Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Over his long career as a practitioner and therapist, Paul has taken such great care in honing and fine-tuning his daily practices that for him to consider changing them is pretty rare.
That is, until Simon Cheng, the founder and CEO of Pique Life, put a thought into Paul’s brain in their first podcast conversation ( paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/episode-98-simon-cheng-the-history-and-functional-application-of-teas ) more than five years ago about using black teas to support his early morning meditation practice.
Discover what Paul learned from Simon that changed his meditation practice for good and why having a daily practice can mean all the difference between feeling fear versus peace of mind this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Simon and Pique Life on social media via Facebook at facebook.com/pique , Instagram at instagram.com/piquelife and TikTok at tiktok.com/@pique .
0:00 Intro
7:49 Can drinking tea support a meditation practice?
14:41 “Technically, we’re spiritual kung fu brothers.”
19:40 One of the coolest things about tai chi.
26:25 The one book Simon has given to so many people.
39:39 A pivotal point in Simon’s life that led him to create Pique Life.
51:38 Understanding adversity from a spiritual perspective.
1:03:00 Meditation is only one of many ways to develop your own mindfulness practice.
1:09:25 Don’t mix Pranayamas!
1:15:00 Can you experience spiritual healing without psychedelic drugs?
1:24:15 A symphony of nature.
1:34:05 The intersection of nature and science combined with Eastern medicinal architecture.
1:48:06 Doing tai chi every day for 18 years.
2:11:42 Simon’s dream house in the Palisades survived the recent LA fires untouched thanks to the power of prayer.
Listen to Paul's conversation with Simon Cheng and check out the show notes page on our Spirit Gym website at paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/353-why-caffeine-before-meditation-might-be-the-secret-to-clarity-with-simon-cheng
Thanks to our awesome sponsors!
• Pique Life piquelife.com/paulchek (save up to 20% for life and get a FREE starter kit when you subscribe to one or more of Pique’s amazing beverages!)
• Organifi organifi.com/chek20 (save 20% on your purchase by using the code CHEK20 at checkout)
• Wild Pastures wildpastures.com/paulchek (save 20% and free shipping for life plus $15 on your first order)
• BIOptimizers bioptimizers.com/spiritgym (save an extra 10% on your purchase by using the code PAUL10 at checkout)
• CHEK Institute/Scientific Core Conditioning https://chek.group/Spirit (sign up for the second edition of Scientific Core Conditioning to unlock special offers and bonuses today!)
• Paleovalley paleovalley.com/chek15 (save 15% on your first purchase)
• Korrect korrectlife.com/spiritgym (check out the newest drink supplement by Aubrey Marcus that helps you burn fat, supports smooth energy without being overstimulated and keeps you hydrated)
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz) by Brave as Bears
All Rights Reserved MusicFit Records 2024 at musicfitrecords.com
Over his long career as a practitioner and therapist, Paul has taken such great care in honing and fine-tuning his daily practices that for him to consider changing them is pretty rare.
That is, until Simon Cheng, the founder and CEO of Pique Life, put a thought into Paul’s brain in their first podcast conversation ( paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/episode-98-simon-cheng-the-history-and-functional-application-of-teas ) more than five years ago about using black teas to support his early morning meditation practice.
Discover what Paul learned from Simon that changed his meditation practice for good and why having a daily practice can mean all the difference between feeling fear versus peace of mind this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Simon and Pique Life on social media via Facebook at facebook.com/pique , Instagram at instagram.com/piquelife and TikTok at tiktok.com/@pique .
0:00 Intro
7:49 Can drinking tea support a meditation practice?
14:41 “Technically, we’re spiritual kung fu brothers.”
19:40 One of the coolest things about tai chi.
26:25 The one book Simon has given to so many people.
39:39 A pivotal point in Simon’s life that led him to create Pique Life.
51:38 Understanding adversity from a spiritual perspective.
1:03:00 Meditation is only one of many ways to develop your own mindfulness practice.
1:09:25 Don’t mix Pranayamas!
1:15:00 Can you experience spiritual healing without psychedelic drugs?
1:24:15 A symphony of nature.
1:34:05 The intersection of nature and science combined with Eastern medicinal architecture.
1:48:06 Doing tai chi every day for 18 years.
2:11:42 Simon’s dream house in the Palisades survived the recent LA fires untouched thanks to the power of prayer.
Listen to Paul's conversation with Simon Cheng and check out the show notes page on our Spirit Gym website at paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/353-why-caffeine-before-meditation-might-be-the-secret-to-clarity-with-simon-cheng
Thanks to our awesome sponsors!
• Pique Life piquelife.com/paulchek (save up to 20% for life and get a FREE starter kit when you subscribe to one or more of Pique’s amazing beverages!)
• Organifi organifi.com/chek20 (save 20% on your purchase by using the code CHEK20 at checkout)
• Wild Pastures wildpastures.com/paulchek (save 20% and free shipping for life plus $15 on your first order)
• BIOptimizers bioptimizers.com/spiritgym (save an extra 10% on your purchase by using the code PAUL10 at checkout)
• CHEK Institute/Scientific Core Conditioning https://chek.group/Spirit (sign up for the second edition of Scientific Core Conditioning to unlock special offers and bonuses today!)
• Paleovalley paleovalley.com/chek15 (save 15% on your first purchase)
• Korrect korrectlife.com/spiritgym (check out the newest drink supplement by Aubrey Marcus that helps you burn fat, supports smooth energy without being overstimulated and keeps you hydrated)
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz) by Brave as Bears
All Rights Reserved MusicFit Records 2024 at musicfitrecords.com
