Mind Games

Earlier this week in my "Get Off the Couch and Hop on Board" group I introduced a mindfulness exercise to the group members. I gave each member a small box of raisins and asked them to observe the box, open it and select a raisin to place in the palm of their hand. We looked at the raisin through new eyes and lifted the raisin to our noses to smell. After a few moments I then asked that they place the raisin their mouth and simply hold it with their tongue--experiencing and exploring the sensation and feel of the raisin their mouths and against their teeth and palate. After a moment of quiet exploration, I then asked them to begin to chew the raisin and notice the explosion of flavor. After a few more moments of mindful observation they swallowed and noted the aftertaste of the now-dissolved raisin. We then spent a few minutes discussing what the experience was like for each of them. The comments ranged from "I never really looked at a raisin before" to "I noticed how quickly I wanted to move on to the next raisin."

Why do this kind of goofy exercise? Because it forces us to step out of our unconscious and mindless action states and places us directly in the here and now. Most of the time we eat raisins by the handful--throwing back a bunch or emptying the box into our opened mouth, right? When was the last time you looked at a raisin?

How often do you eat meals while multi-tasking? At some point or another during the day, most of us engage in this habit, particularly if you work in a fast-paced environment or have small children. We believe that we are being incredibly efficient by doing more than one thing at a time but what we are actually doing is short-changing our health and negating an opportunity to experience pleasure.

Let's continue to use eating as an example. When we slow our pace down to attend to one thing at a time, we allow ourselves to experience and acknowledge what we are putting into our mouths. In contrast, when we eat while watching TV or reading or working at the computer, we enter into mindless eating and we can fall victim to eating food that is not the best for us (i.e., fast-food) or eating more food than our bodies need (i.e., polishing off the bag of chips in front of the TV). How often are you unable to even recall what you had for breakfast or dinner? This is an example of unconscious consumption.

So what happens when we become mindful of what we eat?

When we become mindful, we open ourselves up to an authentic meal experience. We take notice of the colors and textures of food on our plate and smell the aromas of the prepared food. We notice the sensation of the food in our mouths: the texture, the crunch, the flavor. We experience the pleasure of food on many levels. For a moment, think about the manner in which a typical toddler eats Cheerios. She picks them up one at a time and looks at each little "0" before placing it in her mouth. Once she is finished with the one in her mouth, she picks up the next "0." Babies and toddlers are experts at mindful eating!

When we become mindful of the quality of the food we consume; sometimes we realize we have been eating food that doesn't taste good or please us once we take notice. When you take the time to taste and experience some foods, you may be surprised that you really don't enjoy the flavor or the sensation of foods you thought you loved. You may realize you eat some foods strictly out of habit but not taste. This is particularly the case when it comes to processed or fast-foods!

When we raise our awareness we notice when we turn to food for comfort because we are avoiding an uncomfortable emotion--anger, sadness, boredom, stress. Once we become aware of the emotional links to our food reflex, we are then able to make a conscious decision to work through the emotion rather than using avoidance or deflection to manage our feelings. For the parents reading this blog--think about whether you use food to comfort your children or if you reward their behavior or accomplishment with treats. I am not saying that providing a food reward is wrong every time--I simply encourage you to notice whether you are teaching your children to unconsciously link food to a soothing emotion. If you do offer your child, say, ice cream after a hard day at school, I would encourage you to also teach him about the power of talking about and working through disappointment and other emotions. You are the perfect person to help your child develop a healthy relationship with food that will last their lifetime.

When we raise our awareness, we become conscious of the quantity of food we consume. How often have you looked down at the end of a TV show to realize you have consumed an entire bag of chips or cookies? When we become conscious of our eating we also become aware of when we are "satisfied" versus "stuffed." We can become aware of how we feel (physically and emotionally) after eating certain foods. We can note how we feel when we eat quickly or slowly or at certain times of the day.

When we become mindful of what we eat, we place ourselves in the driver's seat with regard to who is in charge of our health and our weight. When we become mindful of how we treat our bodies, we free ourselves from the habit of poor choices and move forward toward a healthier lifestyle! When we are conscious, we enjoy and experience taste and foods like never before. When was the last time you enjoyed the sweet explosion of taste after biting into a juicy peach? What an exciting and rewarding adventure to reacquaint your tastebuds to real food with real flavor!

Thought for the Day: Take a few moments to try the mindfulness exercise with a raisin or other nugget of food. Open yourself up to the experience. What was it like for you? How can you be more mindful of your food choices this week? What can you teach your children about mindfulness this week?

On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. -- Buddha