Cultivate Space Around Hunger Cravings - Short Practice

This meditation is a guided practice focusing on mindfulness of hunger and understanding one’s true needs. It starts by encouraging participants to find a comfortable position and become present in the moment through deep breathing. The meditation then explores different types of hunger: thought hunger, emotional hunger, and true hunger. Thought hunger involves recognizing hunger cues coming from thoughts or external stimuli like sight or smell of food. Emotional hunger addresses the desire to regulate emotions through eating, encouraging participants to notice and accept their emotions without judgment. Finally, true hunger is discussed as a need for whole foods that nourish the body, mind, and emotions. The practice aims to foster self-awareness, compassion, and a healthier, more joyful relationship with food. Photo by Pixabay.

Transcript

Welcome to this short practice on mindfulness of hunger and connecting to your needs.

Find a comfortable position,

Softening your gaze or even closing your eyes for a moment.

Take a deep nourishing breath in and slowly exhale,

Allowing yourself to arrive fully in this moment.

Let's connect first with thought hunger.

These are sensations of hunger that are actually issuing from thoughts.

Inquire within.

Are there any thoughts right now arising,

Like I should eat this or I shouldn't eat that?

Are you imagining eating certain foods?

What thoughts are associated with that?

Or what thoughts are associated with smelling or seeing certain foods?

With openness and curiosity,

Reflect on these questions and see which one resonates to reveal the dimension of your hunger that is actually issuing from thought.

Whatever the thought is,

Let it clarify and allow it to be.

Labeling the thought as a thought and allowing sensations in the body to just be sensations.

Welcoming all thoughts and sensations as they are.

Now let's take another deep breath in and exhaling out.

What are the true needs that are arising for you in this moment?

Are they needs for connection,

Rest,

Rejuvenation,

Pleasure,

Joy,

Choice or freedom,

Community or understanding?

Perhaps a need for acceptance for some hard moments or a celebration of some wonderful moments.

Regardless of whether the needs are met or not met in this moment,

Just connect with the needs that are alive for you,

Focusing on how these needs express values that are precious to you.

Let's take another deep breath in and out.

Let's connect now with the body's wisdom of what would really be nourishing in this moment.

Are there some fruits or nuts or seeds that might be nourishing?

Perhaps some tea or water?

How can you orient whatever desire is in you in this moment to the most nourishing version of a food that would really satisfy you?

Satisfying your true hunger and nourishing the mind and the body and giving you sustainable energy.

What's a food that would satisfy your true hunger?

May this practice continue to expand your awareness,

Self-compassion and your responsiveness to true hunger which is always leading you to more health and wholeness.

Blessings,

Friend,

And thank you for joining me.

Reviews

Lots to consider in this session. I will return to allow me to absorb more.

I will definitely continue to listen to this as I am an emotional eater. Thank you !