Breathe, Breathe and Breathe
When I teach scuba dive, one question that is almost always asked by the newbies is “how long can the air tank last?”
When I teach scuba dive, one question that is almost always asked by the newbies is “how long can the air tank last?”
The answer is simple: for a good dive, the goal is always to maximize your time underwater by prolonging the air consumption rate. The air consumption rate will depend on how you breathe and move underwater. Broadly speaking:
The more vigorous movements you make, the more air you need to consume - if you move a lot (like kicking very hard), you are likely breathing shorter and faster. As a result, you will use up the air tank faster. If, however, you move slowly and breathe in a consistent pace, your air tank can last longer.
The more you move against a force, the more air you need to consume - If you are diving against the current, you will need to kick harder in order to move forward and, therefore, you will breathe faster and consume more air. However, if you are drift diving (i.e. let the current pushes you), you will be moving very little and, therefore, you will breathe slower and consume less air.
The more stressed you are (emotionally and physically), the more air you need to consume - When you are anxious and nervous, your breath is short and faster. When you are calm and relaxed, your breath is long and slower. During a dive, the slower you breathe, the lower your heart rate – and in turns, you become more calm and relaxed.
The more pressure you are under, the more air you need to consume - If you dive in shallow depth (like less than 15 metres), you are under less pressure and, therefore, can breathe smoothly and slower. However, if you go deep (like 20 – 40 metres), the pressure underwater will cause the air to become denser and therefore, harder to breathe. The tip is to breathe in a deliberately slower and longer pace.
Whether you are a scuba diver or not, by now you should see a pattern on how our breathing can be influenced by our own external and internal environments.
Likewise, it is easy to make the metaphorical correlation between being underwater and being above water. For the latter, we all are subject to pressure, stress, anxiety and negative energy and emotions. The breathing strategy for scuba diving is totally relevant and applicable to our daily life.
An amazing wonder of our human body is that we can consciously control our breathing. In fact, when we can control our breathing, we are aiding ourselves to become resilient.
In short, breathing is the foundation to good health and movement.
Here is a simple breathing exercise that you can do and with some variations that you can add later in your own time.
1-minute Breathing Exercise:
Sit on a chair with your back fully supported
Close your eyes to help you focus
Place the tip of your tongue against the back your upper teeth
INHALE through your nose into your lungs and to its maximum capacity
EXHALE through your nose, emptying your lungs like deflating a balloon
Repeat continuously for 1 minute (or until you want to stop).
It takes only 1 minute a day of your time as a starter. As you start to feel the benefits, you will naturally create more time for yourself to just do these breathing exercises.
Some additional variations that you can add later.
Variation 1 - Pace your inhaling and exhaling with specific length of time. For instance, INHALE and count 1 to 3 as you are inhaling; then EXHALE and count 1 to 3 as you are exhaling. Make it a smooth transition. Over time, as you become more familiar, you can extend the length of time for inhaling and exhaling.
Variation 2 - For scuba divers, you can switch to breathing through your mouth. At the same time, you INHALE by sipping air in slow motion and counting 1 to 5 or more until you fill up your lungs. Then you EXHALE by blowing air in slow motion and again counting 1 to 5 or more until your lungs are empty.
I would love to hear from you on your experience – even if you don't get the breathing exercise and have more questions about it. Please do get in touch by email to info@luxenova.co or by leaving a comment here.
Author: Stephanie Luo
Tea is the essence of Mother Earth’s Wisdom
“From the dawn of time, man knew that in order to stay alive he must observe, understand and respect Mother Earth, who nourishes him.”
“From the dawn of time, man knew that in order to stay alive he must observe, understand and respect Mother Earth, who nourishes him.” ~ anonymous
Tea leaves hold all the beautiful elements and nutrients coming from the Sun and the Mother Earth. Each element is a wisdom, gently nourishing our mind, body and spirit. Tea is a catalyst for mind-body-spirit connection.
However, with the climate changes at hand – which is a real issue – the quality of teas gets tainted as well as the harvest of good quality organic teas is shrinking. When we start drinking lessor quality teas, our mind, body and spirit become less nourished. These adverse changes to the quality of the soil get absorbed by the tea trees and stored in the tea leaves. Naturally, over a period of time, our body would get affected as a result.
So, why should we consume organic teas?
All premium loose teas are hand-picked. The harvest depends on the geographical locations (e.g. in the mountain or valley) and the surrounding climate. The fresh tea leaves then go through withering, so that the moisture will be reduced and ready for the processes to come.
During the production process, tea is never washed. The harmful chemical residues (e.g. chemical fertilizer or pesticide) remain attached to the tea leaves. When infusing the tea leaves in the tea pot, these residues would be released or activated through heat and into the tea. Naturally, when we consume such tea, the toxins are ingested by our stomach, liver and kidneys. At the same time, these chemicals remain in the soils where the tea trees are grown and the surrounding environment.
