The Headspace Guide to: Mindfulness & Meditation

by Andy Puddicombe

Exercise 7: eating meditation This exercise is also available as a guided meditation on the Headspace website. Sit down at a table, preferably alone, and free from any external distractions. Don’t worry too much if there are external sounds that are out of your control as you can build these into the exercise, in just the same way as you did with Take10. Before you pick up the food to eat, take a couple of deep breaths – in through the nose and out through the mouth – to allow the body and mind to settle a little. Next, take a moment to appreciate the food. Where has it come from? What country? Was it grown or was it manufactured? Try and imagine the different ingredients in their natural growing environment and even the types of people who would have been looking after the crops or animals. Over time we’ve become completely disconnected from the origins of the food in our diet. That may not sound particularly important, but in terms of having a broader sense of mindfulness around food, then it can be really very helpful. As you do this, notice if there is any sense of impatience in the mind, of just wanting to get on and eat the food. Perhaps you’re thinking of all the things that you need to ‘get on and do’. Whatever the reaction, it’s most likely just conditioned behaviour, a habit, but one that you may well find surprisingly strong. Now without going on some kind of guilt trip, take a moment to appreciate the fact that you actually have food on your plate. We can somet...