Namaste and welcome to this gratitude and mindfulness meditation.
This practice is designed for you to renew your awareness and shift into a relaxed,
Open state before you begin a meal.
Allowing yourself to be at ease and to hone in your focus not only brings about a sense of inner peace,
But also has an impact on how you digest your food,
Take in its nutrients,
And support your peak state of well-being.
A study published in the journal Gastroenterology illustrated that even when there is a perceived distraction while eating,
Metabolism and digestion were negatively impacted.
If your body is stressed or distracted,
It doesn't know that it's supposed to be digesting food and it can't do its job.
This can lead to impaired immunity,
Retention of fluids,
Decreased energy,
And storing of fat deposits.
So we'll move into this beneficial practice.
It's one you can do before every meal and perhaps invite others to join you.
Wherever you are now,
Find a way to get comfortable in your body.
If you're seated at a table,
Come to the edge of your chair so that you can plant your feet firmly on the ground and let your spine lengthen upward.
Close your eyes.
Relax your face.
Relax your jaw.
Feel yourself shifting from whatever your body and mind has been doing into the space of right now.
We'll begin with a practice of conscious breathing.
The quality of this breath expands your belly and lungs as you bring yourself into a moment of pause,
A feeling of restfulness and receptivity.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Watching your breath,
Take two more conscious breaths on your own.
There is food that you're about to consume that will nourish your body and feed your energy.
This food can bring about an enhanced ability for you to think,
To move,
And to prosper.
So before taking it in,
We'll take this time to recognize and bring into awareness the journey that these nutrients took in order to come to this point where it can support and sustain you.
Let's begin by imagining where this food originated from.
Who planted the seeds?
Who took care of the crops?
Who harvested this food?
Breathe into your center and breathe out a sense of gratitude for who may have made this meal possible for you.
Breathe into your center and breathe out gratitude for the who and the how this process of your meal began.
Bring to mind now how this food was transported.
Who transported this food?
Imagine this being.
Breathe into your center and breathe out.
Imagine your gratitude for this part of your meal's journey.
Who bought this food?
Whose careful selection went into the process that has brought this food to you now?
Imagine this person or these people.
Breathe into your center and breathe out,
Sending gratitude to the one who brought this food to you.
How did that person afford this food?
Who supports this person so that they could make this purchase,
So that this food could find its way to you?
Imagine now.
And breathing into your center,
Breathe out gratitude for these individuals who've made this meal possible.
Who has prepared this food?
Take a moment to recognize the love and care that went into the assimilation of the ingredients before you.
Maybe it was you.
Maybe it was a restaurant.
Or maybe a loved one.
Know that the intention of this food is to nourish.
Breathe into your center and breathe out gratitude for all the individuals that made this meal possible.
Over the next minute,
Continue this conscious breath into your center.
Allow your mind and your heart,
Your entire being to recognize Mother Nature,
The plants,
The animals,
And all the beings that had a hand in making this meal possible for you today.
For your nourishment.
For your care.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
From this wealth of gratitude and a renewed state of restfulness,
Letting your body know that it's getting closer to the time to turn on your digestive process.
You're taking this time as sacred in the evolution of yourself as you move to peaks of personal health,
Happiness,
Connection to earth,
And to the many others involved in this nourishing meal.
Taking in these words that they may sink in and create a harmonious environment within you to prepare you for the blessings of this food.
May this nourishment support my vitality.
May I find pure pleasure in the enjoyment of this food.
May I be a fountain of gratitude with those who join me in this meal.
May this nourishment go exactly where it's needed in my system to support my peak health.
May this food be digested with ease.
May I always have enough,
But know when it's too much.
May all of my senses be open to experience joy.
At a cellular level,
May I feel these blessings of nourishment.
Take an inhale through the nose,
Perhaps taking in the smells of your food and breathe out through your mouth.
Press your lips together as if you could already taste the food.
Perhaps lick your lips.
Imagine the flavor.
With your eyes still closed,
Imagine that first bite.
Closing this practice with a few more conscious breaths.
Breathing in through the nose,
I am grateful for this meal.
And breathing out through the mouth.
Breathing in through the nose,
I am full of vitality.
Sighing out through the mouth.
Last time in through the nose,
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Breathing out through the mouth,
Bringing the lips into a smile.
As you're ready,
Blinking your eyes to open.
Welcome in the beauty,
The blessings,
And the abundance of gratitude and nourishment right now.
Namaste and enjoy.
