Mindful Eating
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"In mindful eating we are not comparing or judging. We are simply witnessing the many sensations, thoughts and emotions that come up around eating. This is done in a straightforward, no-nonsense way, but it is warmed with kindness and spiced with curiosity."
― Jan Chozen Bays, MD
What and how much to eat is a national preoccupation that has spun out of society’s body size obsession.
It is easy to be swept into “nutritionism” and weight-focus, disrupting innate wisdom, leaving us feeling rudderless around food if we don’t have ‘rules’.
Mindful eating is a practice that invites us to approach our relationship with food from a different place.
Mindful eating is not directed by portions, pyramids, scales or rules.
The practice recognises you are an expert in you and your unique inner experience when you eat.
We may have learned to check out when eating, or we may notice a background tape of self-critical thoughts.
Mindful eating asks us to notice the inner critic with compassion, to practice suspending inner-judgement and to practice cultivating self-care.
By practicing mindful eating we become more aware and present when we eat.
We practice slowing down, taking a breath, tuning into our bodies inner wisdom as we eat.
We practice cultivating awareness, curiosity, compassion, while we bring all our senses to the experience of eating.
Benefits of mindful eating
Practicing mindful eating supports us to shed reactive patterns around food and eating that no longer serve us.
Mindful eating helps us to reconnect with ourselves and nurture an easeful relationship with food and nourishment.
We become aware of how much our approach to food and eating can affect body-mind well-being - spanning emotional, mental, physical, nutritional, social, and spiritual health.
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"When we learn to eat mindfully, our eating can be transformed from a source of suffering to a source of renewal, self-understanding, and delight."
― Jan Chozen Bays, MD
