Mindful Eating Meditation

This meditation is done with food, to increase our awareness and help us slow down, savor, and discover what it feels like to take 20 full minutes to eat a meal.

Transcript

This is the eating meditation.

This meditation is to be done in silence and with a meal.

It's best to have the portion of food already prepared in front of you and then begin the meditation.

Now just sitting down before your food.

Taking some time here to notice the body before eating.

Seeing if you can encourage an upright and poised sense in the body.

With the spine more or less straight but not tense.

And for now just allowing the hands to rest in the lap.

Taking some time here to get settled and comfortable in this very intentional positioning of the body.

Now allowing the breath to just settle.

Noticing the breath in the body as it breathes.

Now allowing the eyes to just gently close and noticing what sensations you become aware of with the eyes now closed.

Perhaps smelling the food more vividly.

Or noticing the feeling of hunger in the body.

Or perhaps noticing an overall anticipation of eating.

Whatever it is,

Really taking your time here to clue in to the body.

Perhaps even noticing that certain emotions are present.

Or perhaps you notice nothing really at all.

Not trying to have any experience in particular.

Just giving yourself permission to fully notice whatever you notice.

Seated before this food with the eyes closed.

Are you hungry?

What does it feel like in the body to be hungry?

What,

If anything,

Do you notice in the mind in relation to this feeling of hunger?

Is there a tensing or an urge to get on with the eating?

Seeing if you can for now just notice.

Just watching the mind without needing to do anything about it.

And then when you're ready,

Opening the eyes and allowing the gaze to just settle on the food.

And really looking at the food.

Seeing the colors or the textures or the play of light and shadow and moisture on the food.

Really taking it all in.

Perhaps noticing what happens to the awareness of smell now that the eyes are open.

Perhaps even playing with the notion that you don't know what this food is.

Almost like you're visiting a foreign country and now are sitting before a plate of food you've never seen before.

What do you notice about it?

Taking your time.

Giving yourself permission to really look at the food.

And now shifting your awareness to the hand you usually eat with and intentionally lifting the hand to pick up the fork or perhaps a piece of the food.

And noticing what the fork or the food feels like between the fingers.

Getting a piece of food onto the fork.

And now without yet placing the food in your mouth,

Just intentionally lifting the food up so as to get a better look at it.

Smelling the food.

Noticing that perhaps this action of lifting and smelling the food has created a change in the mouth or in the belly.

Noticing a sense of craving perhaps.

Or heightened hunger.

Or some other urge or impulse.

Practicing noticing these sensations without necessarily reacting to them.

And now bringing the food right up against your lips,

Feeling it there,

Its temperature or texture or whatever.

And then intentionally opening the mouth and inviting in the food without chewing it.

What does the mouth seem to do on its own with this introduction of food?

The tasting?

The formation of saliva?

Just noticing.

And now intentionally beginning to chew and observing what the body does as you begin this process.

How the tongue seems to know exactly how to place the food against the teeth.

How the jaw knows exactly the right pressure to exert.

How is the taste changing as you chew?

What are you hearing?

Really paying attention.

No need to put the experience into words.

Just giving yourself permission to be the eating.

To be the tasting.

Or to be the hearing.

And then when you're ready,

Choosing when to swallow the food and then swallowing.

Feeling the food as it moves down the throat and into the body.

Putting the utensil and the hand down and closing the eyes again.

What do you notice?

Sensations in the mouth or in the throat?

In the belly or in the mind?

Whatever it is,

Just noticing.

And now opening the eyes again and settling your gaze on a different piece of food than that which you chose for the first bite.

And now at your own pace,

Moving intentionally into this very aware process of mindful eating.

Noticing the sight,

The smell,

The movement of the body,

The innate knowledge of the body.

As you eat.

Practicing awareness every step of the way if you can.

The tasting,

The hearing,

The swallowing,

The whole experience of eating.

Giving yourself permission to indulge in the sensations of eating in this very intentional way.

Not rushing a thing.

Really getting in there,

Fully alive and paying attention to this act of eating as best you can.

What's going on in the mind as you do this?

Are certain thoughts or memories present?

Is there a particular story or soundtrack running through the mind as you eat?

Whatever it is,

Just noticing.

Not pushing anything away.

Not telling yourself you are wrong to be thinking or feeling this or that.

Just practicing non-judgmental awareness of whatever is present as you eat.

Noticing the thoughts and emotions in the same way you noticed the food on the plate or in the mouth.

Like a connoisseur.

A person who is simply paying attention.

Nothing more.

And incorporating drinking into the practice whenever you like.

