*WITH THANKS TO MARK WILLIAMS, JOHN TEASDALE, ZINDEL SEGAL AND JON KABAT-
ZINN AND THEIR USEFUL BOOK, THE MINDFUL WAY THROUGH
DEPRESSION: FREEING YOURSELF FROM CHRONIC UNHAPPINESS (2007, NEW YORK: GUILFORD PRESS. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.I
used to bolt down my food and treat
mealtimes as a means to an end, rather
than an end in itself. Our digestive system
expects us to chew and swallow our food
properly, as this gives our stomach time to
prepare the right digestive juices. Up to 40
chews is thought to be about the right number
for tough meat and vegetables. Yet the reduction
in the size of the average human jaw and the
prevalence of compacted wisdom teeth could be a
sign of how rarely we now use our chewing powers.
I certainly didn’t and even now struggle to get to 40
chews. However, even chewing for half that number
of times dramatically slows down how fast I eat
and has become a bit of a game at family meals.
Eating slowly forces us to eat more mindfully. Our
understanding of connections between mindfulness
and food is growing (the popular app Headspace now
runs an online course in mindful eating). For me,
learning to eat mindfully has not been about trying
to lose weight, but, instead, has helped me change
the way I think about food. I am now more aware
of the food I am eating, and its efect on my mood.
Learning to eat a raisin (see box at left) very, very
slowly has been a way to eat more consciously.
Cooking now feels like an extension of my
normal meditation routine. I can lose myself in the
process. Standing still at the stove, preparing food,
grounds me. I become rooted in the moment, and
stop worrying. Even on days when my mood is
fragile, the achievement of chopping an onion or
slicing an avocado makes me feel that little bit
better. It is as much about the warm atmosphere
in my kitchen as the cooking itself.
There may even be some evidence that
cultivating a happy kitchen can help us live longer.
For years, scientists have pondered the so-called
‘French paradox’. Why is the mortality rate from
heart disease in France less than a third of that in
the UK? Why do the French on average live four
years longer than Americans, despite eating, on
average, more saturated fat?
One explanation could be that the French
enjoyment of cooking and food and a culture that
celebrates eating slowly surrounded by family has
a positive efect on their mood. They eat mindfully
without having to learn how to do so. For the rest of
us, mindfulness can teach us a new way of eating.fHOLDING First, take
a raisin and hold it in
the palm of your hand or
between your finger and
thumb. Focusing on it,
imagine that you’ve just
dropped in from outer
space and have never
seen a raisin before.fSEEING Take time to see
it. Gaze at the raisin with
care. Let your eyes explore
it, examining how it catches
the light, the darker colours,
any unique features.fTOUCHING Turn the
raisin between your fingers,
exploring its texture. Try
it with your eyes closed.fSMELLING Hold the
raisin beneath your nose,
and, with each inhalation,
drink in any smell that may
arise, noticing, as you do
this, anything interesting
that may be happening in
your mouth or stomach.fPLACING Now slowly
bring the raisin up to your
lips, noticing the movement
of your arms and then your
hands. Taste the raisin, but
don’t bite into it yet.fTASTING When you are
ready, have a bite. How
does your mouth move?
How does the raisin taste?
How does it feel? How
does it change?fSWALLOWING.
Do you experience the
intention to swallow before
you follow through? See
what that feels like.fFOLLOWING Finally,
see if you can feel the
raisin moving down to your
stomach. How does your
body feel? How does your
mind feel? Think about how
using this kind of mindful
eating might change how
you consume food at
home and at work.A taste of mindfulness:
practise eating one raisin*An edited extract
from The Happy
Kitchen: Good Mood
Food by Rachel Kelly
(Simon &
Schuster, $35).Cooking now feels like an
extension of my normal
meditation routine. I can
lose myself in the process.”
JUNE/JULY 2017 PREVENTION 63EMOTIONAL HEALTH