Living in New York City sometimes feels heavy on my shoulders. After residing here for more than 20 years, I’ve come to realize that it’s a mutually shared experienced. Most city residents carry some sort of weight or burden with them. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to de-stress. We can either patiently wait for the weekend or actively seek out some R&R.
For some time, my sister raved about the benefits of mediation. She had attended a workplace session and I wanted to see if I could reap the same rewards, so I signed up for a class at Midtown’s Shinnyo Center.
It seemed like a popular option and it was holding an evening Chadō class, which really intrigued me.
Chadō, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese tea ceremony which focuses around the “ceremonial preparation” of matcha, or green powdered tea. Mastering Chadō requires a lot of work and discipline, but through the way of tea, “students seek principles of Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility.”
At least that’s what the pamphlet told me.
The actual meditation session began with a live demonstration of the ceremony, which took place in a big, open room. I was seated amongst 20 to 30 other people, yet it was completely quiet. We all had our eyes focused on the ceremony, which unfolded with precision and intricacy. Although I was not sitting in a traditional tearoom, I instantly felt as if I had just stepped out of New York City — at least for a brief moment in time.
Following the ceremony, we closed our eyes and meditated in quiet. Qalvy, who is a Buddhist minister, guided us through the process. He instructed us to become aware of our own physical bodies by focusing on its different parts — from the back of the head to the tips of the fingers.
“Meditation helps us wake up," according to Qalvy in a Q&A. "We do this by knowing ourselves better and more profoundly. Through reflection that comes with meditation, we can know the depths and treasures that each of us possess at our inner core.”
Under his direction, I immediately became hyper aware of how things felt against my skin and how I was breathing — things I would normally never pay attention to.
Then, we were each given a bowl of matcha tea and a cookie. With these items, Qalvy instructed us to try and relearn how to eat and drink by slowing down and savoring the various tastes.
It was something I’ve never experience before.
After sitting in a quiet, peaceful room for just 45 minutes, I felt disorientated stepping back into the real world. When I left the center, I immediately heard a car horn go off and the loudness resonated in my ears like never before. I instantly realized how over simulating the sights and sounds of NYC were.
I wanted to run back inside.
