Eating is art in motion. It’s mindfulness, in movement.
At some point in the development of the modern world, we forgot how to enjoy the art of eating and to see it as a moving meditation.
We started to multi-task. Eating while doing other things - working, watching television, scrolling through Instagram. Anything other than simply, enjoying our food. We have become so disconnected to the simple pleasure of sitting down to enjoy a delicious meal.
Here are 10 things to notice the next time you sit down at a meal:
SIGHT
Look at your food intentionally and notice the colors, patterns, shapes and structure of how you put your plate together.
SMELL
Notice the different aromas of the items on your plate. What do you smell? Does it perhaps remind you of something? A memory, a place in time?
PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTION
Now focus on what’s going on in your mouth. Are you salivating? That is the mind and body connecting - all before you even put a bite of food in your mouth!
TOUCH
Take your first bite. How do the different textures and tastes feel? Chew your food thoroughly and notice how each bite slowly becomes softer.
TASTE
After becoming aware of the food in your mouth, stop to experience what’s happening. What’s happening is invariably an explosion of taste. Express what’s going on. Be really specific. What’s the experience? Is it sweet or sour or juicy? There are hundreds of words to describe the experience of tasting.
TEXTURE
As you chew, the tastes changes, as does the consistency. At a certain point you’ll become aware of the texture of the food because the taste has mostly passed. If the texture causes aversion, you may want to swallow it, but try to keep it in your mouth.
SWALLOW
When you detect the impulse to swallow, follow it down into the stomach, feel your whole body, and acknowledge that your body is receiving nurturing food.
MOTION AND MOVEMENT
I’m always really fascinated with how my mouth knows exactly how to break my food down. Without even thinking about it, it’s an unconscious act that my body already knows how to do.
BREATHE AND PAUSE
Next, pause for a moment or two, and see if you can taste your breath in a similar way. Bring the same quality of attention to the breath that you gave to seeing, feeling, smelling, and tasting the food.
SILENCE
Be silent. At this point, you probably understand what meditation is. It’s doing what we do all the time, except we’re doing it with attention – directed, moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental attention.
Honestly ask yourself: When was the last time that you sat down to eat and can remember every single detail of the meal you were having?
The aroma, the taste, the texture, the presentation. I challenge you to pause and observe. The next time that you sit down to eat, keep your electronics in the other room and enjoy your meal detail for detail, bite for bite.