For thousands of years Tibetan and Buddhist monks have used tea within their spiritual practices. The South American Indians had a variety of teas used their esoteric traditions. Martial artists throughout China and Japan use teas in before and after their practices. Indian Yogis are avid tea drinkers as well.
Why? The answer is simple: the Qi otherwise known as “Chi”. It all lies in the Qi of tea. Many people who talk to me about this subject say they feel a caffience buzz from tea, but that is different. When you drink real tea that grows out of volcanic rich soil, with roots growing deep into the ground you are drinking a real tea with real Qi. That Qi feeling will be distinctly different from a tea that is mass farmed whose roots are shallow and soil is chemical fertilizers. For those, you will only be feeling the caffeine “buzz”. I have studied with Taoist monks at a temple in Cang Shan Mountain, China who grew their own tea to align with certain constellations at picking time. They believe that even the star constellations energy is connected to the tea. When studying Qigong healing, my master and I would drink strong Ancient Artisan Bi Luo Chun and then begin to practice on each other. Then we would take a break and drink more. To bring a balance to our Qi energy when the energy needed to be more grounded we drank an Rattan Qi Tea Raw Puer which has wood energy and Ancient Phoenix Break-Away Bar Fermented Puer Tea which has earth energy.
Tea Qigong Before Your Practice:
What you want to do is before you begin your practice whether it is yoga, Qigong, martial arts, meditation or whatever is have your cup of tea. Don’t do it fast! Brew it consciously, mindfully and sip slowly. Follow the fluid as it enters your mouth, swish it a little, notice the taste. The slowly let it flow down your throat. Follow the feeling down all the way into your stomach. Now notice the subtle feelings in your body. Do you feel the warmth? Do you feel a rising feeling? Maybe a sinking feeling? Where do you feel the energy going? Notice that and then put the energy back into your Dan Tian (3 inches below your navel) by resting your palms on top of it and breathing gently into it. Now begin your practice letting the Qi flow.
In Good Tea,
JT Hunter
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