Hello and welcome!
This is Clea.
In the previous recording we talked about mindful studying.
In this recording we are talking about mindful eating.
As you may know,
Mindfulness has to do with being in the present moment,
Being fully present in this moment,
Paying attention to your senses and paying attention to what is happening around you in this moment.
Mindful eating and why it is so important has to do especially for people who have very busy lives.
This may include students,
This may include people who do two jobs,
This may include people who have an intense work routine.
Because what happens is that when you have so much going on,
You are so focused in the next thing you have to do that eating and feeding yourself and taking care of your body may seem like a chore that you have to do so you can move on to the next thing that you have to do.
And I've noticed it in so many people,
Eating while you're doing something else.
And especially,
This is sad,
But in many teenagers and very young people like 20 or something that eat while scrolling on social media.
It is a form of distracting yourself and not sitting with your feelings and not being in the present that has gone this far that when you eat you need to scroll on social media just so you won't be present.
The thing is that eating in this way is not good in the sense of digesting because the brain is not fully getting the signal that you are consuming food so the whole digestive system does not work the same way as if when you are fully in the present your senses are engaged and you're eating while you're mindful that you are eating and you're actually enjoying the food that you're consuming.
You're not just eating because you have to eat.
So mindful eating has to do with being in the present moment and engaging your senses.
This means looking at your food before you actually put it in your mouth,
Noticing the smell that it has,
Noticing the colors and the feelings that it brings to you.
And then as you're eating and chewing,
Notice the texture,
Notice how it feels,
The sensations that you're receiving,
How you're enjoying this food.
And what happens is that as you are being fully grounded in the moment,
As you are slowly and gradually consuming,
You are enjoying it and you are being fully engaged which means that your nervous system is receiving all the signals that you are now inputting food into your digestive system.
And this is very healthy because you digest better,
You eat more consciously on what you're eating and you actually feel more full because when you eat slowly and mindfully you don't need to consume a lot to feel full,
To have the sensation of being full.
So these are some of the great benefits of mindful eating.
It may not be easy at first,
Especially if you are used with eating in the run,
Like eating as it is a chore to be done so you can move into the next thing.
And I have been guilty of this in many cases,
Especially during intense periods of work.
And now as I am more aware of it,
As I pay attention to it,
It's like eating is my break and my non-formal meditation.
Because the more you practice bringing your awareness into the present moment and being in the present moment,
The more you are used with this.
You know,
It's like a muscle.
The more you exercise into lifting weights,
The better you are at it.
The same thing is with mindfulness.
The more you practice being mindful,
The more you're able to actually be mindful and to be in the present moment and to enjoy life moment by moment.
And even though it may feel challenging at the beginning,
As time progresses and you catch yourself over and over again and you bring that practice back as much or as little as you can,
You will notice that you will become better at it and you will actually enjoy it more.
This is all for today.
Sending you lots of love and lots of blessings.
Bye!
