Conscious Bites

It was sometime last year, while reading a book on mindfulness and self-compassion that I first came across the notion of mindful eating. Initially I thought that the author of the book (and all those involved in the yogic lifestyle) had taken this whole self-awareness thing way too far. Not only was I supposed to be always aware of the present moment, and myself in each moment, but now I have to be mindful while I’m eating?

Little did I know at the time, mindful eating can be an extraordinarily effective way to tune-in to your body, your fork, and your methods of self-care.

Like many other developments in our modern world, feeding ourselves has come to be seen as a task – another item to check off our to-do lists. Rarely do we take the time to just be with our food or to slow down the process of preparing and consuming what we eat. Have we forgotten why we eat? It is an act of nourishing ourselves, of spending time taking care of ourselves.

Through the practice of mindful eating, we can learn how we are affected by the things we put in our bodies, and also our connection to the art of eating - perhaps the ways in which we judge ourselves, how patient (or not) we are with ourselves, how much of a priority self-nourishment is to us.

So, my question to you is:

When is the last time you were mindful while eating? When is the last time you let your food nourish you?

Mindful eating is a practice in meditation. In all meditative exercises, we stay connected to the present moment as it is happening, and we practice patience in bringing our awareness back to the present when our minds get distracted.

We become aware of our experiences just as they are – regardless of our emotional reactions to them.

Noticing the breath and reactions in the body as we think about our food, the touch of the sweet bell pepper in your hand, the smell of a grape, the sensation of green tea against the tongue – these are brief experiences that each hold a precious opportunity to tune in to the world around us.

Give it a try.

Happy chewing,

Heather

To learn more about Mindful Eating: Check out Pavel Somov’s book “Eating the Moment” (available here at the Lotus Centre)