This post was sponsored by Yogi Tea
Raise your hand if you can start your morning with a cup of tea?
Yes, we Brits love our tea so much that we can’t imagine starting our day any other way.
Holding a hot mug in both hands and inhaling the sweet, spicy, and floral scents of tea feels very comforting. It warms up your body and gives you a little energy to carry on with your day.
I’m usually a Yorkshire tea person, but I started drinking herbal tea during my pregnancy to reduce caffeine. Yogi Tea has always been my favorite brand because of the variety of blends they have.
I think I first encountered Yogi Tea at a yoga retreat. Yoga and tea seem to go hand in hand, and the retreats I’ve been on so far have focused on relaxing and drinking unusual blends of tea after each class. The whole class, dressed in oversized pashminas, curls up in a corner, legs crossed, steaming mugs in hands.
When Yogi Tea contacted me about the #7MinutesChallenge, I was intrigued.
It takes an average of seven minutes to brew the perfect cup of Yogi Tea, and they want you to use those seven minutes wisely. They want us to do something mindful to promote our own well-being. We live in a busy world with endless to-do lists and hectic lifestyles, but wouldn’t you be able to take seven minutes to stop what you’re doing and relax? Or?
7 minutes isn’t a long time, but I’ve found that 7 minutes can make a big difference in your day…
I started thinking about what I would do in those seven minutes.
stretch?
yoga?
Breathing practice?
meditation?
I tried a little bit of all of them and finally found the one that worked for me. It simply means sitting in the garden and being outdoors.
Yes, just sitting there. But who would have thought that sitting could be so great?
I love the outdoors, but I rarely sit in my garden. Fortunately, we have a beautiful garden next to the river. Well, I say beautiful. If you have the time, energy, and knowledge to beautify your riverside garden, it has the potential to be beautiful. It’s just a bit of a swamp at the moment, but Sam has created a gorgeous deck area where we can sit and enjoy the river and potentially beautiful swamp.
Sitting outside, you can hear the rushing river, the birds chirping, and the wind rustling through the trees. We see a fat little robin (George calls him Robbie) hopping along the fence and a cheeky squirrel eating all the bird food he left for Robbie. Her neighbor’s colorful flowers peek out over the fence (she has the time, energy, and gardening knowledge we need!) and we watch the fall leaves dance on the grass. I breathe in that gorgeous, fresh, outdoor scent. There are countless air fresheners created to recreate that smell, but nothing can match the smell of the outdoors. I take deep, slow breaths, wanting to get as much energy into my lungs as possible…and I find myself taking slow, meditative breaths, perhaps without even realizing it. (It’s even better if you do it while smelling the good smell!)
It’s cold at the moment, but I don’t care. In the morning, I put on my big coat over my pajamas and Louis jumped on my lap to keep me warm.
I usually finish making the tea and take it outside because I don’t think sitting outside for 7 minutes is long enough. The hot cup fills with a mist of steam and I sit outside until it cools down.
I use this time to drink tea to make my to-do list for the day.
I’m one of those people who needs a to-do list or else I won’t get anything done. I work for myself and usually work from home, so my days can be unstructured and messy if I’m not careful. I only make a list of 2-3 things I want to do that day and feel relaxed when I’m done with them.
I joined this 7-minute challenge because I love tea (especially Yogi tea!) and thought it would be a great idea to relax while making a cup. What I didn’t expect was how much this would change my day. It makes me feel good to start the day and gives me a chance to organize and collect my thoughts before the boys wake up. When they start moving, our house becomes chaotic, so this peaceful time is pure bliss for me.
If someone told me to go meditate every morning, I would never do it. I guess I don’t have time or I’m too distracted. But sitting outside for seven minutes while waiting for your tea to brew is a perfectly manageable small challenge.
I also do this while making my evening tea. It’s so nice to sit outside for a few minutes with some twinkling fairy lights on. Sam comes along too and we often end up sitting outside all night, which is a much nicer way to spend an evening than lazing around on the couch.
About Yogi Tea
Yogi Tea is an organic tea brand with over 40 tea blends. All of their blends are designed to promote health and balance, and each has a different goal. My favorites are “relaxing”, “heartwarming”, and “immune support” (hopefully to prevent colds this winter!)
Yogi Tea has a strong connection to yoga and the healthy, conscious, holistic lifestyle associated with yoga. The tea includes simple yoga and breathing exercises to get the most out of your cup.
Would you like to take part in the #7MinutesChallenge? If so, what will you do in 7 minutes?