Anything that you do during the day, you can do it mindfully. In my last post, we consider how the simple activity of walking can be done with mindfulness and intent. Weaving mindfulness practices into your daily living can help develop the flexibility you need to respond in a different way to the stressors in your life.
Eating is another activity that you can do in a more mindful way.
There can be a significant relationship between stress and food. Eating can be one of the ways that we deal with the uncomfortable feelings of stress.
For most of us, eating is not something to which we give a lot of attention. You eat to fuel you body to do the “important” things on your schedule. But there are other aspects of our relationship to eating. There is a social aspect. Gathering with friends for a meal, enjoying the food and the conversation, can nurture your soul along with your body. Almost every religious and spiritual tradition has a ritual that involves a meal.
In a previous blog post, I described a way for you to eat a meal mindfully. There are many other ways to make eating a part of your daily mindfulness practice.
Eat…Just Eat
Think back over your meals the last few days. How many of those meals involved eating and something else? Eating and reading a book or newspaper? Eating and watching TV or social media? There is nothing wrong with eating this way, but from time to time, try eating without multi-tasking. Just eat. And be aware of what happens when you do. If you are always doing something when you eat, you may feel uncomfortable or restless. With no distractions, you may notice your mind moving from one thought to another. Simple notice those things happening and return your attention to your eating.
Eat Because Your Hungry
You may ask, “Well, why else would I eat?” And yet, our society has determined that there are three meals every day, and those are the times you are supposed to eat. But what if I’m not hungry at those “assigned” times? Think about infants. They eat when they are hungry. They don’t even know there is such a thing as a meal until much later in life.
Eating mindfully can involve eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Of course, this is an invitation to be aware of what hunger feels like in your body and what being full feels like as well. If you decide to eat when you are hungry, it will be important to discern if you are responding to your bodily needs or your emotional needs. Are you reaching for food because you are hungry…or because you are stressed, or lonely, or bored?
Develop Some Eating Rituals
Eating is easy to do in autopilot mode. Rituals can add to your mindful awareness. Have a place that you set aside for mindful eating. Set the table and light a candle. Find some simple ways to slow down. Set your fork down after every bite. Follow your parents’ advice and chew your food 25 times. Eating more slowly will help you be aware of your brain telling you that you are full. Take your first bite with your eyes closed; it will help you focus on the taste of your food.
Be Aware of Random Eating
There is nothing wrong with snacking; it is one way to fuel your body through the day. But it can also be done without thinking. For example, as I’m writing this, I am aware that one of the first things I do when I get home from work is I look in the pantry or the fridge for a snack. Now, usually, it is something healthy, like a handful of nuts. But I must admit I do it without thinking, and probably don’t really enjoy what I’m eating.
When you do eat something, do it in a specific way and a specific place. For example, instead of standing at the pantry and popping a handful of nuts in my mouth, I could sit down at the table and eat them in a more intentional way.
All of these practices give you a chance to develop a different relationship with food.
Think about that image for a moment. A different relationship with food. If food was another human being, how would you describe your relationship? Are you friends? Acquaintances? Enemies? Strangers? What would you want to change about your relationship?
If you would like to know more about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), I invite you to visit my stress reduction specialty page.