Shen Tea: Is There Such A Thing?

Shen Tea

In Taoist philosophy Shen means spirit. In translation it means spirit or mind. It implies our essences or being. It is our presence, in terms of our consciousness, mental functions, mental health and vitality. Shen lives in the heart, it sleeps there at night when we retire. If Shen is disturbed while we try to sleep insomnia is produced. Shen specifically lives in the blood therefore if one is blood deficient Shen is not feed. Heat is said to disturb Shen.

Healthy Shen is dependant on Essence. Essence is stored in the kidneys and Qi which is produced in the spleen and stomach but flows through out the body as energy. If Essence and Qi are in optimum health Shen is provided with nourishment. Shen is considered one of the three treasures in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Shen connects to the heart and heaven.

In traditional Chinese medicine shen tea would be a tea formula specifically to nourish the heart and calm the nervous system or mind. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) this would be called calming Shen or the spirit. I could not find a Shen tea as such. What I did find was Shen herbs and Shen tonics.

It took a lot of research to come up with some Shen herbs and how they are prepared. One such Shen herb is Biota Seed. It is usually part of a tea or pill herbal concoction. The leaves and seeds are used for healing. It can be prepared by boiling the leaves fresh or dry in water. The seeds can also be boiled in water or powdered. The seeds are used as a sedative. It relieves anxiety and fear and can help with insomnia. It is used in Shen tonics. This was not considered a Shen tea although the leaves can be boiled. Biota is considered an invigorate the blood herb. In and of itself it is not considered a Shen tea.

Yu Jin pronounced �yoo gin" is also known as Tuber Curcuma longa/domestica. We know it as Turmeric root tuber. Originally thought to have come to China via India it is used as a Shen herb. It is used as a spice in cooking and medicinally. The root is cleaned, boiled and then dried in the oven to be pulverized. The only association I could find to Shen tea with this herb is that it is boiled before it is dried out. This herb is considered to invigorate the blood. Yu Jin is also used in conjunction with other shen herbs to make a shen tonic not a Shen tea.

Also a Shen tonic herb and not considered a Shen tea herb is Mai Men Dong pronounced �my men dohng". Also called, Tuber Ophiopogon japonicus, Mondo/Lilyturf it is commonly known as Grass root tuber. It property as a shen herb is to tonify. It is considered a Yin herb. To prepare this root for use it is sun dried and then pulverized.

One herb I did find that can be used as a Shen tea because it is a Shen herb is Panax ginseng. You could actually purchase this herbal root in tea bags, so I would say this is a Shen tea. You can get Panax ginseng online, in oriental markets and health food stores. It can be bought as the root dried, powdered or as I stated in tea bags. It is called a qi tonify herb.

Chinese Medicine