During the time when I lived and practiced with serious yogis, we not only practiced yoga, we practiced conscious eating. We were present with our food, we chewed until our food became liquid, we allowed our bodies the ability to actually digest and absorb nutrient rich food, and we slowed down and enjoyed our food – sometimes we even ate in silence. We were thankful.
We also listened to countless lectures given by medical doctors (western), holistic health practitioners, and anatomy and physiology teachers on diet and digestion.
Now my ‘conscious eating’ mantra simply boils down to this:
- Eat Whole (organic) Foods- not processed is better. For example, Twinkies are the most processed food I can think of. Now imagine taking a bite and chewing it 10 times then swollowing. Well, it wouldn’t happen. Our mouths/brains wouldn’t let it happen. After the 3rd or 4th chew, you would instinctively swallow because the more you chew, the more you’d actually taste the chemicals , and your mouth would rid itself of the nasty taste by swallowing. Ew.
- Relax and CHEW, CHEW, CHEW. Now, let’s take an organic whole carrot with the same image in your mind. Chew that carrot 100 times and you’ll see that it just tastes better the more you chew. The more you chew, the better you digest, the more energy you get from your food, the less you need to eat, and most importantly, the better you FEEL. (remember to breathe and relax your belly)
- Avoid Refined Sugars. Suffice to say that this addictive substance is simply no good for us – but you already knew this right? Oh alright, here’s a little more on the subject: It makes you feel bad, it feeds the yeast in your gut, over time, it causes mental illnesses like anxiety and depression, it causes diabetes, Cancer LIVES on it, it hurts your bones, it has NO nutritional value, and I could go on but I’d rather get back to thinking positive!
I love how NOT complicated it is to eat well. It’s easy, actually, and you can do it too!
Eat whole foods, relax & chew, and avoid refined sugar…Bada BOOM Bada BING.
Blessings, Patti
