- [Narrator] Mindfulnessexercises.com.
(bell dinging)
We can bring mindfulness to just about anything that we do.
(soft music) Mindfulness is the simple act
of bringing kind, curious awareness to our experience,
right here, right now,
without getting lost in the story of it
or without thinking of the past or the future.
We can bring mindfulness to standing, walking, lying down,
cooking, sipping tea, reading the paper, talking to others,
eating, many, many things throughout the day.
Today, I'd like to explore the practice
of mindful eating with you.
If you don't have any food in front of you to eat right now,
that's okay, but if you do have something,
I encourage you to find a small snack
or a piece of fruit to start with
and you can pause this track, grab something to eat,
and restart whenever you're ready.
Regardless, I'd like you to either imagine
a small piece of food in your hands
or to actually hold the piece of food in your hands.
Now, I invite you to look at it,
to touch it, to examine it,
noticing the colors, the shape, the texture,
and any smells coming from this piece of food,
bringing nonjudgmental awareness to this piece of food,
not judging it to be good or bad, right or wrong.
Notice what kinds of thoughts you have about this food.
Maybe you have positive associations.
Maybe you don't.
Does this type of food bring up any memories for you,
any urges?
Is this food healthy or unhealthy?
Perhaps there's a feeling of gladness
that you might have about eating this food.
Maybe there's some regret about choosing this piece of food.
Just noticing whatever thoughts come up in the mind
without judgment, simply noticing.
Now, slowly bring this piece of food closer to your mouth,
sensing the movement of the hand and the elbow,
noticing whether any saliva is being generated in the mouth.
Perhaps there's some movement of muscles in the face.
Maybe there's a sense of expecting in the mind.
Is there any change of sensation in your body somewhere?
Perhaps the smell is getting stronger
as it comes closer to your face.
What does it smell like?
As you're holding it, are you clenching it?
Or are you allowing it to rest in your fingers?
What does it feel like?
Hard or soft?
Does the smell change as you squeeze it just a little bit?
Is it warm or cool, heavy or light?
And now I invite you to put the piece of food in your mouth,
take a small bite of it without chewing it
or swallowing it yet, placing it in your mouth,
and simply notice where it's like to have it in your mouth,
noticing where it is, whether it's on the tongue,
between your teeth, side of your mouth, by your cheeks,
just noticing the points of contact
and just seeing where it touches and how that feels,
noticing whether there's more saliva being generated.
Now sense the taste and the flavors.
What kinds of thoughts are happening in the mind now
with these flavors?
And now I invite you to slowly chew with your teeth,
just noticing the breaking up of the food.
Perhaps there's a release of moisture.
Noticing the texture of the food.
Maybe there's new tastes in the mouth now.
Noticing whether you chew on one side or the other.
And where is the tongue as you chew?
What is the tongue doing?
And now noticing the texture of the chewed food.
And now I invite you to swallow,
feeling the food as it goes down through your throat,
and perhaps even noticing it go down into the body,
in the stomach.
And now is the mind craving another bite?
Are you wanting more or is your mind satisfied
with that bite, satisfied with the experience of it?
And now noticing how that might differ from the stomach.
Is your stomach wanting another bite?
Is your stomach satisfied with the amount of food
in there, with the quality of food,
or are there thoughts of aversion,
thoughts of not liking what just happened?
Are there thoughts of body image?
Your mother telling you to eat more,
your spouse telling you to eat less,
and simply noticing without judgment
your mental and physical experience
of eating and choosing the food,
to touching it, smelling it, noticing the thoughts,
feeling of bringing it close to the mouth,
texture, smell,
chewing it, swallowing it,
just noticing all aspects of your experience as you eat.
So that's a simple mindfulness practice of eating.
I encourage you to try this at least one meal a day
to strengthen your mindfulness habit over time.
Then congratulations.
You've done your first mindful eating practice.
Mindfulnessexercises.com.
(bell dinging)