DAILY RITUALS FOR MENTAL HEALTH: LIFE & LEISURE magazine
Need peace and focus in crazy times? A new online community movement that honours rituals is showing how a range of daily cultural practices is just the tonic.
The stars are just starting to fade from the sky when I pad out onto the deck, a kettle of hot water in one hand and a paper bag of Chinese red tea in the other.
Lighting an incense stick, I close my eyes and take three deep breaths, then place a few dried leaves in a ceramic bowl and pour steaming water over them. I tip the earthy brew into my mouth, giving thanks to the rain, the sun and the wind that helped the camellia sinensis tea plants I’m drinking to grow - and also to the farmers who tended and harvested them. After drinking three bowls in silence, I am ready to begin my day - awake and grounded, clear and calm.
Weaving this ceremonial tea practice - which I learnt from Sam Gibb, founder of Cloud Hidden Tea (cloudhidden.com.au), who regularly runs tea ceremonies and brewing workshops around Byron Bay - and other rituals I’ve picked up during my travels into my days is no longer an indulgence, but a necessity. During this, the most calamitous year of most of our lifetimes, they have been a life ring tossed into a stormy sea, and have given shape to days that have lost their usual form. Before I get swept away by the day’s anxiety-inducing news alerts, emails, texts and phone calls, these rituals provide pockets of stillness and serenity, connecting me with the rhythm of nature and my own breath and giving me fresh energy for the day.
Whether it’s tea, yoga or journaling at sunrise; shinrin-yoku ‘forest bathing’ hikes which I discovered in Japan; or evening meditation I learned while living in India, travel-inspired ritualistic practices also help mentally transport you.
Looking to honour that sentiment – and to connect like-minded people – Australian actress Nathalie Kelley recently co-founded Ritual Community, an online platform that brings together teachers from across to globe to host live Zoom classes and workshops.
Dubbed a "virtual temple", Ritual Community offers a range of classes and live streamed practises, including tea ceremony and Indian Ayurvedic massage; breathwork and beauty routines such as the Chinese skin scraping technique of gua sha; activism classes including indigenous allyship and zero waste lifestyle.
Monthly new and full moon ceremonies are duly celebrated too, helping us take the time to set new goals, redirect any misspent energy, and express gratitude.
What makes anything sacred or ritualistic is, of course, the intention behind it, which is good news for the time poor. With enough mindfulness applied to it, almost everything can become a ritual, from cooking dinner and taking a bath, to washing the dishes or brushing our teeth.
It’s simply about bringing greater reverence and care to whatever we’re doing. And allowing a bit more space into our days in order to do that.
AUSTRALIAN TEA PLANTATIONS
NERADA Located in the big sky land of the Atherton tablelands, Nerada is one of the country's oldest tea plantations, having started in 1958. Today you'll find 1100 acres of planted tea, producing 1.5 million kilos of tea a year and accounting for 9 per cent of the domestic market.
WHERE Malanda sits 85km south west of Cairns. Some locals say the word meant "waterfalls" in a local Aboriginal dialect. The town is downstream of the Malanda Falls on the North Johnstone River.
SEE https://www.neradatea.com.au/
STAY Malanda has quite a few options; try Sharlynn by the River or Malanda Manor Guesthouse.
MADURA On the NSW Far North Coast, Madura (Tamil for ‘paradise’) is Australia’s only sub-tropical tea estate, with 250,000 tea bushes set amongst rainforest and farmland. Operating since 1978, Madura blends its own tea with teas from around the world.
WHERE Clothiers Creek, a little hinterland town 45 minutes’ drive north of Byron Bay. From there, it’s a 15-minute drive to Murwillumbah, set on the stunning Tweed River and home to the Tweed Regional Gallery.
SEE maduratea.com.au
STAY Heartwood Cabin, an eco-chic off-grid cabin in the nearby hinterland town of Burringbar. See bayescapesmanagement.com.au
TWO RIVERS Grown on a family farm in the Acheron Valley east of Melbourne, Two Rivers Green Tea has been running since 2001, when 170,000 cuttings of Japanese tea plants were transplanted onto the land. Three varieties of (impressively authentic) green tea are grown chemical-free on the small thirty acre plantation.
WHERE At the junction of the Acheron and Goulburn rivers, near Alexandra, with the river flats providing the ideal soil conditions for green tea to grow. The estate isn’t open to the public, but it’s a beautiful area to explore and Two Rivers tea is sold at Grant St Grocer in Alexandra.
SEE tworiversgreentea.com.au
STAY The renovated heritage Alexandra Hotel. See alexandrahotel.net.au
Make a Living Living, Be Successful Doing What You Love by Nina Karnikowski ($30, Thames and Hudson) is in bookstores now. Her ‘writing as ritual’ class is available online at: ritualcommunity.mn.co
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN PRINT AND ONLINE HERE