And just practicing in this very intentional way.

Holding the experience of eating and drinking in your field of non-judgmental awareness.

Whatever that means to you.

Just being present for the experience as it is,

As it's unfolding,

Moment by moment as you eat.

Perhaps noticing the urge to rush on to the next bite of food before finishing this one.

Or to be done already with this practice.

Whatever it is,

Just noticing.

Or perhaps the mind has wandered off entirely and is lost in thought.

Practicing bringing the mind back again to this meal,

To this bite,

To this taste,

To this texture,

To this moment.

Never realized before and never to come again.

Simply being the eating.

Whatever that means to you.

And now,

When it is right for you,

Finishing this bite,

Putting down the utensil and allowing the hand to again come to a rest in the lap.

And when you're ready,

Just closing the eyes.

How does the body feel?

Not in words or judgment,

But simply in direct experience.

Noticing how the body feels after eating.

What has happened to that feeling of hunger?

Has it changed or shifted or stayed the same?

How does the belly feel?

How do you feel?

Just paying attention to the answers.

Even if there's still food on the plate,

Are you comfortable to stop eating?

Asking yourself,

Is my body full?

And then simply paying attention to the answer.

And now,

As the recorded part of this meditation ends,

Feeling comfortable to continue eating if you are still hungry,

But seeing if you can stay with the intentionality created in this practice as best you can.

Feeling full,

Seeing if you feel comfortable to stop eating,

Perhaps leaving some food on the plate if there is some,

Knowing you can return to it later if you choose.

Just bringing your full awareness to how it feels to choose to either stop or continue eating.

Reviews

this felt so whole and compassionate. she named so many emotions and what i was feeling, and helped me slow down immensely. as someone who has constantly struggled with food, i really appreciate the thought and effort in meditations like these. thank you deeply

Thankyou this is such a wonderful meditation for me at this time - I will return to it again and again ☺️🙏

A great meditation to an activity that offers so much sensory goodness to take in. Thank you!

Incredible. Not only the mindful eating practice but the emotions that came through when I was really tuning into my body during this practice. Thank you.

So well done! Slowing down is key. Nice voice quality and pace - a bit long, but the length just demonstrates how inappropriately fast I/we eat.

That was really difficult (I might even say excruciating) as I am a very fast eater. Because I also have digestive issues I definitely plan to continue returning to this one with hopes to bring more awareness to my relationship to food. A wonderful guided practice if you really want to slow down (and don’t mind if your food gets kinda cold by the time you actually eat it :))

I wanted to become more aware of my eating habits. This meditation made me realize that there are so many things that you can be mindful of during eating. I will use this meditation regularly to remind myself of the conscious eating!

Wow, that was intense! I am happy to have found a meditation to eat a full meal with. Thank you!

An amazing meditation! It helped me observe so much more about my food, as well as my mind and body as i ate.. It was a surprise that i felt satiated much earlier than i might have expected. My body's processing of food is something I've mostly ignored, before. Thank you for making me more aware 🙏💗

That was an amazing experience. I had just prepared my food and opened IT to find some gentle music orca fitting meditation while I ate, and here it was! I consider myself a slow and ‘aware’ eater but this added so much to make my meal an experience. Thank You. I hope many take the opportunity to listen to this while eating.

I've listened to this many times and it really helps me slow down how I eat and pay attention to mindfulness while I'm eating my food. I really appreciate this meditation.

I love this meditation! I feel so much better since I listen to this. I'm now aware of what my body feels like before and after I binge eat.

Beautiful practice! Being aware of every single bite of food makes you feel so calm and relaxed. It takes the simple act of eating to a different level.

This is my first real try with an entire meal. It was agony and I see just how fast I have been shoveling my food in. I need to listen to this over and over and over. Thank you so much!

I love this simple yet honest meditation. I have listened to it many times and each time I find the meditation enlightening, calming and genuinely enjoyable. I don't know how this meditation can have such a good 'feel good' factor, but it just does.
Thank you Michelle 🙏

I have wish I would have found this sooner. Keeping it in my favorites. Thank you!

Haven't tasted food this clearly in years. I really appreciate this meditation, and will definitely be returning. Thank you :)

Being present here and now. In all things we do.. thank you~~

An absolute "gastronomic-orgasmic experience", if I could compare it to Making Love with no hurry in this world; 🙌🙌🙌🙌😋😋😋😋 as if the food became 3D, and interacted back... Great experience, THANK YOU for leading us

Really enjoyed it but I ran out of food with 7 minutes to go. I look forward to hearing if you make a slightly shorter one!