Tea, Yoga and Me

Like Tea, yoga dates back to around 5000 years ago. It is an ancient form of exercise which focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing, to boost physical and mental well being.

I’ve been practicing yoga for a number of years now, and drinking tea for many more. Tea has a number of health benefits, so does yoga. Not only do tea and yoga complement each other, remarkably, they offer similar benefits.

                                         atributed: Wikimedia

A yoga teacher once told me that if you practice yoga regularly you will see the weight drop off. I didn’t believe him until I realised one day that I needed to buy clothes in a smaller size! Its true, drinking tea and practicing yoga equal weight loss. Recent studies have indeed shown that there is a real link between drinking oolong tea and weight loss.

Does it matter what tea you drink? White, oolong, green or black?  Not really as all tea is good for you. Its simply a matter of taste.

So how does yoga benefit the body? As it happens, science is beginning to provide evidence to show how yoga works to improve health.  Personally, I’ve noticed that practicing yoga means I get fewer colds and feel more relaxed and at ease.

Here are some of the other benefits offered by drinking tea and practising yoga.

Tea is a rich source of antioxidants which reduces inflammation, boosts the metabolism and aids the immune system. Practicing yoga gets your blood flowing, it improves your circulation and improved circulation means that the antioxidants in tea are better spread throughout the body.

One of the benefits of yoga is that it strengthen your muscles. Strong muscles protect against conditions like arthritis and back pain. Green tea has long been proven to help with achy joints and arthritis because it contains anti inflammatory properties.

After a yoga session, any stress that has been built up in the body will have been flushed out. Drinking green tea after a session just heightens this process of detoxification. So both yoga and tea help to alleviate stress.

Regular practice of yoga gets you moving and burns calories, and like drinking pu erh tea lowers levels of bad cholesterol and boosts good cholesterol.

Cleansing practices are another element of yoga, including breathing exercises and internal cleansing of the intestines which help to keep allergies and viruses at bay. A clinical trial with human volunteers has revealed that drinking green tea helps improve immunity and prevent cold and flu symptoms and white tea is a natural killer of bacteria and viruses and also helps guard against colds and flu.

So drinking tea and practicing yoga really do seem to complement each other.

I normally practice yoga every morning, and after my workout I enjoy a cup of green tea which has invigorating and stimulating properties. It helps to hydrate my body and smooth the transition from the peace of yoga into the pace of the rest of the day. If I practice in the evening I choose jasmine tea to help soothe me to sleep.

For me tea and yoga are not just about drinking tea and working out, it”s all about a healthy lifestyle.