When you think of 'mindfulness', what comes into your head? A monk-like figure, sitting crossed legged in a garden, spending their days meditating and generally being totally zen? At Mindful Bites, we strongly believe that it doesn’t have to be that extreme. We can all fit mindfulness and meditation into our lives in a real and accessible way.
Some of us are able to allocate a proportion of our day to dedicated meditation and we’re sure that the benefits of that are amazing. But if that’s not for you or you don’t have time, it doesn’t cut you completely out of the picture. In every action or choice we make there is an emotion to experience. We see a beautiful tree that triggers a childhood memory of a neighbour’s tree-house, we hear a piece of music and it takes us back to a holiday romance, or we experience something new for the first time and it creates a new memory, a new perspective on the world. Taking a moment to meditate on these things, to reflect and create a connection is an important tool of mindfulness and will ultimately reap huge rewards. We can all fit these moments of meditation into our day and we can all be more present.
What is mindful eating and what are the benefits?
What better opportunity to take these meditative pauses than when we eat? There is a misconception that mindful eating is just sitting quietly or chewing slowly. Some of the latest trendy diet books may even have us believe it’s a weight loss tool.
At Mindful Bites we don’t buy into this. For us, mindful eating is a real art; it’s not about the health of the individual. Isolating yourself and purely thinking about your own health isn’t mindfulness and it isn’t going to get you very far. We must allow ourselves to be part of the bigger picture. We must connect to our Food, where it comes from, and also the people we are sharing our eating occasion with.
We should be examining where our food comes from, how it gets to our plates, who was involved in putting it there. We should be finding out if any of these processes have been harmful to the planet. By eating this particular food are we contributing to the solution or the problems facing the food industry? By taking this moment to meditate on these thoughts you will be able to make your choices count; you will make them mindful.
How to practise mindful eating
We have broken this down into a simple process for you. With each food we choose to eat, we ask ourselves questions:
- What is our intention?
- Are we actually hungry?
With so much choice on offer to us these days, it’s easy to confuse our ingrained hunger signals.
Attention: What am I actually eating? How will it interact with my body? Will it nourish me adequately and in a positive way? Will it fuel me well for whatever I’m planning on doing next – be that a workout or writing an important essay?
Gratitude: What can I be grateful for in my choice of food? Where have the ingredients come from? By paying attention to not only the choice of ingredients but also how and from where they are sourced, there should be a good reason why you chose this over another food or product.
Pleasure: Last but not least, you should always enjoy your food! Otherwise, let’s face it, what’s the point?
So, if meditation has always seemed out of your reach, why not try this approach? Just ask yourself those questions each and every time you eat something and see what happens. Amazingly, by shifting our focus from ourselves and our own weight/nutrition/body fat percentage to the wider issues of sustainability and high quality ingredients, our bodies will naturally benefit and so will the planet.
About the author: Stephanie Peritore is the founder of Mindful Bites. She actively campaigns for the future of food and a fair, more sustainable and secure food system.
