Did you know that eating mindfully can help build your mindfulness practice? Being mindful doesn’t have to be a long and complicated process. Taking a few minutes each day to consciously eat something during a meal can help anchor you to the present.

Choose a mealtime during your day to eat mindfully. Pick a single item on your plate that you are ready to enjoy. Try using each of your five senses to enjoy the foods on your plate.

  • First, using your sense of sight, explore what it looks like by noting its color, size or shape. Act as if you have never seen this before in your life and come from curiosity without judgement.
  • Next, using your sense of touch, note what it feels like as you roll it between your index finger and thumb. Note the texture and density and how you feel touching it.
  • Next, using your sense of smell, close your eyes and notice what aromas you discover. When you turn off senses like sight, the sense of smell gets stronger. Have you smelled this before?
  • Lastly, slowly take a small bite. Be aware of how it feels on your teeth, lips, tongue. What feelings or physical sensations do you experience? How do your taste buds respond to this being in your mouth?
  • Do you hear any sounds when you take a bite? Notice it as it leaves your mouth and travels down your body.

Eating mindfully can help you slow down in the moment and experience your food in ways that we sometimes miss completely. Being grounded during this activity not only focuses your attention on what you are experiencing but can also connect you to gratitude.

Building this practice can lead to the formation of new neural pathways in your brain and can make embracing the present moment an easier habitat to introduce.

Jo Pessin, CHt