Click on the link above for a guided meditation as you savor your food. Note: This is track 4 from my CD Mindful and Mindless Eating so you will hear me refer to track 2 for the 3 key questions
Savor Pleasure Practice
Before food goes into your mouth:
1. Take the food and sit down in a calm environment. Uncross your legs and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Elongate your back by lifting your chest and arching your back slightly. A straight spine allows for deeper breaths and enhanced digestion.
2. Relax by taking 3-5 full, deep breaths.
3. Now as you begin to eat, bring your attention back to how the food tastes. When you can, close your eyes to do this. Between bites, put the fork down and focus on the morsel that is in your mouth now, fully savor this bite, enjoying every nuance of taste and texture. Take another deep breath to totally immerse your senses in the pleasure of this moment.
When you slow down and pay attention in this way, you give yourself many gifts:
You shift from the stress reaction to the relaxation response (parasympathetic nervous system dominance) the optimal state for calorie burning, digestion and assimilation.
Chewing your food more thoroughly helps to digest food more easily.
As you breathe in more oxygen, you maximize metabolism so your body burns fuel
more efficiently. When you give yourself full permission to eat with pleasure and without guilt, you can notice if this food is really the one you wanted.
When you choose foods your body really wants, you will become satisfied sooner and
thus be able to stop eating when you have had enough. Because you feel satisfied, you are less likely to mindlessly graze at a later time, looking for more.
As you pay attention, your body can give you feedback as to what foods are really a
good match for your unique physiology. By staying connected in this way, you will
feel more in control and confident of your food choices.
Try it for yourself and discover the deep satisfaction you have been looking for.
