This study was conducted to examine a care-based meditative healing system that individuals can practice in everyday life amid the increasing prevalence of complex psychological issues in contemporary society, such as emotional exhaustion, relational ...
This study was conducted to examine a care-based meditative healing system that individuals can practice in everyday life amid the increasing prevalence of complex psychological issues in contemporary society, such as emotional exhaustion, relational disconnection, and excessive stress. In particular, the purpose of this study is to comprehensively explore how Tea Meditation, a practice mediated by tea, facilitates participants’ recovery through the sequential processes of sensory engagement, emotional stabilization, relational empathy, and self-care, and how these processes are integrated with Tea Therapy, Care, and Self-care to expand into Self-care Healing. To achieve this aim, qualitative data were collected from participants who took part in a 12-week Tea Meditation program, including in-depth interviews, participant observation, and emotional journals. All textual data were transcribed and analyzed using the grounded theory approach proposed by Strauss and Corbin (1998), following the procedures of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. First, the findings revealed that Tea Meditation embodies a sensory-based practice structure that enables experiences of physical relaxation and emotional stabilization, which are core effects of Tea Therapy. Participants repeatedly reported reductions in emotional tension and psychosomatic stabilization through deep immersion in multisensory elements, such as the aroma, warmth, color, and texture of tea, as well as the movement and sound of brewed water. These results indicate that Tea Meditation is not merely a meditative technique, but a practice inherently embedded with psychological and emotional stabilization processes through the sensory properties of tea. In this regard, Tea Meditation provides a practical framework that naturally elicits the sensory-based relaxation and calming effects emphasized in Tea Therapy by inducing concentration and regulating emotional flow through multisensory stimulation. Second, Tea Meditation functioned as a practice of care that activates both emotional and relational dimensions of caring. Participants stated that the sequential activities of cleaning teacups and preparing tea were experienced as acts of attentiveness toward oneself and as opportunities for emotional connection with others. These experiences demonstrate that Tea Meditation serves as an embodied practice through which the ethics and attitudes of care are internalized. Specifically, Tea Meditation establishes practical mechanisms of care by directing attention inward and organizing the body and mind, while further strengthening relational empathy and emotional sharing in contexts where tea is shared with others. This suggests that Tea Meditation activates the psychological foundations of care, including attentiveness, consideration, mutual respect, and relational responsiveness. Third, Tea Meditation was found to naturally facilitate the formation of an internal structure of self-care among participants. Participants reported experiences of self-examination, emotional awareness, and self-soothing during moments such as preparing tea, regulating breathing while holding a teacup, and calming the mind while observing the tea infusion. These findings suggest that Tea Meditation functions as a catalyst for self-care processes leading to self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-compassion, and self-recovery. In other words, the action-oriented structure of Tea Meditation inherently contains a stepwise process that corresponds to the psychological mechanisms of self-care. Fourth, the effects of Tea Therapy, Care, and Self-care generated through Tea Meditation did not operate as separate functions; rather, they formed an interactive and cyclical structure within the practical framework of Tea Meditation and were integrated into Self-care Healing. The analysis revealed that, as participants continued practicing Tea Meditation, they experienced a recurring cycle of sensory engagement → emotional stabilization → relational empathy → self-care → and existential integration. Thus, Tea Meditation emerged as an integrative practice in which the sensory stabilization effects of Tea Therapy, the emotional and relational attentiveness of Care, and the self-awareness and recovery processes of Self-care are unified into a coherent routine. This indicates that Tea Meditation is not a singular healing mechanism, but an integrative healing practice in which sensory, emotional, relational, and self-care dimensions are organically interconnected. The core category derived from selective coding can be summarized as follows :“Tea Meditation is an integrative practice system that activates self-care through sensory, emotional, and relational mediation, thereby realizing self-care healing.”This suggests that Tea Meditation functions beyond a simple meditative or tea cultural activity, serving instead as a psychosomatic healing model that promotes emotional stabilization and self-awareness through sensory experiences, with the potential to expand into interpersonal relational healing. In conclusion, this study empirically confirms that Tea Meditation integratively activates the sensory stabilization of Tea Therapy, the emotional and relational dimensions of Care, and the self-awareness and recovery processes of Self-care. These elements interact cyclically within the practice of Tea Meditation, forming an integrated healing experience referred to as Self-care Healing. The findings suggest that Tea Meditation can be applied not merely as a traditional practice or cultural activity, but as a practical psychosomatic healing model that supports emotional stability, the enhancement of self-care, and relational restoration in contemporary life.