Meditations, Tea, and Anxiety

Meditation might not seem like your thing. You mind find it difficult to be “still” in mind and body.

You are not alone. If you are anything like us, we love to move during our mindfulness routines. Experts might disagree with our methods, but that is just what we like…they are our methods that match us. 

Mindfulness and meditation is about finding you and understanding why you are, well, you. Our entire purpose is to support people on their journey to self, whatever that self is. 

Before we go deep into what good meditations for anxiety are, set your goal, decide what outcome will serve you best, and then commit to being open to new experiences and understandings - or even changing your goal. 

First: What is Meditation?

Meditation is a simple practice that can help you manage stress and anxiety. It involves focusing your attention on something, such as your breath, a word or phrase, or an image. When your mind starts to wander, you simply bring your attention back to the object of your focus. With regular practice, meditation can help you develop a greater sense of calm and well-being. 

 

The Best Meditation for Anxiety

Again, the answer to this will depend on you as an individual. Whatever method you choose, remember to create a routine or ritual with it. That routine and ritual can be small. What is most important is that you don’t give up if you don’t get results right away. 

Here are two types to consider.

Mindfulness Meditation 

This is a practice where you focus on the present moment without judgment or reaction. It teaches you how to accept and tolerate uncomfortable feelings without reacting in ways that will make you feel worse. Mindfulness meditation can be done by following instructions from an audio recording or reading instructions from a book. It also can be done through various smartphone apps that provide guided meditations throughout the day (such as Headspace).

Transcendental Meditation 

This type of meditation involves repeating a mantra silently for 20 minutes twice per day while sitting comfortably with eyes closed and hands resting on knees (or whatever position is comfortable). There are a few different guidelines out there in relation to time and frequency. Bottom line, find one that works for you. The goal is to go deeper into relaxation every time and experience the benefits of lower blood pressure and reduced stress. 

Create Time for You By Creating a Ritual

If you are like us, we are busy bodies and it is hard to make ourselves sit down and take a break, to release our mind from racing thoughts, and notice our breath or place in the world each day. 

To help get around this, we like to use a tea ritual as a way to focus ourselves. This means we have to actually stop what we are doing and be in the present moment with ourselves and surroundings.

One way we do this is starting the tea making process when we start some music. We play meditation or mindfulness music to change the pace and remind ourselves of what we are supposed to be doing - being present. 

Once our music is going, we start our water in the teapot and then move to selecting the tea to share the experience with. If we need to stop an overactive mind, we select accordingly. Once we open the container of loose leaf tea, we take a deep breath and become aware of our senses. 

When the water is ready and it is time to steep the tea, we set the timer and take our break. I often sit down and breathe deeply. This helps me realize how shallow my breaths typically are and how tense my jaw gets when I am hyper-concentrated. 

Once the tea is ready, I smell it with a deep inhale through the nose with closed eyes, really trying to focus on the fragrances. 

From there, it’s time to drink the tea. 

Much research has been done on rituals in the form of ethnographic and quantitative studies to show that rituals help reduce anxiety. Most importantly for me, I believe it gives me a moment for me and I take advantage of that. 

If you find it hard to be still, you can try things like coloring, mantra work, or a walk in nature as each demonstrates a reduction in the levels of anxiety that people experience. 

What herbal blends are best for anxiety?

We recommend teas with lemon balm for daytime use as it won’t make you sleepy. If you need to calm yourself at night, you can pick from a variety of teas like chamomile, lavender, passionflower, or lemongrass. 

Our blends Time to Smile and Bear Hug incorporate powerful adaptogens like ashwagandha and holy basil.

You might want to try herbal blends that lower cortisol levels, help with generalized anxiety, and an overactive mind, which the above do. 

Precaution

If you are finding yourself to be suffering from chronic anxiety, depression, or mental health issues, it is always best to reach out to professionals for help. A team effort can work wonders. Take care of yourself and ask for help when it is needed.

 

Citations

1. Link -Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Benefits of Exercise, Yoga, and Meditation Sy Atezaz Saeed 1, Karlene Cunningham 1, Richard M Bloch 1  Am Fam Physician 2019 May 15;99(10):620-627.
2. Link - Impact of a Yoga and Meditation Intervention on Students' Stress and Anxiety Levels Am J Pharm Educ 2019 Jun;83(5):7001. doi: 10.5688/ajpe7001.
3. Link - Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder: effects on anxiety and stress reactivity
4. Link - Are Adult Coloring Books Actually Helpful?
5. Link - Colouring books for adults benefit mental health, study suggests
6. Link - Coloring is good for your health. Joel Bobby, L.I.C.S.W. 
7. Link-Meditation as effective as medication for anxiety, study finds. JAMA Psychiatry.
8. Link - Mind and Body Approaches for Stress and Anxiety: What the Science Says
9. Link - Mindfulness meditation may ease anxiety, mental stress
10. Link - Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know