One cannot think well, love well, or sleep well, if one has not dined well.
Virginia Woolf
Mindfulness is being aware of what is present for you mentally, emotionally and physically in each moment.
Mindfulness can help us develop balance, choice, wisdom and acceptance of what is. Eating mindfully is applying the principles of mindfulness towards our experiences with food. Mindfulness around food allows us to slow down several times a day and connect with our meals in a different way.
Here are a few suggestions to start you on your path to a more mindful relationship with food.
- Try to eat without distractions. Try to eat in a quiet place without watching TV, reading, or multitasking.
- Eat sitting down. Do not eat in the kitchen stand over the sink or at the fridge.
- Try not to eat in the car.
- Engage your senses when you sit down to a meal. Take notice of the tastes, aromas, textures, and presentation of your meal.
- When possible try to choose foods that are nourishing to your body and pleasing to your senses.
- Take the time to chew your food fully, pausing between bites.
- Take a few deep breaths before you begin your meal and also during your meal to help you slow down.
- Check in with your body during your meal. Are you still hungry? Are you getting full? Do you want to keep eating because of hunger or are you eating for another reason?
- Try to create a peaceful and pleasing meal experience. A comfortable chair, nice place setting, flowers, candles, or music all add to a more mindful eating experience.
- Be aware of any emotions that surface during mealtime. Are you feeling anxious, angry, excited?
Practice these principles without judgment. Mindfulness is a practice that develops over time.
Be patient with yourself as you incorporate this new approach to eating.
Be compassionate with yourself as you incorporate new behaviors and release old behaviors.
Applying the principles of mindfulness can help you to free yourself of habitual patterns of eating and opens you up to exploring food in a new way. You may discover your food preferences change. Most people discover that as mindfulness develops they start to gravitate to foods that promote health and wellness.
I hope these tips will be helpful for you as you start to develop mindfulness in your everyday life.