Mindful eating exercises are not your typical “exercise” regimen, if you’re thinking cardio and squats. It’s not that type of exercise. That’s not to say physical exercise isn’t beneficial, but for our purpose we are going to discuss more in the realm of lessons in mindful eating, or the disciplines of mindful eating.
Basically, we’ll introduce you to the process that will inevitably need to be repeated, sometimes daily, until it becomes natural. Especially during times of duress where you’re incredibly tempted by that ice cream shop which happens to be on the way home from work.
Raisin Meditation
Yes, it sounds ridiculous at first. That’s undeniable. Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is kind of the guru for all things mindful. His raisin meditation, or raisin exercises, are actually the cornerstone of mindful eating and in just a few steps help you connect your body to your mind regarding food.
Seeing and Touching
Look at the raisin. Touch the raisin. Notice its shape, size, feeling of the texture on your fingers, etc. Pretend you are an alien just arriving at Earth and a human gives you a raisin. It’s something you’ve never experienced before, so you take your time to explore it.
Smelling
Put that raisin up to your nose and give it a whiff. Does it smell sweet? Bitter? Do you notice your stomach reacting?
Placing
Put the raisin on your tongue, but don’t bite! Not yet. This one is tough because our first instinct when a bite enters the mouth is to chew. Is your body reacting to a morsel of food sitting on your tongue? Maybe your mouth with water or maybe you’ll think it feels weird and be hesitant to bite down. The point is to pause and feel it.
Bite
OK, now put the raisin between your teeth and bite it in half. Take your time and chew the half of the raisin, taking note of the texture, the taste of the outside and in the inside once it’s broken open, the consistency and exactly how you hold your mouth.
Notice where you are chewing the raisin… to the left, right, front. Which part of your tongue makes the raisin taste the best to you?
Swallow
Let your body have the raisin. Does the flavor change as you begin to swallow? How about your stomach? Is your stomach happy about what you’re giving it? It might sound a little out there but when you make the connection it’s a great and satisfying feeling.
Can you believe it? That was FIVE exercises all with a half of a raisin. Mindful eating. Paying attention to every morsel you ingest. Even better is incorporating a time and place without distraction so you can fully be present and eat mindfully, intuitively.
Healthy and Life-changing
Your mindful eating exercises help you examine exactly what you are putting into your body. You’ll learn the power you have over food and before long it will be much easier to make and enjoy the healthier choices.
That doesn’t mean indulging in the not-so-healthy options are off the table forever. Instead, as long as you are practicing your exercises and staying mindful, you’ll be able to satisfy a craving with a bite or two instead of a king size candy bar.
You’ll be able to turn away without finishing that whole piece of cake or going back for seconds of lasagna. With practice you’ll be able to think of food as… well, as just food instead of an emotional attachment. Eating mindfully trains your mind to make empowering, conscious choices, instead of emotionally immature, habitual ones.
