The Japanese Tea Ceremony and stress management

When people attend a Japanese Tea Ceremony, they often remark that it had a calming effect on them. The Tea Ceremony can be much more than that, however. Serious practitioners of tea develop a mind set and body control that enables them to transform tension-producing details of everyday life into moments of beauty, meaningfulness and tranquility. This effect comes from ritualizing ordinary chores and giving them an esthetic dimension and a noble motivation. Such discipline of mind and body also enables tea people to concentrate solely on the present moment, thereby shutting out worries about the past and anxieties about the future.