Hello,
Welcome to your eating meditation.
This meditation is meant to be used in conjunction with any time you sit down to eat a meal.
This meditation is inspired by my own recovery from bulimia,
Binge eating and having a disordered relationship with food.
During this meditation,
You are going to be cued to breathe,
To relax,
To take bites of your food and to really feel and enjoy the experience of eating food and nourishing your body.
Let's begin.
Sit comfortably at the table.
Relax your legs,
Allow your sit bones to root down into your chair.
And start by taking a few deep breaths and letting go of any stress or tension you're holding around your shoulders,
Your neck.
And allow yourself to release any anticipation,
Any thinking of how eating should look like.
And just allow yourself to really drop present,
Especially softening around your stomach.
Breathe in and out through your nose,
Nice and smooth.
And allow yourself to come really present before beginning.
Once you feel like your body is settled and you're present,
Let's begin.
Pick up your fork or eating tool or if you're eating something from your hands,
Start by taking your food,
Bringing it close to your mouth,
Taking a deep inhale through your nose,
Exhale and as you exhale,
Take one medium bite of your food and either place your fork down or place your hands down and your food down so you can stay present with that bite of food in your mouth.
Feel your tongue moving around as you chew.
We're going to keep this bite in the mouth for just shy of a minute.
Breathe in and out through your nose as you slowly chew,
Noticing the texture,
Noticing the taste,
Noticing the feeling on the tongue,
Cheeks and teeth.
As you chew,
Continue to breathe in and out through your nose.
Once you've chewed to your satisfaction,
Between 12 to 15 times,
Swallow your food and let's take another bite.
Inhale and as you exhale,
Take another bite.
Remember to release your fork,
Release your hands so you can focus on the sensation of the mouth.
Chewing slowly,
There's no rush.
Just notice if any anxiety comes up,
Any wanting for this moment to be over,
Any sensation that pulls you away from the present moment.
Focus once more on the taste,
The sensation in your mouth and the texture.
Being present with your body and again,
Deep breaths in and out through your nose.
Chew to your satisfaction,
Between 12 to 15 chews and when you're finished here,
Swallow and we'll take another bite.
Pick up your fork,
Take your food to your mouth and chew,
Noticing if this bite tastes different than the first two bites.
Still breathing in and out through the nose to make yourself calm.
When you breathe in and out through your nose,
You're able to access the lower lobes of your lungs and stimulate the nerve endings lining your lungs so that you drop into a more parasympathetic nervous system zone.
With this,
This is your rest and digest zone.
Keep noticing the textures,
The feeling in your body and when you feel like you've had your 12 to 15 chews,
Swallow and take another bite.
Allow yourself to be calm,
Trying to be as present as you can with your food.
If you've had issues with food for a long time,
Just know this can be challenging,
But you're taking steps to correct your relationship,
To heal it with your food so that you can nourish yourself.
Breathe and feel the texture,
Notice the taste,
Keep your body relaxed and when you're ready,
Swallow that bite and pick up your fork for another bite,
Medium bite and then place your food down and continue.
When we're changing patterns,
Sometimes it's a little challenging,
Sometimes naturally our brain will send us signals to become anxious,
To get worried,
To anticipate and so just gently remind yourself that you're changing a long,
Steady pattern and that by doing this,
You can really change your life.
So continue to breathe,
Chew and know that you're doing something wonderful for yourself.
Continue to breathe in and out through the nose,
Giving yourself positive affirmation.
Breathe and swallow,
Time for the next bite.
Slowly take a bite of your food and this time,
Maybe just allow the food to sit in your mouth for a breath or two,
Just so you know that you can do that,
Just so you remind yourself that you're in control and everything's okay,
You're safe and loved and begin to chew.
Again,
Notice the difference between your first bite and this bite.
Notice how your belly feels,
Notice how your body feels,
Your mind.
Maybe you feel a little anxious,
Maybe you feel at peace,
But just notice.
Keep breathing in and out through your nose and swallow and invite in your next bite.
Keep inhaling and exhaling.
By doing this work,
We become very intimate and familiar with our food.
By doing this,
We change our relationship to food.
This is a practice that I started a long time ago and it transformed my relationship to not just food,
But to my body image as well as how I eat.
So breathe and know that eating can be a wonderful experience of connection with yourself.
Keep inviting yourself to become chewing,
Noticing the texture and we'll take one more bite.
Don't worry if you have more bites to take of your meal,
You can always restart this meditation.
We'll take our last bite for this meditation.
Inhaling and exhaling slowly,
Allowing maybe this dropping or sinking feeling to happen that's very pleasant in the stomach,
To let go of future musings,
To let go of any past events and to really be present with the act of nourishing yourself.
By doing that,
You are connecting with your food and you are blessing it and when you do that,
It becomes so much more healing.
Inhale and exhale and when you've taken 12 to 15 chews,
Go ahead and swallow.
Take a moment just to notice how you feel and perhaps allowing a sense of pride to come up knowing that you did something different.
You did something challenging for you and you brought yourself into such a present state with your food that you're working very intimately on changing your relationship to it.
You are on the path to healing.
Again,
If you have more bites to take,
Feel free to reset this meditation and take as many bites as you like.
I hope that this helped you as much as it helped me.
In love and light,
Thank you so much.
Namaste.
