Welcome to this mindful eating exercise.
If you don't already have a meal or a snack ready,
You can pause the recording now and go ahead and get that.
And then find an upright chair,
Ideally at a table and in a room with limited distractions.
Then once you're seated,
Just take a moment to become aware of the food in front of you.
And then gently closing the eyes and checking in with yourself.
As you do this,
You may notice a variety of sensations in the body,
Thoughts or emotions.
You might notice the sensations of the body sitting,
Feeling the body's weight,
Or the contact that the back of the body is making against the chair that you're sitting on,
The feet against the floor.
There may be other sensations in the body,
Like emptiness,
Salivation,
Maybe temperature.
There may be an energetic leaning forward or anticipation,
Restlessness or impatience,
Or the mind may be relatively calm.
So just noticing whatever is true for you with an attitude of open curiosity.
And now inviting one or two deeper than normal breaths as a way to release any unnecessary tension in the body.
And then asking yourself how hungry you are right now on a scale from one to 10,
With one being not hungry at all,
And 10 being ravenous.
And then noticing how you know this.
How do you know how hungry you are?
And then when you're ready,
Opening your eyes and taking a look at your food again.
Taking in your food through the sense of sight.
You might even look at this food as though you've never seen it before.
We call this beginner's mind,
Noticing any colors or shapes,
Maybe being aware of the volume of the food that you've chosen,
And the type of food.
You might notice how appealing or unappealing it looks.
There may also be thoughts or judgments about the food as you're doing this,
Or about yourself or this exercise.
And so just noticing these movements of mind as you explore your food through the senses.
And so now preparing a bite of food,
Whether on your fork or spoon or in your hand,
And then bringing it up to your nose.
And just becoming aware now of the sense of smell.
Is there any scent,
Aroma,
Or fragrance coming from your food?
Seeing if you can linger with the sensation of smell for a moment.
Or perhaps impatience is arising,
Or a strong impulse or desire to eat.
Just observing any of these impulses or movements of mind as they come and go.
And then opening your mouth and placing the food in your mouth.
I'm putting the cutlery or your hands down now.
And then taking a moment to explore how it feels to have the food in your mouth before biting down.
And it may be that you've bitten down already,
And that's okay.
Just take another bite and continue to follow along.
But just noticing without judgment how the biting down happened automatically.
A lot of what happens in our life is automatic.
And so mindfulness teaches us to become attentive so that our choices or actions become more deliberate and conscious,
Responsive rather than reactive.
So just continuing to explore the texture here in your mouth,
Noticing how the tongue knows exactly how to move the food around so that it's positioned to where it needs to be before biting down.
And so beginning to chew slowly now,
Noticing what happens as you bite down and chew.
There may be waves of flavor,
Saliva.
As you do this,
There may be the impulse to chew fast,
Maybe thoughts of seconds or dessert invading the mind and taking you out of the present moment.
Once again,
Just observing the mind with curiosity and kindness.
If thoughts are present for you and then coming back to the direct experience of the sensations of taste in the mouth as you continue to chew.
And now seeing if you can make swallowing deliberate.
Perhaps even noticing the intention to swallow before swallowing and swallowing when you're ready.
And then seeing if you can track the sensations of the food traveling from your mouth down deeper into your belly.
And then becoming aware that your body has taken in the weight and food energy of one bite of food.
And then when you're ready,
Picking up another bite of food and continuing to chew.
And then when you're ready,
Picking up another bite of food and continuing to eat at your own pace,
Exploring,
Eating through the senses of seeing,
Smelling,
Tasting,
Touching and even hearing.
Hearing the sounds of chewing,
Remembering that it can be supportive to put down your fork or spoon or your hand between bites.
It can also be helpful to go slowly.
This allows you to tune in to all of the subtleties of your experience.
You might even experiment with how much you notice when you go slow versus what happens when you eat fast.
And so continuing now for these remaining bites.
And I'll guide a little less now so that you can have more silence and find your own pace.
Noticing automatic tendencies versus what you discover when you slow things down and invite this beginner's mind and explore your food in a way that you perhaps never have before.
Bringing curiosity to all that makes up your experience.
Sensations of sight and smell,
Touch,
Taste,
Hearing,
While also being aware of thoughts and emotions as they come and go.
Judgments and impulses,
Liking or not liking,
Wanting or not wanting.
You might find your mind wandering off into fantasy or boredom,
Doubt about the value of this exercise.
Maybe agitation or there may be ease and calm,
A sense of enjoyment.
So simply noticing all of these experiences as they arise,
Linger for a while,
And then pass away.
And if you still have a lot of food on your plate,
You could perhaps pause the recording and then restart it when you're done eating to hear the end of the recording.
And so if you're coming to the end of your meal or snack now,
You might just take a moment now to check in with how you physically feel.
How full are you?
And perhaps you didn't finish all of the food on your plate because you weren't hungry.
Or maybe you want more right now.
On a scale from one to 10,
How full are you right now?
With 10 being as full as possible and one not being full at all.
And once again,
How do you know that?
It's taking a moment to be mindful of all of the sensations telling you your level of fullness.
And finally,
Checking in with how things are in the mind and in the emotional landscape.
Perhaps there's a sense of contentment and feeling satisfied.
Or maybe there's a sense that the mind is still looking for something,
Seconds or maybe something sweet.
Just that little something to change the taste in the mouth.
This may be a familiar pattern to you that you may or may not welcome.
And so just taking a moment to notice this.
And then if you're comfortable,
Taking a moment to notice this.
Reflect on whatever's present for you right now.
And whether you choose to have more food or not,
Just seeing if you can be aware of how you come to that decision.
How did you make that decision?
And then eating mindfully.
If you decide to have more food or maybe you feel satisfied enough with what you've had.
And now finally,
Just taking a moment to reflect on how this short practice was for you.
Noting any discoveries or insights that may have happened for you.
Remembering that it can be helpful to do this exercise often.
And each time you do,
Remembering to invite a beginner's mind.
Staying open to the possibility for new experiences and insights to arise.
Supporting you on your mindful eating journey.
