When we pay more attention to how we nourish ourselves,
What food choices we make,
And how present we are while we're preparing food or eating,
We can uncover a lot of clues that can inform our eating habits that may affect our health.
In this exercise we're going to practice maintaining present moment awareness by engaging with our senses fully while eating a snack.
This should take about five to ten minutes and you'll want to be ready with a piece of fresh or dried fruit,
Perhaps a strawberry,
A few blueberries,
Or even a piece of dark chocolate.
This will serve as the object of your focus for this meditative practice.
Once you have this snack,
Go ahead and take a comfortable seat,
Floor,
Chair,
Anything you like,
And place the snack in front of you where you can see it easily.
Sit comfortably with your spine tall and straight.
Relax your shoulders,
Your jaw,
And your face.
Start to soften your abdomen,
Bringing your breath and your awareness there as well.
Taking a few long,
Slow breaths now.
Allow the air to come down low into the belly.
Feel the inhales massaging the organs gently,
Creating softness and space,
And the exhales letting you release any tension that may be sitting in your body.
Now begin to shift your focus and gaze onto the food in front of you and ask yourself,
Where did this food come from?
Where was its starting point,
Its origin?
What country was it grown and produced in?
Was it grown indoors or outside?
Think about what kind of people worked to help grow it,
To package it,
To ship it to you,
And how long would all of this take?
Did it arrive by train,
By plane,
By boat,
By truck,
Some combination?
What about the people who received it,
Unpacked it,
Organized it,
And stocked the grocery shelves?
Or was it delivered straight to your door or your office?
Try to imagine the details of this interwoven process and how many places and people may have been involved before this snack even reached you.
Try to extend a sense of gratitude for this process and to each of the people you imagine could have been involved in getting this nourishment into your hands now.
And now,
Reach out and pick up the snack.
Turn it over in your hand and really look at it.
Look at all the sides.
Notice the color or the colors,
The varying shades,
The shape,
Smoothness,
Texture,
How heavy or how light is it?
Try to imagine you've never seen this item before,
So you're exploring it for the very first time.
What can you discover about how it looks and feels in your hands?
Now bring it a bit closer up to your nose and see if there is a particular scent.
Is the smell subtle or strong,
Sweet or astringent?
Does it bring any memory to mind or make you feel a certain feeling or emotion?
Now gently place the snack in your mouth.
Rest it on your tongue without biting into it.
Allow it to just sit there for a moment and watch what happens.
What else can you sense about it now that it's on your tongue?
How does the tongue and the inside of the mouth react to this?
Is the mouth watering or do you sense an urge to chew or swallow quickly?
And now start to chew very slowly,
As if you were chewing in slow motion.
What can you gather about the taste and the structure,
The texture of the snack as your teeth come into play?
What changes?
What can you sense now?
And now begin to swallow the snack,
But with your attention,
Try to follow the food down as far as you can.
Take notice of it for as long as you can.
Stay present and sensitive to how this all feels.
Now take another bite,
Remaining alert to how the flavors and the sensations might be shifting as you reintroduce this food into your mouth.
And then as it's chewed and swallowed again,
Moving slowly and staying aware of even subtle sensations.
Notice if you feel more enjoyment from the food by moving more slowly.
Just noticing.
And does any urge to chew or swallow quickly,
Does it subside as you practice this bite to bite,
Slowing down?
Try not to judge,
But just notice how your body and your mind react.
And when you finish your snack,
Just close your eyes and tune in even more deeply for a moment.
Notice how you feel.
Notice what you may still be sensing.
When you're ready,
Open up the eyes.
And remember to try to slow down,
Stay in the moment,
And be with a sense of present awareness the next time that you eat,
Even if it's just for one bite.
