om mind om mind
I
f you’ve ever attended a mindfulness course it is quite likely
that you’ve experienced a mindful eating exercise. But how do
we go deeper and explore this daily practice further?
During a mindfulness course you are normally given
something to eat mindfully; sometimes a raisin or sultana,
a piece of chocolate or fruit. The object of the exercise is to fully
experience what you’re eating and it starts before you put it in yourStepping from mindful eating to mindful living. By Amanda Edlin
Eating with awareness
mouth. The exercise starts with closed eyes and the opportunity to
feel what has been placed in your hands; exploring textures, weight,
temperature, everything you can feel. As you continue to explore,
you are invited to smell what you’ve been given. At each stage of the
process attempting to hold everything we find with non-judgemental
awareness, which can be difficult as we seek to identify and label
what is present. Finally, we begin to explore with the lips and the
mouth; not chewing at first, just discovering flavours and textures in
all parts of the mouth. Then, we are allowed to chew and notice the
changes in texture and flavour.
This is a simple and sometimes eye opening exercise because, in
addition to noticing everything about the food we have been given,
we also begin to notice how the mind seeks to label and judge rather
than simply staying present. We can apply this exercise to every
meal and everything we eat. So, how do we go deeper?“Mindfulness, over time, becomes
a way of being rather than an act of
doing. So you don’t have to fit it in
because it’s always there.”
Amanda Edlin