Welcome to mindful meditation while enjoying a meal.
So find yourself in a comfortable space where you won't be distracted and you can allow yourself to really focus and enjoy the meal that you're about to have.
And once you've found that space,
Allow yourself to ground and root down into the earth energy beneath us that's always there supporting us.
So settling in and connecting in with our body and our breath,
Let's start by taking a big deep inhale through the nose and then releasing it out through the mouth with a sigh.
Again in through the nose and out through the mouth.
One more just like that in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Beautiful.
So that should allow you to become a little more relaxed and a little more settled and just let everything go whatever may have happened before,
Any worries,
Something that might be troubling you about what you might have to worry about later,
Just let that all go for the moment.
And we'll start to connect with our present moment awareness and really settle into our bodies.
So with this meditation I'm actually going to ask you to be more mindfully aware of your senses and your experiences.
So instead of most meditations where we ask you simply to focus on your breath or finding stillness,
I actually want you to become more observant of each and every sense experience as well as your feelings,
Emotions,
And anything that may be occurring for you in your body.
So beginning with looking down at the food in front of you,
Let's notice the sight.
So imagine you've never been here on this planet ever before and this is the first time you're experiencing what food looks like.
So see if you can observe noticing colors or shapes or textures.
Just see what that is for you.
Next,
See if you can notice any sounds that may be associated with your meal.
Perhaps there's some sizzling or crackling or popping,
Whatever it happens to be.
Just see what you can witness and then let's begin to actually touch the food.
So if you're eating with your hands you're welcome to pick up the food.
Perhaps if you have a sandwich or fruit or vegetables or if you're using utensils,
Feel free to pick up that fork or knife at this time and notice what that feels like in your hands.
So perhaps noticing the weight of the object or the food,
Perhaps noticing the temperature or the texture.
Just be your own sort of scientist looking at this experiment at this moment.
And then next we'll notice the smell and this is actually a very important sense with regards to food because 70% of what we smell actually is what we're tasting.
So when you're noticing the aromas,
See if you can notice different fruits or vegetables or characteristics that you wouldn't have noticed if you were just eating on autopilot.
And allow yourself to really perceive what that experience is.
And then next we'll consciously choose to take that first bite of food but let's just take a nice small bite so we can really experience that process.
So go ahead take a nice small bite of food and as the food enters the mouth,
Allow the food to sit on your tongue and palate and notice what's happening.
Notice the flavors that you may start to experience whether it be sweet or salty or even bitter or astringent perhaps.
Whatever that happens to be and feel free to move the food around in your mouth if you want to experience different flavors.
And then very intentionally and mindfully we'll start to begin to chew the food very slowly.
Again,
Noticing the experience of what that feels like.
So witnessing as the teeth and the cheeks and the lips and mouth all work together to process that food.
And then when that chewing feels complete for you,
Feel free to swallow the food and notice and witness what that experience is like.
So again,
Mindfully bringing our attention inward,
Noticing and witnessing as the food travels down into the body and then goes out to each one of your cells to nourish and enrich your beautiful body.
So continue along in this practice taking your next bite of food very intentionally,
Very mindfully,
Continuing to be fully engaged in each and every sense,
Just being aware and being the witness.
And that's all you have to do.
So continue throughout your meal continuing to breathe and feel settled and rooted into this experience and start to notice and witness what sensations and feelings may be arising for you as well.
So perhaps you might notice that you become full or satiated much sooner than you thought you would because you're being very mindfully aware and listening to those signals that your body is sending you.
And of course by no means do you need to finish an entire plate of food if that doesn't feel right for you.
Just notice what what your body is telling you each and every moment.
So continue to stay mindfully aware in this practice and please close by bringing your hands to your heart center,
Bowing your heads forward towards your heart,
Taking a moment of gratitude and appreciation,
Honoring yourself and your body for the beautiful nourishing food that you're receiving.
I hope you have a great rest of your meal and a beautiful day.
Thank you for joining me with Love and Light.
Namaste.
