What I ate yesterday:

fruit cup, bagel with cream cheese, small mocha, Smart Alec’s Salad, Cream ice cream sandwich, pita chips and hummus, grapes…

Out of all of that, I can guarantee that I did not focus on any of what I was eating. I know that I liked it and it made  me full, but not once did I “check in with my body” and think about what I was doing. Not many of us do right? When we get Cream we are too excited about the fusion of Turtle cookies with Cinnamon Carmel ice cream that we just created and the sugar high we are about to experience to slow down, take a breath in between bites, and appreciate what we are eating. Well that’s exactly what “Food Meditation” asks us to do.

I heard about food meditation a couple of days ago when a classmate mentioned that she had “mediated with her breakfast.” While I was immediately confused, I was also intrigued; I am not in the least familiar with the art of meditation so food and meditation took me for a loop. So I set out to Google for some answers.

I learned that it is incredibly popular and I found myself becoming an immediate advocator of it. While I have not personally tried it yet, I do find myself talking about it way more than I should. (Confession: I just tried it with a grape and definitely struggled.)

So here is how it’s done. In order to “check in with your body” as you eat, you must first slow down. Professionals of food meditation claim that people eat too fast and are too rushed in all aspects of their lives. I think that is pretty relatable as we frantically eat a Cliff Bar running from lecture to section or attempt to eat quickly in class without disrupting others. Our relationship to food becomes one that results in overeating (see above personal catalogue) or in a lack of enjoyment with our food. Food mediation’s goal is to have us enjoy and appreciate our food, to have it feed our soul and not just our stomachs. I am pretty sure that while the grapes that I ate walking to class suppressed the stomach noises I was having, it did little for my well-being but save me some embarrassment from my talking stomach.

How do we feed our souls and our body at the same time? We slow down and take time to eat. We contemplate what we are eating and think of eating as an activity rather than a necessity. Dinner should be the main act, not the commercial break for Modern Family. We should focus on how many times we chew something, the flavors that we are experiencing, and how the food is making us feel rather than what hilarious thing Gloria is going to say in this week’s episode. We need to use all of our senses, not just our hunger meter, to get the most out of our food. Nutritionist Lisa Ota (www.sacredbite.com) says that through simple food meditation, we can allow ourselves to eat smart and healthy. Benefits of food meditation include less calorie consumption, more water consumption, and more overall satisfaction with your meal.

I am not suggesting that we go get our floor pillow, put on smooth sounds, and set aside hours just to eat and contemplate. But I think that food mediation might be a good experiment for our bodies and for our souls. Take the challenge with me in enjoying your next ice cream cookie sandwich and experiencing the food and all that it has to offer us, rather than just rushing through our day. We all have time to slow down and relax, even if we do have a midterm in a few days (see, I just offered you a good, healthy distraction).

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