Mindful Minute: Mindful eating
I'd like to begin integrating more mindfulness, meditation, and grounding techniques into the Happiness | Collective post rotation. I'm going to begin using Friday posts as a means of introducing some one-minute mindfulness exercises because everyone has one minute, and one minute a few times per day can change your life. Hope you enjoy.
Mindful eating can help with digestion, improve satisfaction with your meal, and decrease the likelihood of overeating. It's difficult to be mindful for an entire meal, so I always recommend my patients start with being mindful of the first bite. This is simple to do, takes only a few seconds, and may set the tone for improved mindful eating overall. Here's how to do it. Simply take a deep, mindful breath before you begin your meal. For your first bite, focus on the full experience of that bite. Focus your awareness on the taste, texture, smells of that bite. Take in the colors that are on your fork or on your plate. Notice how the food feels as you chew it, how it feels moving down your throat and into your stomach, how the food or taste makes you feel. Whether the colors on your fork are visually pleasing or bland. Don't judge what you notice, simply observe.
That's it. It's that simple. You have my permission to eat the rest of your meal mindlessly, with the full satisfaction that you've practiced your minute of mindfulness for the day though I suspect this mindful bite might lead to a more mindful meal overall. Try this for a full week at the beginning of each meal and see if you notice any differences as a result.