Five-Minute Mindful Cup Meditation

Learning to practice mindfulness is not nearly as complicated or esoteric as it might seem.

In fact, you can easily start building your mindfulness toolkit by integrating small moments of mindfulness first thing in the morning. If you’re like most millennials, there is a good chance you start your day with some type of warm beverage. Whether it is an almond milk latte, matcha, lemon water, or tea, you may find yourself often chugging it (and possibly burning yourself!) as you head out the door. Or, you might sip on it throughout your morning commute, whether you are stuck in traffic or taking the subway into work. Learning to build in only a few minutes to truly savor and enjoy your morning cup can go a long way in capturing a peaceful moment to yourself before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.

If you have ever really timed yourself, then you might have learned that drinking a cup of any warm beverage doesn’t really take that long at all. As long as it was not brewed to a boiling point that will burn your throat, even with a few minutes of cooling, it will likely take you less than five minutes to drink a cup of tea, coffee, or any other beverage of choice. Starting tomorrow, set a timer for five minutes and see if you can focus solely on the experience of drinking. No fancy meditations or mantras required. You can close your eyes the entire time or focus your gaze on the swirling steam raising from the cup. You might focus on the warmth radiating into your hands as you grasp your cup with both hands. Don’t try to change or judge your thoughts or get too in your head about the experiment. Just focus on your drink.

In the event that you have more than five minutes and have been meaning to make time for another mindfulness activity, see if you can pair the two. Maybe you set your timer for 10 minutes and you journal for a few minutes as you drink, or after you drink. Or, you read an inspirational quote from a book, read scripture, or practice chanting a mantra. As you become more accustomed to this five-minute beverage period, you might find it easier to extend the time to include even more good-for-you behaviors.