Aside the fact that organic teas can provide us with the full health benefits to our own body, by purchasing and drinking organic teas, we are supporting organic farming and in turns we are taking part in environmental protection.
Being in an organic tea estate is a real treat to our senses – it contains a multiple of cultivations and biodiversity. Aside the tea trees, one sees other plants and trees like cinnamon trees, apple trees, grape vines, bee hives etc. The plants take part in the creation of compost, repelling parasites as well as in the fight against soil erosion. The farmers incorporate many natural and herbal solutions to fight against diseases, insects and vermin of all kinds. These solutions include essential oils, cow urine, nettle liquid manure etc. The organic fertilizers and various minerals are also applied to balance the soil equilibrium where necessary. In short, it is a happy place to be.
When we drink the organic tea from such a place, we are taking in the essence from this happy place. Personally, I often can visualise the place where the tea comes from while drinking it - the sun, rain, grass, tree, butterfly, birds, bees...etc. Being in the urban city, it is a beautiful escape, even just for a brief minute!
Note: all the photographs shown above are from Les Jardins de Gaia, taken at the relevant estates where the teas are from.
Author: Stephanie Luo
Tea is the aphrodisiac for our brain
Each of these teas came from the place where organic farming was the tradition. It is raw and authentic – a place where people have no care about the organic labelling or any labelling at all. Its quality speaks for itself.
Recently, I have been digging into my collection of precious vintage teas. These vintage teas were harvested at least 30 years ago. What makes them so precious is not the age but the love, passion, care and respect for the Mother Nature behind the growing of the tea trees and making of the tea – i.e. the stories of the people, the teas and the locations.
Each of these teas came from the place where organic farming was the tradition. It is raw and authentic – a place where people have no care about the organic labelling or any labelling at all. Its quality speaks for itself.
So, when it comes to drinking these vintage teas, I naturally want to pay the homage by creating a sacred space to brew and taste the tea with certain ritual.
First, I find or create a space that is free of clutter. It can be as small as an A3 size table matt. Then I start decorating this defined space with the tea pot, cups and other accessories. There are some recommendations on how you can organise this scared space. However, the importance is to make this sacred space as aesthetically pleasing as you wish.
Once this is set up to my heart’s desire, I rinse all the tea pot and cups with the hot water. Next, I pour the tea leaves into the empty tea pot (which by now should be warm) and gently shake the tea pot to allow the tea leaves to shift inside the pot. The mild heat inside the tea pot can stimulate the tea leaves to release the aroma.
At this point, I usually take a deep breath of this aroma into my lungs. As the aroma moves inside my body, I can sense my brain cells starting to tingle all senses. Sometimes I can identify from the aroma elements about the tea and its origin (e.g. forest, flower, soil, air etc.).
While this sensual experience lingers, I pour the hot water and brew the tea*. With the vintage tea, I would rinse the tea leaves with hot water first and then brew the tea. For the first and second brew, it takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute. From the third brew onwards, the time of brewing gets extended a bit longer and the temperature of the water is higher – so to allow the water to sip deeper into the leaves and extract the flavours.
When the tea is ready, I sip and let the tea linger in my mouth for a bit – in the same way as wine tasting. In this stage, I get to taste the deeper layer of the tea aroma. After swallowing the tea, I would sit in silence and let the after-taste to surface. Each tea has its own tempo and tickles different part of our body. This is when I start to connect deeper.
This whole ritual is effectively a form of meditation or mindfulness practice. It would be a lie if I claimed to enter into the Samadhi all the time! The connection can vary and depend on the condition I am on the day. Sometimes this is a sacred space where my focus and awareness are enhanced – both in life and in work. The quieter I become, the more distractions get stripped away. In turns, I gain the clarity and can stay on track with my goals.
“How long will this whole process take?”, one may ask. It can be as short as 10 mins to 1 hour or more. It is entirely depending on how you want to manage your time.
For someone who is completely new to this, I would suggest starting with something simple. A simple 10-minute tea time can be done with brewing some tea leaves in a tea cup or bowl. If you have 30-minute to spare, you can set up your sacred place more elaborately.
To get to know more about tea tasting and tea meditation, you can start by finding a 10-minute slot for yourself each day and repeat this routine consecutively for 21 days. In that period, remember to have fun to experiment with different types of teas and see what you get out of it each time.
*The temperature of the water will depend on the type of tea chosen. It is useful to ask the person who sells you the tea. Otherwise, if such information is not available, the general rule goes like this:
Black Tea, 90~95°C
Oolong Tea, 80~90°C
Green Tea, 75~85°C
Rooibos / Herbal Tea, 90~95°C
Making and drinking tea is an experience and pleasure. Have fun with experimenting with different approach and enjoy each moment.
Author: Stephanie Luo
Authenticity and spiritual intelligence are co-related…