Eating with awareness

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One of the many enjoyments of life is eating. While we still enjoy all aspects of food, over the years not only has our diet changed, becoming much less complete, but how we eat has also changed. We now eat in the car, in meetings, in a rush. All this change has had a profound effect on our ability to take in and digest not just food, but to digest and assimilate life experiences themselves. People are searching for a way back to wholesome foods. Unfortunately it can be at a great cost and still not provide a complete answer to all aspects of eating. Ayurveda is a complete and wholesome science that originated in India thousands of years ago. It is a lifestyle, a learning, a living. Ayurveda literally translates as the science of life, and it rose side by side with its sister science, yoga. It sees the human body as a holistic element in tune with nature. Ayurveda can provide the answer to eating that will cover all aspects of eating: weight maintenance, nutrition, food preparation and presentation, proper digestion, elimination and emotional connection to the food. How does Ayurveda address this? One aspect is ‘Eating with awareness.’ This important understanding can so profoundly change not just our food intake but how we digest and assimilate life itself. Awareness is the key to many of life’s problems. Awareness is simply bringing our complete attention to whatever is at hand. It is like shining a flashlight on an object so just that object is illuminated. Like this, the first thing we can do to transform our eating, whether or not we are eating wholesome food or fast food, is to bring our complete awareness and attention to the food that we are taking into our bodies. Begin by stopping everything to bring your whole attention to the food in front of you. Thank Existence with an informal expression of gratitude or a more formal prayer that you are comfortable with. Now we begin to take in the food. When we bring our awareness to the qualities of the food we are eating, we are connected through the food to the planet Earth herself. We eat with all of our senses beginning with the eyes. There is a phrase that says ‘Feast your eyes on this!’ or ‘It is a feast for your eyes.’ Let the eyes take in the food, noticing the colors and textures. This is 25 percent of food intake. Next, use the sense of smell and really enjoy the fragrance of the foods offered. This is another 25 percent of food intake. Take the first taste of food where another 25 percent of the food intake will happen. Enjoy it, savor it and chew it well. Chew the food well in the mouth itself. That way you maximize the breakdown of the food before it begins its journey into the stomach. Our digestive system is designed for this to happen! If the stomach has to do the work of the mouth, it requires more of your energy. Just think; we eat to increase our energy. Then why do we need to lie down in an after lunch nap? Eating with awareness will result in the food giving you energy rather than draining your energy. If you begin to eat with awareness, it will increase your awareness of the food that is in your mouth: the texture, taste, experience! The very act of eating itself becomes a meditation, gives a deep emotional satisfaction and you feel energized instead of heavy. And leave the remaining 25 percent available for the digestion process to happen. After the meal, wash your hands and sit for 3-5 minutes in a beautiful posture that will continue to allow digestion to happen – vajrasana - or kneeling with your hips on your heels. This posture allows the blood needed for digestion to work directly on digestion. After 3-5 minutes, move on into your activities and feel the lightness and energy of the body. Eating with awareness will add a calm dimension and alertness to your life in such an easy and practical way. How we feel about the food will translate into different food choices, and a whole process will be set into motion where weight maintenance, digestion and elimination can occur effortlessly. Make a strong decision to practice ‘eating with awareness’ at your next meal and experience a renewed connection to yourself and life.