It's no secret that tea and yoga go well together; both encourage mindfulness and creative thinking while doing extraordinary things for your physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Now, I’m a better tea connoisseur than a yogi, so I chatted with my friend and certified Vinyasa flow teacher Dave Ursillo to choose five mindfulness-encouraging yoga poses and teas to go with them.
Practice them individually or string them together for a four to seven-minute flow; you can do them while your tea steeps.
1. Eye of the Needle Pose
Credit: Julia LeeUrsillo says that Eye of the Needle pose, or Sucirandrasana, is a nice, supine hip opener that connects your back to the earth and is energetically grounding. To create mindfulness, “focus on the breath, and extend your inhales and exhales to a 4 to 6 second count. Try to calm your mind—listening to the breath helps.”
Pair it with: Silver Needle white tea, of course! Steep it around 175 degrees for 3-5 minutes.
2. Child’s Pose
According to Ursillo, the connection between your forehead and the earth during Balasana signifies reverence, humility, and "planting" intangible seeds of ideas from your imagination and dream center (the Ajna chakra, or your third eye chakra).
This is the perfect pose to do before beginning a creative endeavor and is one of my favorites.
Pair it with: Masala Chai is spicy, invigorating, and gets the creative juices flowing. Steep it in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Drink with milk and sugar, if desired.
3. Downward Facing Dog
Down dog, also known as Adho Mukha Svanasana, is a "resting" pose that can take a lot of work for a beginner and can be uncomfortable if not done properly. But breathing into this pose, which is a full body stretch, can really be energetically grounding and subtly invigorating.
Pair it with: Matcha will stretch and challenge your tea palate just like this pose will do to your body! Whisk a teaspoon into hot (170 degrees) water and drink up right away.
4. Forward Fold
To relieve stress and fatigue, try Forward Fold (Uttanasana), a relaxing pose that is particularly helpful in calming the mind.
This is probably because you're not only stretching through the legs, but enjoying a nice release on the cervical and thoracic spine, and getting some added blood flow to the brain. I love it!
Pair it with: Chamomile for a truly restful experience. Steep in boiling water for 5-10 minutes.
5. Mountain Pose
Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, is a particularly powerful and grounding pose—perfect to help you mentally prepare for a meeting or presentation. “By embodying the steady, sturdy, immovable strength of the mountain, we ground and center ourselves and feel the strength that resides within us,” says Ursillo.
Pair it with: High Mountain Oolong for extra mountainous goodness. Steep for 2-3 minutes in almost-boiling (195 degrees) water.
Are you a tea-loving yogi like me? What are some of your favorite poses and recommended tea flavors to go with them?
by Carrie Keplinger – Carrie attempts to do yoga, tai chi, and meditation while drinking many cups of tea. She is a writer, editor, and tea blender who helps make moments matter at PlumDeluxe.com.
