So how does one at consciously?

You are most probably thinking how does one eat consciously.

Maybe you are thinking ‘of course I am conscious when I eat, other wise I would be sleeping right’.

Well, there is another way to look at it, some people may call it intuitive eating. But what it really means is to pay attention to your body and mind in regards to how you nourish your body.

By paying attention to our mind and body we can reconnect and learn what our body REALLY needs, not what we want to satisfy our mind. We can learn what our body is trying to connect with. Is the chocolate bar at 4 pm a replacement for a nourishing hug? Or the Thai dinner an attempt to create some spice in your life?

Learning about our instincts can help us reconnect with our inner selves, which enables us to come from our true nature. Which instinctually nourishes us for our needs.

So how can you eat consciously? I hear you ask.

Well the following are a few simple things you can do every day (you most probably do them already, but we often ignore what we know is best)

Pay attention to when you are hungry, and if you are EAT. Who cares what time it is, your body is saying it is hungry. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Meal times serve a great purpose for bringing people together, creating social interaction and give structure but they do not need to rule your life and dictate to you when you are hungry.

Secondly, SLOW DOWN. How often do you ignore your hunger because you are to busy or it’s not lunchtime (yet). Then, when you do have time or it is ‘time to eat’, you are sooooo hungry that you eat so fast it is as though you are possessed. And then inevitably you eat too much and feel ‘stuffed’ (the feeling of being over full is a whole other story). Do you know that is takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that is has been fed and it is satisfied? The moral of the story is slow down.

And remember to ENJOY your food. Food is one of the few things that is necessary for life, just like water and air. It was of the greatest pleasures life offers us on so many levels. Respect the process.

CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT. An environment that enables to enjoy the food, take it slow and respect the concept that you are taking time to nourish your body. Respect yourself and reconnect the mind with the body. When you nourish yourself you are in a much better place physical, emotionally and spiritually to nourish others in your world.

Lastly, REMEMBER your experiences. Pay attention to what foods, environments, people felt good, made you feel good and nourished. Opposingly, pay attention to what made you feel bad, gave you that sinking, heavy feeling or made you wake up the next day feeling groggy and with no energy.

Just ONE WEEK of paying attention and offering yourself the respect to pay attention and reconnect can have a profound impact on your awareness. (Why not try it, just for one week)

Nourish yourself wisely!