“Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha
Do you eat too fast and rarely feel satisfied with your food? Are you like so many people, so busy and rushed through out your day that you tend to grab a quick bite? Do you eat at your desk while working? Perhaps you find yourself eating in front of the television or while on your computer? In a world of fast food drive-throughs, we have become accustomed to eating out of bags and cartons, without thought.
Meal time can be a time of communion and appreciation. Appreciation for the bounty of foods we have available to us as well as to the hands that prepare it are only a part of being a mindful eater. By eating consciously, we take time to savor flavors, colors, textures and smells. In other words, we are able to enjoy meals by actually taking the time. This will actually help the release of excess weight.
Mindful eating may seem easy, you think about what you want to eat, make it, and then enjoy it. However, if you take the time to be aware of your thoughts while you eat food, you might be surprised at how little of your consciousness is actually present during the act of eating. Research has shown that if you eat while experiencing stress, the digestive system will be disrupted. The short term effect is a lack of assimilation of nutrients; the long term effect if you continually eat while stressed is the potential for irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, weight gain and eating disorders. By becoming mindful eaters we can find a new joy in eating as well as a new relationship with our reality. Furthermore, when we are more aware of what we are putting into our body, we are more aware of the messages our body is sending us.
Here is an exercise that can help you experience a mindful moment with food. Take a grape, only one and place it into your mouth. As you do, shut your eyes and get a sense for the size, shape and feeling of the grape in your mouth. Roll your tongue around it to feel the texture of the grape. With eyes still closed imagine you can actually see it in your mouth, making the color very rich and vivid. Next, bite into it slowly and feel the juice, be sure to get all the juice out of that one grape that you can. Notice the texture of the grape’s interior and how different it is when it is whole. Chew it slowly and make the experience continue for as long as possible, say, perhaps five minutes. That grape will most likely be the best grape you will ever eat.
Here are 5 quick tips for becoming a mindful eater.
1. Never eat distracted. Turn off the television, computer and phones when you eat.
2. Be aware of your senses. Eating is a multisensory experience; enjoy the appearance of your food, the taste of it, the textures and the aromas.
3. Declare mealtime a time for pleasant conversations only. Eating with family and friends is a communion of the souls. Stress free conversations only!
4. Notice your reactions to foods without judgment. There will be foods you like, those you dislike and those that are neutral. Notice your reactions without deciding if they are right or wrong.
5. Listen to your body. It will send signals of feeling nourished. A simple little affirmation is, “I eat to nourish my body, not feed my emotions”.
Practice mindful eating and it will become a part of who you are.
