health. Its powerful ability to relieve stress makes it a great herb to include in your tea in support of your meditation practice.
Saffron
There must be a reason that saffron is the most expensive herb in the world. Certainly, one of the reasons that people are willing to pay high prices for it is the benefits that it confers in combatting depression. Practitioners shouldn’t be scared off by the price of saffron because even in minute amounts, it has tremendous benefits. It has long been held that the best way to take saffron is in the form of a tea. Users claim that saffron unlocks inner wisdom and grants access to the divine.
Lavender
Lavender relaxes the mind and suppresses the ego, making it a perfect herb for meditation. For many in the west, it is the first herb that comes to mind when they think of a tea that aligns with their goals for meditation practice. It is certainly one of the most well-known and widely available herbs and it makes a delicious addition to a loose-leaf tea blend.
Lotus
The lotus flower is a symbol of enlightenment, transcendence, and love in Ayurveda and the Buddhist tradition. You can use any part of a lotus in an herbal tea blend, but most practitioners recommend the stamens and petals.
Skullcap
Skullcap helps to establish a deep calm that is perfect for most meditative practices. Users hold that including skullcap in your tea will help to balance the crown chakra and alleviate stress and physical discomfort. Skullcap can be used as a primary ingredient in a blend to achieve a noticeable relaxing effect, or it can be added to blends in small amounts for use throughout the day.
The Journey of a Lifetime Begins with a Single Step: Exploring the Connections Between Herbal Teas and Mindfulness
This article is meant to serve as a guide to your own exploration. There is a wide world of possibilities for finding beneficial connections between tea and your meditation practice.
No two practitioners’ journeys will be the same, so rather than providing a step-by-step how-to guide, I simply wanted to provide you with the information you’ll need to begin your own journey.
Like meditation itself, noticing the nuances of each tea is a crossing to growth.
As with many things in life, I tend to recommend a combination of research, trial and error, and following your gut. Trust yourself and you’ll find the right fit for your meditation goals.