This is a guest post written by one of our longtime customers, Ron Smith.
Savoring. Hmmmm. What is it?
Dr. Fred Bryant, a professor at Loyola University Chicago conducted research (see list of his work below) from which he coined the term “savoring.” His research findings indicated that individuals who regularly and frequently savor are happier, more optimistic, and more satisfied with life. Dr. Bryant identified savoring as three-fold, that is:
We can savor the past by reminiscing;
We can savor the future through positive anticipation; and
We can savor the present by practicing mindfulness
Enjoying your Oregon Yerba Mate tea is an opportunity to experience savoring.
The Art of Savoring
To savor is the very basic act of allowing yourself to pause in the moment of the experience and step back from it to become more fully aware of it. By allowing yourself to become immersed in the physical and emotional senses surrounding the act of drinking your mate tea, you allow it all to gather inside of you and expand back out into the space you are occupying. In this moment of savor, you will notice how easy it becomes to connect with your breath and feel the joy ride in and out.
The making and drinking of our specially blended Yerba Mate teas provides a vehicle and opportunity to experience savoring and provide both an emotional and cognitive trigger to create a “savoring experience” that can boost your mood in at least four ways:
Savoring can help make us remember the good stuff in life
Savoring can help thwart mind wandering – it keeps us in the moment
Savoring can help us increase gratitude – it can increase the feeling of being thankful for the experience as we are having them
Savoring can uplift our mood - when we take just a moment of our time to pause and appreciate the colors on a painting, the morning sun, the sound of a bird, the voices of loved ones, or the way the stars dot the inky night sky, we’re brought back to the present moment, and in turn, our mood gets uplifted.
Each type of savoring provides unique and distinct benefits to you. Dr. Bryant’s research found that people who savor the present are less prone to depression, have less stress, guilt, and shame. People who savor the past (reminiscing) are best able to buffer stress. And people who savor the future (anticipation) are more optimistic.
Getting Started
How can you can you make the most of savoring your Yerba Mate experience?
Simply start by doing it. Whether it is the first thing in the morning, after you meander out of bed, before a workout, mid-day break, or in the evening while you wind down, allow yourself the time to have a cup. Whether it’s one time a day or several, commit to creating the habit.
Set a reminder. Write it down in your journal, set an alarm on your phone, use any number of reminder apps, post a note on the bathroom mirror, your teapot, or Keurig device. You deserve the opportunity.
Now, savor it. Hold that cup. Anticipate it. Smell it, taste it, feel it slide down your throat, and resonate inside you. Take a minute to connect with those senses. Connect with your breath after that first drink. Breathe it deeply into your lungs. Use a languid four count and then release the breath slowly. Let your breath be a means to pause and help you register this moment. Allowing it to connect with all the cells throughout your body. Be aware of the goodness, happiness, gratitude, and other feelings in this moment.
Besides letting your body and mind absorb the savory experience into your memory, you can both reinforce it and track it by using your phone to periodically take a picture of the moment for a visual reminder. Just the physical act of taking the photo helps reinforce it. I like to take photos showing the location I am enjoying my Yerba Mate tea in with the mug in the foreground. For example, my cut sitting on the window sill looking out, in front of plants or flowers I am looking at, on the table outside and the view in the background, or just simply holding it up and snapping a photo. I especially like to take photos of where I am enjoying my Oregon Yerba Mate in places I am traveling. I always try to take it with me to more fully savor the moments presented by opportunities for travel and adventure.
Benefits of Savoring
Savoring is a quick and easy way to boost optimism and reduce stress and negative emotions. It's the practice of being mindful and noticing the good stuff around you, taking the extra time to prolong and intensify your enjoyment of the moment, making a pleasurable experience last for as long as possible. So whether it's preparing a meal, pausing to admire the sunset, or telling a friend your good news—the idea is to linger, take it in, and enjoy the experience. Eventually it'll become a habit—one you'll never want to break. Still unsure about jumping into savoring? Just consider that it was found savoring can increase your feeling of being positive by 3X by simply anticipating it, compounding the value of it during and after it.
There are many savoring techniques—and you may find that you gravitate towards some, but not others. As mentioned above, Dr. Bryant along with Dr. Veroff have identified several ways people can experience savoring. They additionally found that individuals can experience savoring with other people, by just concentrating on the meaning of an activity, writing about the experience in a journal, and including humor in your life each day.
Whatever you choose, find the one(s) that allow you to savor your life each day. Next time you brew a cup of Oregon Yerba Mate tea, allow yourself to be transported into a moment of “savoring.”
Research on Savoring to Check Out
Bryant, Fred and Veroff, Joseph. (2006) Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Wood, J. V., Heimpel, S. A., & Michela, J. L. (2003). Savoring versus dampening: Self-esteem differences in regulating positive affect. Journal of Personal and Social Psychology.
Bryant, F.B. (2003) Savoring beliefs inventory (SBI): A scale for measuring beliefs about savoring. Journal of Mental Health.
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