Hello beautiful soul,
I'm Rachel and I will be your guide for this mindful eating practice.
Mindful eating is a practice to help us nourish our bodies with what they need,
When they need it,
And can help us recognize what might not be doing the body any good.
The first step to mindful eating is listening to your body.
Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths as you bring your awareness to the physical sensations in your belly.
Ask yourself on a scale of one to ten,
How hungry am I?
One being no physical sensation of hunger and ten being a great physical sensation of hunger.
Recognize which physical sensations tell you that you are hungry or not hungry.
This can be something like emptiness in the stomach,
Shakiness,
No desire to eat,
Stomach growling,
Or it could be something else.
Try not to think about when you last ate or what time it is and really listen to your body,
But try not to listen to your thoughts.
Pay attention to the physical sensations and what your stomach is telling you.
The next step is to eat according to your hunger.
Now that you are more in touch with how hungry you are,
You can more mindfully choose what to eat,
When to eat,
And how much to eat.
This simple practice can help you tune in to your real needs and give you a greater sense of awareness when it comes to your eating pattern.
The next step is to breathe before eating.
Throughout the day we move from one task to another without pausing or taking a breath,
But if we can pause we can slow down and allow for a calmer transition to our meal times.
So before you eat,
Close your eyes and bring your attention inward.
Begin to breathe slowly in and out of your belly and do this for eight deep breaths.
Then slowly open your eyes and begin your meal.
The next step is to chew mindfully.
Try to slow down your eating by taking the time to chew mindfully and tune in to the taste,
Textures and sensations in your mouth.
You are able to fully savour your food and by eating and by eating slower it also can aid better digestion of your food.
Finally,
If you don't love it,
Don't eat it.
Make a mindful choice about what to eat based on what you really enjoy and how it makes you feel after.
If a meal makes you feel bloated or uncomfortable after you've eaten it,
Then listen to your body and make a change to the meal or simply don't eat it anymore.
If the meal makes you feel satisfied and nourished,
Then make a note to eat more of that.
Mindful eating is a simple but effective practice.
I hope you found this practice useful and you can return to it as often as you need.
That's all for now.
Take care,
Beautiful soul.
