How to Calm Morning Anxiety by Mindfully Drinking Tea

"Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it." - Sharon Salzberg

As a Brit, I do what we British people do best: drink tea. Lots of it.

I’ve drunk a cup of tea every morning since I was a chubby-faced teenager.

I used to think tea was the best thing ever, that friendly little cup of brew that’s always there for you, reminding you to take a moment to chill. But it turns out that mindfully drinking a cup of tea is so much better. Not only does it make me enjoy my tea more, it has utterly redefined my mornings and even cured my morning anxiety.

Morning anxiety is marked by an adrenaline rush, racing hart, heightened blood pressure, worry, edginess, and fatigue even though you’ve only just gotten out of bed.

I used to feel anxious most mornings and it set the tone for the rest of my day. When I woke up my mind would already be full of ideas about what I had to do that day, worry that I wouldn’t get it all done, and a constant feeling of being rushed, which made it all but impossible to sit and just be.

I was sick of waking up either stressed or anxious, so I decided to change my morning habits to put me in the right state of mind for the day ahead.

I knew I didn’t want to do anything challenging, like yoga or a deep meditation technique, because I personally believe the morning should be relaxed and easy so that the mind and body have time to wake up gently before getting into work.

So I decided to do something very easy but also very positive: turn my regular morning brew into an experience in mindfulness. And it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

When you’re trying to develop mindful habits, it’s best to focus on the things you already do routinely every day.

For instance, if you walk to work you can start Zen walking, which is essentially walking while being mindful of the movement in your feet and legs.

Or, if you take the bus, you can sit on the bus and meditate on your breath—something I used to do twice a day every day.

Other examples include mindful showering, meditating while doing the dishes, or even mindful listening (meditating on the sound of the other person’s voice while you’re listening to them).

When you turn everyday tasks into mindful activities, you cultivate the habit of mindfulness. That’s why my mindful-morning-tea was such a good idea—because I do it every day.

It’s a wonderful little mindful-habit that I’ve developed for myself. Because I now automatically drink my tea mindfully, without even thinking about it. That’s a precious ten minutes every morning to overcome my anxiety and set a more positive tone for the rest of the day.

Another wonderful thing about these mindful habits is that they are great for busy people. If you think you don’t have the time to meditate or be mindful, simply do what you do anyway but in a mindful way. That way, you can squeeze in your mindfulness without actually investing your time into it [here are some more great mindfulness tips for busy people].

Let me show you how to do it. And don’t sweat, if you’re one of those weird people who thinks that coffee is better than tea (pah!) you can also use this mindfulness exercise when drinking your Nescafe. ... read more

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