Mindful Eating: How Simply Slowing Down Can Heal Your Body and Mind
I was tossing around a couple ideas for this curation and mindful eating was in the forefront. I started reading “be free where you are” by Thich Nhat Hahn.
He mentions how in the United States where food is plentiful there is not much time taken for eating. I discovered this years ago in the middle of my auto immune troubles when I was in the process of healing. A friend of mine said, why don’t you slow down when you eat and chew your food more, that could probably help your digestion. I started being mindful of my eating and I discovered at first I was swallowing chunks of food and expecting my digestion to just take care of it and break all that down. Once I realized how fast I scarfed my food down I began to be more mindful and actually chew my food and the impact on my digestion was incredible.
Thich Nhat Han says, “Eating can be joyful and you don’t need to eat a lot to be healthy.
When I pick up my chopsticks or fork, I take time to look at it for a moment. A fraction of a second is good enough for me to identify the food... I will smile at it, put it in my mouth and chew it with complete awareness of what I am eating.”
These simple ways of gratitude and appreciation allow our bodies to assimilate our food in a different way. It fills your body with love and gratitude.
Thich Naht Han also goes on to say that he fills more full when he eats this way, that his body is more satiated with the food when it is ingested mindfully. That brings up curiosity for me could Mindful eating make less food go farther?
For me growing up in the US we are ingrained from a very young age to eat quickly. In school by the time you get your food you have 10-15 minutes to eat, and with talking and socializing happening if goes really quick. For years as a waitress I would shovel my food in my mouth standing up, in minutes when I could.
Children are a great example of mindful eaters, they love to touch the food, look at it, examine it, and then slowly put it in their mouth and chew. We come into this world Mindful and aware and seems we are untrained slowly to become more preoccupied and distracted.
Here is a link to a talk by Thich Naht Han about mindful eating:
For me it all goes back to living in the moment and being present with what is. I also like to bless my food. I put my hands over my food and say I bless this food with love, I thank this food for giving it’s life to nourish my body.
When I practice these techniques I have wonderful digestion. I am able to enjoy my food and bask in gratitude. I am able to control sugar cravings and overeating. It is really incredible how a little mindfulness goes a long way. I have even been able to eat foods I used to no longer be able to tolerate at all. I truly believe it is due to the mindfulness and loving energy I give to the food and then the food nourishes me back.
Curation by @consciousangel7
Here are some other articles on mindfulness I really enjoyed:
A great blog on how life is your recipe and you get to choose what to make out of it.
https://steemit.com/mindfulness/@vibernation/getting-into-the-now
A very in depth look into mindfulness and what it means to be in the now.
https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@riverflows/nettle-dreaming
This is a great story of the duality of nature, life, and how plants can hurt and heal all at the same time.
https://steemit.com/mindfullife/@bewithbreath/my-natural-medication-is-meditation
This is an insightful blog on why meditation can be the best medication.
Every moment we are mindful we give ourselves the gift of being present and enjoying the richness and beauty life has to offer. Thank you for your mindfullness with me today!
And in other news...
The winner of SBI for this past week is @vincentnijman! Congratulations! Each week we award someone posting under #mindfulife with a little SBI to say thank you for your enthusiasm and wisdoms. Vincent's been enthusiastic about his meditation journey since the beginning and we thank him for his joy.
***Meditations are on hold until August 7th - @bewithbreath has been called to Nepal for a family emergency. Please send him and his family metta in this difficult time. Looking forward to his return! ***
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Great topic @consciousangel7. I agree that in the US we do eat too quickly. I do think having kids changes that for us. Watching them grow and see how and what they eat, you can't help but get lost in the moment. However, activities change that. School assemblies, sports, and numerous other activities end up causing us to eat on the run.
Remembering to take the time to enjoy my food rather than shove it in my face is a constant battle. I am an emotional eater, so I frequently eat absentmindedly an not tasting my food. When I change my mindset, focus on my food I enjoy every aspect of it. I find I am content, not still hunger and not overstuffed.
Thank you @Tryskeele! Great point about the activities and being on the run, these fast paced lifestyles. I think fast food and restaurants make it easier too. That is very mindful of you!! I am an emotional eater too, and probably why Mindful eating helps me too:) I’m really trying to control my sugar intake and wow is that a tough one for me. Here’s to many many more mindful eating moments for all of us 😀
This post is spot on @consciousangel7! I can totally relate to the typical SAD practice of eating quickly or being completely distracted when you eat. Taking a more mindful approach is beneficial in so many ways, as you have related. I remember before I moved in with my boyfriend I was living in an apartment for a while on my own. I didn't have cable tv or internet because I was too strapped to be able to afford it and had access to internet at work where I was the majority of my time. That was actually really great in many ways as I was much more productive at home, but I got in the habit of picking up a book every time I sat down to a meal by myself at home. It turned into such a habit that every time I sat down to read I wanted food. After a while I wondered why I had put on a few pounds and realized what had happened! It really is amazing how seemingly small habits can have such a big impact on your health and wellness. I am definitely going to take time to enjoy my evening meal after my boyfriend gets done grilling it. ;) Thank you for sharing!
Wow it’s crazy how conditioned we become. Maybe that’s why I want food every time I watch TV 😅. Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the positive feedback. Glad it could resonate for you as well :)
Haha, I can totally see that, too! I remember always getting a snack in the evenings as a kids when we got to watch our one or two nightly shows, so there is still that urge sometimes to want one when my boyfriend and I get a chance to sit down and watch something. :)
I love this post @consciousangel7. It's incredible what a huge impact mindful eating has on your health and even your enjoyment of the moment. I know why my folks never let us watch telly while we ate dinner! Much to my husband's frustration, I make him turn the telly off while we eat too. To take a moment to enjoy our food and talk about our day is one of my favourite things about the day.
Your little one is SUCH a treasure there! Kids are born into the world with all this knowledge and slowly it gets obscured and veiled - and we spend half a lifetime undoing it!
Thank you @riverflows! I really appreciate the positive feedback. Wow that’s awesome of your parents and you and great to instill those values and stick to it. Those special moments and conversations are what life is about. Since I live alone if the boys are asleep and I am eating alone I watch TV and it helps me to slow down ironically. Thank you! I am so grateful for all my boys and being a mother is a such a gift. Thanks for all the love and support 💜💕🙏🏻💙
Oh definitely period sometimes you just need to tune out. I have just finished watching best series on Netflix because I needed to escape a little period balance in all things lol.
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Ahh Netflix! I am into Outlander right now, what a show 😍
I love Outlander!! Really enjoyed the books, as well. Ok, now to actually comment, haha!
I would probably get so caught up in the books! It’s a great show
Hello, this is an excellent post! It reminded me of when I was studying traditional Chinese medicine at the Neijing Caracas. Because the concept of Tao, which is essential to that tradition, insists that one must be aware of what one is doing in the instant and flow with it. The school where I studied emphasized on the concept of "dignifying the moment". When they told us about the adequate food and eating, they insisted a lot on the awareness that one must have of what we are eating and how we are eating it, that is, to taste, to chew as an act of conscious enjoyment.
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