Mindful hot drink ritual

Are you feeling ‘Tis the season to be jolly or are you overwhelmed and exhausted by searching for the right gifts, scrolling, clicking, shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, socialising, partying and trying to finish off work tasks before you take a break for a few days?

If you are feeling the latter, then consider taking a few minutes to be mindful when you next have your hot drink. Follow the steps outlined below to give yourself a few minutes to be present, rest, re-set and balance yourself. The benefits will be noticeable physically, mentally and emotionally.

Hot drink ritual

Fill the kettle or coffee machine with water

As you do, watch the flow of water, notice how it glistens and hear the sound it makes.

Wait for the water to boil or heat up

As you do, take a few slow deep breaths.
Gently stretch.

Prepare your drink

Place your tea bag, coffee or hot chocolate mix in your cup or fill your tea pot with loose tea or your coffee machine / pot with beans or ground coffee.
Inhale the fragrance. What does it remind you of?
As you add the water, listen to sound it makes. How does it make you feel?
Watch as the water mixes with your tea / coffee / chocolate. What patterns does it make? What do they remind you of?

Fill you cup

As you do, notice the steam rising, the cup filling up and the change of colour within the cup.

Notice how you feel

Check in with your body. Are you feeling tension anywhere? Where do you need to stretch and relax.
Check in with your emotions. How are you feeling? Do you need to turn any negative thoughts to positive action thoughts? What do you need to do to feel better?

Take your first sip

Bring the cup to your heart. Feel the warmth. Take a moment to be grateful for something in your life, even if it’s the water in the cup that will hydrate you or for the growers, producers and providers of the tea, coffee, hot chocolate.
Close your eyes and inhale the scent from your cup. What does it remind you of? How does it make you feel?
Bring the cup to your lips and take your first sip. What does it really taste of? What does it remind you of? How does it make you feel?

Continue to finish your drink

Stay present whilst you finish your drink. Look around you. What do you see, hear, smell, feel?
As you finish off your last sip, give thanks for something in your life or environment. It might be the comfy chair you are sitting in, the warm room, the way the light comes through the window, the friend you are about meet later on, the seasonal food you’ll be preparing later, the feel of the soft blanket on your legs or the clean uplifting smell of the Christmas tree.

Over to you

Try to do this ritual as often as you can. It only takes a few minutes and can make the world of different to having a stressful day or a day that’s busy but doable.