Expert Session: Stress Care from a Traditional Eastern Asian Medicine Perspective - Starting with a Cup of Tea

Tea is an Easy Place to Begin with Food-Based Wellness

“Isn’t it difficult to prepare medicinal food every day?”
“How many hours does it take to make medicinal food?”

These are questions I often hear from students when they first begin learning about medicinal food therapy.

There is a common image of medicinal food as something that requires advanced cooking skills, special ingredients and a great deal of time and effort. But medicinal food therapy does not have to be complicated.

For example, if your throat feels dry, you might choose to add olive oil to your dressing. If you are concerned about puffiness, you might add beans when cooking your rice. These small choices you make in everyday life can also be part of food-based wellness.

There is no need to make it difficult for yourself. Start with what feels manageable, and gradually bring these ideas into your everyday routine.

Today, I would like to introduce a very familiar form of traditional wellness care: medicinal food tea.

For example, in summer, you might choose lotus leaf tea or oolong tea, traditionally valued for their cooling qualities. In winter, you might choose black tea or pu-erh tea, traditionally associated with warming the body.

Simply becoming a little more mindful about the tea you choose each day can be an easy way to begin.

For those who are not confident in the kitchen, or who simply do not have much time, tea is particularly accessible and easy to incorporate into everyday life. Because it is simple to continue, it can be a practical approach to traditional wellness care.

Foundations of Stress Care: Restoring Liver Harmony and Free-Flowing Qi 

Let us look at how stress can affect the body and mind from the perspective of traditional Eastern medicine.

In this tradition, stress is considered to be closely connected with the Liver. The Liver is traditionally understood to prefer movement that is free, open and expansive, much like the way a tree naturally extends its branches. It does not respond well to being constrained.

One of the Liver’s traditional functions is called “free coursing”. It is understood to help regulate the movement of Qi throughout the body, allowing it to move smoothly in the directions where it is needed rather than becoming stuck in one place.

※ Qi: In traditional Eastern Asian medicine, Qi refers to a form of energy or vital activity that drives the functions of the body and mind and circulates throughout the body.

When stress and the need to suppress our feelings accumulate, the Liver’s ability to allow Qi to move freely may become disrupted, and its free-coursing function may no longer operate smoothly. Traditional Eastern medicine refers to this state of constrained Qi as Qi stagnation. Because the Liver’s free-coursing function is also traditionally associated with maintaining emotional ease and flexibility, Qi stagnation may be accompanied by irritability, a tendency to become angry, or feelings of low mood.

The Liver’s free-coursing function is also traditionally associated with digestion and the activity of the digestive system. When constrained Qi continues for some time, it may also be associated with reduced appetite, digestive discomfort and other digestive difficulties. As an ancient text states, “Many disorders arise from Qi.” In traditional Eastern Asian medicine, disturbances in the movement of Qi are therefore considered to be connected with a variety of physical and emotional imbalances.

When you begin to feel that stress is affecting your physical or emotional wellbeing, one traditional approach is to start by caring for the Liver. By helping the Liver remain in a state of free and unrestricted movement, Qi may also be able to circulate more smoothly.

When stress begins to affect your usual mood or physical condition, try adding fragrant ingredients such as rose, osmanthus or chrysanthemum to your everyday tea. You may find that, together with the aroma, the tension you have been carrying gradually begins to soften. When I feel irritable because of stress, I often wash lemon peel thoroughly, grate a little of it, and add it to my everyday black or green tea.

How Stress Shows Up: Recognizing Your Body’s Unique Signals

When we experience stress, as described above, incorporating fragrant ingredients into tea and supporting the Liver’s traditional free-coursing function can be a basic approach. However, where and how an imbalance appears can be different for every person.

Ask yourself: “What signs is my body showing me right now?”

Take a moment to observe yourself, then choose tea ingredients that suit your current state and add them to your usual tea.

What a Cup of Tea Offers: A Moment to Care for Yourself

Every day, I set aside about 20 minutes for medicinal food tea, usually beginning at around 3:30 in the afternoon.

On days when I feel irritable, I add floral ingredients to my usual tea. When I need to concentrate or feel that I might start to doze off, I choose mint. When I feel tired, I may add roasted beans.

It is only a short period of time, but I use it to pause and connect with my body, notice what I need at that particular moment, and choose something appropriate to add to my cup of tea.

Having this time for myself gives me a small sense of happiness—the feeling that, “I am taking good care of myself.” It also gives my thoughts and emotions a little more space.

Traditional wellness through medicinal food can begin with something as simple as a cup of tea.

Choose what suits you at that moment, and take the time to enjoy it slowly.

I believe that time itself—the simple act of slowing down and caring for yourself—can also be a form of nurturing your health and wellbeing.

Featured Expert

Natsuko Tanaka

International TCM Medicinal Diet Specialist • TCM Herb & Tea TherapistInternational