Chocolate Meditation
by Fiona Barrett
Breath Deeply and Say "Ahhhhhh"
Thinking about how we eat is as important as what we eat…
Meditation is a practice that transforms eating into dining by being mindful of how we eat and using our senses — taking us from feeding ourselves to nourishing ourselves with food.
So slow down and enjoy a favorite food. Mine is chocolate, but you can choose any food for this meditation to achieve mindful eating.
After breathing deeply into your belly three times (which helps you relax and starts your metabolic fire) look at your food and imagine you have never seen this food before!
Sight Look at the food really closely and notice what you see. What are the colors, shapes, and textures? What do you see in the food, what ingredients did it take to make this food, where did it come from?
Smell Close your eyes, bring the food to your nose and smell the food. Without naming the scent, just experience the sense of smell and then describe what you smell.
Now notice how your body reacts. Is your mouth watering? Notice the mind/body connection and how your senses respond to the anticipation of eating this food!
Touch Explore touching the food, and without naming the sensation, just experience how touching the food feels to you!
Taste Your hand may have instinctively moved the food towards your mouth by now! If not, go ahead and let your mouth receive the food, observing what your tongue does with the food.
After becoming aware of the food in your mouth, slowly start to experience the taste. Begin to chew, giving all your attention to the mouth: in your mind, try to express the experience of taste.
Does the texture and taste change as you chew? When you feel the impulse to swallow, go ahead. Follow the food into your stomach, and acknowledge that your body is now one bite heavier!
Breathe and pause in silence. Eating mindfully in a meditative way means eating with attention — to be present for each moment of the eating experience.
You just completed a chocolate meditation! How was it for you?
Do you have a Beautiful Eating question or comment? Contact Fiona at . For more information and for Fiona's speaking schedule go to www.fionabarrett.com
Fiona Barrett is a certified Holistic Health Counselor trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. Accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She creates unique nutrition and life style programs to help you personally discover what nourishes and feeds you to live an energized and passionate life! Fiona was born in England and now lives and practices in the greater Boston area.
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