Coffee and mindfulness meditation

[Tyho]

Hi,

This is a question that's been bothering me for a while now. Is it recommended for a practionner of mindfulness to drink coffee, before of after meditation? I discovered mindfulness thanks to Jon Kabbat Zin but in his book Mindfulness For Beginners there no mention of caffeine, coffee or tea.

Is it better to drink coffee, tea or nothing at all?

Or do you, experienced meditaters, drink coffee? If so when?

Thanks a lot.

[Peter]

Welcome Tyho!
I drink coffee and sometimes tea, but I never plan it considering my meditation.

If I were to consider it, I would probably choose to drink it before the meditation, because I would rather be a little bit more alert, than relaxed. Not too much though.

Peter

[Happyogababe]

That's interesting, I'd not heard of that before. I don't drink coffee before meditating often, but if I fancy one then I'll have one. Like Peter, if I wish to be more alert during my meditation then I may well have a small (weak) coffee. I'm having lots of nettle tea at the moment to (maybe) help with my hay fever symptoms.

Have a good day.

[Tyho]

Do any of the great mindfulness teachers like Jon Kabbat Zin actually drink coffee? This would be an interesting information. Because if they don't, then maybe there's some valid reason behind that pertaining to the practice of meditation.

[Matt Y]

One of the 'greatest' Buddhist teachers of meditation and mindfulness was frequently drunk; though he did chastise his students for smoking pot. I would suggest that you simply pay attention to what happens in your own experience. Never mind what other people do. Coffee (like everything else) effects different people in different ways.

[Peter]

Exactly my thoughts. One cannot copy someone's results by copying their behavior! And, do you really think that someone like Jon Kabat Zinn would be less 'great' if he changed his coffee routine?
Peter

[Gareth]

I regularly drink tea and coffee, and I have not considered it once with regard to my meditation in the six years that I have been meditating.

I'm not saying that as any kind of boast. I'm merely trying to point out that you don't really have to attach any importance to it if you don't want.

Like Alan Watts, I have also meditated whilst drunk - that's an interesting one.

[Tyho]

I regularly drink tea and coffee, and I have not considered it once with regard to my meditation in the six years that I have been meditating.

I'm not saying that as any kind of boast. I'm merely trying to point out that you don't really have to attach any importance to it if you don't want.

Like Alan Watts, I have also meditated whilst drunk - that's an interesting one.

Do you drink coffee before meditation? I guess I'm just wondering why NONE of the mindfulness meditation teachers I've come accross actually drink coffee. I've read from some buddhist monks that it is considered an intoxicant hindering the mind from the meditation.

[Gareth]

Do you drink coffee before meditation? .

I'm sure that I must have in the time that I have been meditating. It's never something that I have given any consideration to.

[JonW]

In his last book, Mindfulness And Creativity, Danny Penman replaces the raisin exercise with a coffee drinking exercise.
On my mindfulness teacher training course last year, all the teachers were big coffee drinkers.
Jon