Mindfulness on your yoga mat, in your relationships, during meditation, but what about in your kitchen? Surrounded by fast food, busy schedules and a serious shortage of time, it’s easy to fall into mindless eating.
You know the stuff – eating in front of your email inbox, with your to-do list in hand, zoning out to Instagram on your iPhone. Raise your hand if you’ve crammed in a ‘meal replacement’ bar or shake ‘cuz you were already that late. We said raise your hand!
Contrast all this with mindful eating.
Take the practice of self-care and apply it to how you eat. Turn time spent in the kitchen into an act of self-love, a moving meditation on nourishing and healing every single cell of your body. Each bite becomes an opportunity to learn, to heal, to love, to grow.
This week, begin your journey towards mindful eating with these 5 practices.
1. Uncover WHY you want to eat. Take a moment or two to ask yourself a few check-in questions: Is your belly rumbling? Are you bored? What emotions are you feeling? What does your body need?
2. MEDITATE on the process. When you decide what you’re going to eat, spend some time thinking about the food, take in the colours and the smells. Prepare food with a loving attitude.
3. Before you begin eating, offer THANKS. To a farmer, to a pollinator, to yourself for taking the time.
4. Eat SLOWLY. Keep your mind’s attention focused on each bite, noticing the textures and flavours. Put your fork down between bites and breathe. Repeat step 3 for an extra pause.
5. When you’ve finished your last bite, BE STILL for a while. Instead of rushing to the next thing, notice how you feel. Did the food you chose serve you? Does your body feel energized and nourished?
Shifting from mindless to mindful eating is a profound practice that can transform your relationship to food and improve your health. Does it mean spending more time in the kitchen? It sure does. Is it worth it?
You’ll have to give the practice a try to find out.
