Bringing some balance back to mealtimes
Could the way you eat be a bit more mindful? Could it even be a practice of meditation and awareness?
After the inevitable over-indulgence of the festivities, summer holidays and celebrations you may be considering a wee change in food-related behaviour.
Here’s an easy, Ayurveda inspired way to introduce mindfulness into every bite that will enable you to be more present with your food, enjoy its tastes, improve digestion, & notice when you start to get full whilst eating…rather than it hitting the bottom & sending you to sleep 5 or 10 mins after you’ve devoured a whole plate that you might not have needed.
- Only 1/3 of what we eat is functional – as in we need it for nutritional intake and energy,
- The other 2/3 is emotional – we like food, we enjoy eating, we deserve this, or have the ‘I’m full but it’s so nice’ response…& we keep going.
Mindful meal-time routine:
1. Carefully select what goes on a forkful of food – get the tastes you’d like in this bite
2. Anticipate its flavours as you place it in your mouth
Ayurveda recommends including all 6 tastes in each meal. Your own dosha type will influence the tastes, flavours and tendencies you favour and are good for you. We can, however, get too much of a good thing, creating dosha excess and dis-ease.
3. Chew each mouthful at least 30 times as you place your fork down
You don’t have to chew slowly or over-emphasise the chewing – you know what to do just bring your awareness to doing it – you might be surprised at how it changes your experience.
Chew and taste WITHOUT PRE-LOADING THE NEXT FORKFUL AS YOU EAT
This step is far easier with salad & other raw foods than soup or well-cooked foods but you can still take longer over each mouthful to savour the flavours.
4. Once you’ve chewed 30, or more times to ensure your mouth is empty
…pick up your fork and go back to step 1
Repeat the cycle during your meal, carefully selecting, loading, chewing, and pausing before the next bite
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Mindful mouthfuls
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Being more present with what, and how you eat
Chewing is the first, and vital stage of digestion & we often don’t think too much about it.
Ayurveda’s approach to life and health is all about good digestion – of our food, and the things that happen in our life.
You might be amazed at how much you taste your food and feel adequately full when you eat mindfully in this way…perhaps even without finishing the whole plate you thought you needed.
