A look at tea
Tea, or Cha as it is called in Korea and China is one of our favorite herbs, though most people don't think of it as being medicinal. There are several different preparations of tea, whether it's white, green, black or red, it's all the same plant, camellia sinensis. Tea is one of the oldest used plant medicines in China, dating back more then two thousand years ago. Many ancient Chinese medicine practitioners, sages, and patriarchs, utilized and loved tea.
In Chinese Medicine, tea is generally classified as being both sweet and bitter, thus entering the Spleen, Stomach, Heart, and Large Intestine channels. Generally, as a bitter herb, energetically Tea has a cooling property however this greatly depends upon the roasting and processing of the leaf. Black tea for instance, because of its longer roasting and oxidation process is more warming in character. Modern uses of Tea's L-Theanine focuses more on the benefits it has on brain health (more on that later) but traditionally Tea was used for generating fluids in the body, stopping thirst, clearing heat, eliminating toxins, dispelling dampness, promoting urination, aiding digestion, stopping diarrhea, clearing Heart-fire, and raising the spirits. Some of the best Teas are Tea's picked in the spring from wild old-growth trees high in the Chinese mountains. These Teas are incredibly complex because you're not only tasting the region, processing method and the fresh Qi of springtime, you're also taking in the unique, high clarity Qi from the wild old-growth tree itself.
Qi in Chinese Medicine is similar to Prana in Indian philosophies. Qi is responsible for the vitality of our physical body. In Yoga, you do Pranayama while the ancient Taoists did Qigong. Pranayama is an effect to control the body by controlling the breathing. Breathing itself is not Qi, it's due to Qi. It's because of Qi our lungs inflate and we breath. All the activities of the body, and powering the body is Qi. Breathing and the circulation of the blood in our veins is the Qi. We feel satisfied after a good meal, it's the Qi that is satisfied. You can trace every feeling in your body to Qi. You feel healthy, Qi. Hungry, it's the Qi. Thirsty, Qi. You feel sick, Qi. The guilty of the air we breathe (read precious blog post), the sun we experience, the food we eat and the water we drink are essential for maintaining health and longevity. Some Tea's, like the ones mentioned above have an extraordinary deep presence that makes you aware of the Qi moving up, down or inward, outward and is a great medicine to add to your daily regimen.
L-Theanine is an amino acid found only in Tea and one species of mushroom. Anyone from naturopaths to neurohackers have been obsessing over L-Theanine's nootropic benefits of optimizing brain health. Modern science and medicine is finally catching up to what ancient sages knew thousands of years ago, regular Tea consumption can have positive affects on our health. There have been hundreds of studies done about Tea's L-Theanine beneficial affects on the brain and mind. Reducing mental stress, improving focus, lowering blood pressure and most interesting, boosting alpha brain waves was all in their findings. Alpha brain waves are associated with relaxation and promote alert calmness and joyful flow states. L-Theanine has also been reported to increase neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and Gaba in your brain.
It's clear to see that when we stop thinking of Tea as just another caffeine inducing stimulate and take a deeper look into the superior life enhancing herbal remedy that Tea really is, that's when the real healing begins. It doesn't have to be overly complicated, or overly scientific, ultimately when we shift our relationship with Tea, drinking it can be a contemplative experience where one can slow down and take time to absorb the energy and wisdom of the leaf. Taking time out of our busy day to sit quietly and notice how the tea is making us feel is a great step towards living a life of balance and harmony.