soliradar.blogg.se - Mindful eating exercise

Now, put the piece of food on your tongue, but don’t chew on it yet.What do you feel with your fingers? Is the food warm or cold? Is it smooth, rough, or sticky?.Or if you’re unwrapping a chocolate, listen to the crinkles of the wrapper as you unfold it. If applicable, do you notice any sounds? If you’re eating something like a raisin, try holding it close to your ear as you squeeze it gently.Start by looking at what you are planning to eat.You can use a raisin, a piece of chocolate, or even an entire meal as your object for mindful eating. If you do this, you may find that a common meal becomes a richer experience. Give your full attention to the whole experience, from observing the appearance and presentation of food to eating it carefully to fully experience its various flavors. One way to think of mindful eating is to imagine that you are a scientist examining your food for the first time. If you have kids, it’s a great one to try with them. It’s something you can easily try by yourself at your next meal, and even with friends or family. One particularly fun activity to apply mindfulness to is eating. New York: Hyperion.Life continually presents us with opportunities to apply mindfulness to our many activities. Oakland, Calif.: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

There is in this moment only tasting." ReferencesĪlbers, S. Such an exercise delivers wakefulness immediately. Eating one raisin very, very slowly allows you to drop right into the knowing in ways that are effortless, totally natural, and entirely beyond words and thinking. It immediately places it in the realm of the ordinary, the everyday, the world you already know but are now going to know differently. "The raisin exercise dispels all previous concepts we may be harboring about meditation. Kabat Zinn discusses the experience thus: Sit quietly, breathing, aware of what you are sensing.As you complete chewing, swallow the raisin.Become aware of what your tongue is doing.

How does the raisin feel? How small it is in your hand?.Are you anticipating eating the raisin? Is it difficult not to just pop it in your mouth?.Bring the raisin to your nose and smell it.As you look at the raisin, become conscious of what you see: the shape, texture, color, size.

Imagine it as its "plump self" growing on the vine surrounded by nature.

Examine the raisin as if you had never seen it before.

(Note: if you don't like raisins, you can use another fruit or nut.) Raisin Meditation The exercise is based on Buddhist teachings. The Raisin Consciousness is an exercise Jon Kabat Zinn uses with his clients as a first meditation. In Coming to Our Senses, mindfulness guru Jon Kabat Zinn says, "When we taste with attention, even the simplest foods provide a universe of sensory experience, awakening us to them." Observe the sensation of picking up the food and placing it in your mouth. Other strategies include eating with your non-dominant hand, chewing your food 30 to 50 times per bite, or trying to make the portion of food you've taken for the meal last 20 minutes. This will force you to take smaller portions, eat more slowly, and look at your food more closely. Susan Albers suggests that one way to slow down the process of eating is to challenge the way you have always done it.įor example, try eating using a pair of chopsticks instead of your customary utensils. You must focus on the process of eating and enjoying your meal. To be mindful you must give your full attention to your eating. Have all the food you intend to eat on the table in front of you before starting. Don't get up, and don't answer the phone. In Eating Mindfully, Susan Albers recommends starting with one mealtime: breakfast, lunch, or dinner.Ĭhoose a specific location to eat, such as your table or the lunchroom at work.