Mindful Eating

I’ve always had a tendency to eat fast, which, for a number of reasons, is a habit I have developed over the course of my life and one that I now want to become more curious about. Although I know it’s important and optimal for my digestive system to take my time and eat slowly, I forget this as soon as I sit down to eat. Old ingrained habits are hard to break, but when I use my mindfulness practice and become curious about my relationship with food, I find I can slow down for long enough to catch myself and my habitual way of eating. As I know only too well, it is catching myself that enables me to change and become more conscious; one mouthful at a time. I can then take time to enjoy and feel gratitude for the food I have, and consequently, I eat less, which helps my ageing and slowing digestive system that rebels when I eat too fast and also too much.

“As I know only too well, it is catching myself that enables me to change and become more conscious; one mouthful at a time.”

Rachel Podger

I’m just not able to stomach this way of eating anymore, and after sharing this with girlfriends at the weekend, I thought I’d write about it here. I realise that doing this has brought me back to the beginning of my mindfulness training and the raisin exercise, where I first learnt to really take time to be with my experience of exploring my senses and how I felt doing this. I am aware of the saliva building in my mouth as I connect with it now. I wonder if it is, in fact, time to allow more time to savour and take time for ourselves, food being one way to do this, and with this, my digestion will be healthier, and in turn, I can allow the food I eat to nurture and sustain me.