Mindful Fooding: How do we eat with presence?

We think of nutrition as "what we eat," but how we consume our food matters. Cooking mindfully stimulates digestive enzymes, and eating with presence helps us consume appropriate portions. We can call this "eating mindfully," or, in the case of our recent Teacher Training class: Mindful Fooding.

Throughout training, each Saturday we participated in a mindful potluck. Trainees prepared food inspired by the chakras, Yoga Sutras and … in some cases … by the only foods they could cook (Dave may have taken all the gorgeous photos on our website, but he can only cook one thing.)

Want some inspiration? Check out the tips below for eating mindfully, or explore the cookbook created by Namaste Yogi Kimberlee Cordova here.

• Prepare your food. Take the time to make your food visually appealing, and even enjoy some music while you make your meal. This is not only fun and present, it also stimulates digestive enzymes.
• Sit with good posture. I like to sit on a yoga block and place my food on a low bench.
• Put down your silverware in between bites. Seriously. I know, this is the hardest part.
• Chew each bite fully and completely, paying attention to taste and sensation as you eat.
• Keep conversation to a minimum until after you are finished eating.

Join us on our patio the first Saturday of every month for 'make your own' oatmeal, coffee and tea. We hope this inspires you to eat mindfully in your daily life.