Way of Tea – Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony

Every movement is choreographed so that the process of making and serving tea is a ritual. Through this ritual, the tea ceremony, or The Way of Tea, as it is sometimes called, allows one to experience a state of consciousness similar to what is achieved in zen meditation.

The host, Yoshi, will serve traditional green tea ground to a fine powder, matcha, along with Japanese sweets to balance the taste of the matcha tea. Through every gesture and action, the host is considering the guest and “pouring” all of her attention on the predifined movement. In this way, the tea ceremony embodies harmony (和), respect (敬), purity (清), and tranquility (寂) in every movement.  Join in this culturally unique choreography of zen in motion and service.  In addition to performing the tea ceremony, Yoshi will explain the purpose and history of the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

The class is limited to 8 people. Please expect to sit on the floor during the ceremony.

$20.00 per participant.  This workshop has sold out!  Contact The Glowing Body directly to be added to a wait-list in the event that a participant cancels – 865-545-4088.

During  her brief time in Knoxville, Yoshi Nagai has developed a jewelry line made of natural materials which are hand worked to create smooth lines and curves. Her talents extend beyond making jewelry.  Since a tea ceremony host must be familiar with not only the various types of tea production, details of kimono, calligraphy, flower arranging, ceramics, incense and a wide range of other disciplines and traditional arts, obtaining an assistant teacher certification in a traditional Japanese Tea School requires one to be a master of many arts. Yoshi has been trained in the Urasenke School of Tea (one of the traditional schools of tea).  She achieved the level of Japanese tea ceremony teacher (3rd degree) certified by the Urasenke tea school. Yoshi returns to Japan with her husband in the fall. We are delighted she will share the ancient art of “The Way of Tea” with us before we have to say “sayōnara”.  Yoshi will be assisted by Mariko Sato, a beloved Glowing Body yoga teacher.