Mindful Eating & Recovery From Addiction

We Are All Connected

The good news is that we belong to the universe from birth, and we are all connected on the planet. We simply need to turn our gaze toward life. This requires courage.

Whole families intervention & services guides and supports individuals in developing a sense of belonging through the practice of mindful eating.

What Is Mindful Eating?

If mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness in the present moment without judgment, then mindful eating is being aware of what we’re eating, how we’re feeling before, during and after we eat. It begins at the grocery store, at the farmers’ market on in your own garden.

We honor the hands that grew the food, that prepared the food, that presented the food. We notice the colors, textures, and healing qualities of the food.

When we take a bite of our food, we notice the flavor on all parts of the tongue. When we reach for a cup of tea, we notice the warmth of the mug in our hands and the delicious aroma.

The act of eating and drinking is essential to the body. Food is our fuel. Water makes up over 80% of the body. It is a tangible practice creates intentionality in our lives.

If we are awake and present, we’re more willing to support the body/mind with healthy, fresh, healing foods. In turn, these foods help us live awake, alive and present. When we’re present to ourselves, we are able to connect with others authentically.

Many of us are sleep-walking through our lives. We fill our bodies with unhealthy, energy-draining foods. We eat unconsciously and we miss the richness of the present moments.

Food as Our Medicine

There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practiced, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension. It is mindfulness, centered on the body.

The more we nourish ourselves with life-giving food, the more we are able to be present in the moment and see the truth in reality. This is the pathway to wholeness.

When we feel whole, we are conscious and aware of what is going on – both inside the body/heart/mind – and beyond. Mindfulness invites us to bring attention to the many small activities of our daily life, like eating.

When we eat nourishing foods, the body responds quickly. Food affects our blood. Our blood affects our cells. Cells create our organs, and how our blood, cells and organs function, affect our physical health and wellbeing. We can use food as our fuel or we can use it as our poison.

When we are intentional about what we eat, we transform the way we live. We do not sabotage ourselves, our dreams and goals by the way we’re feeding the body.

Food as Our Poison

Many of us use food to alter our state of being. In other words, we use food as a drug. We eat differently on Monday morning than on Friday night. We consume caffeine to wake up. We consume sugar to lift our mood and energy. We look to food to change the way we feel in the body/mind.

Mindful eating is simple, but not easy. Many of us turn to food to help us sleep-walk through or even forget the moment. Mindful eating helps us stay present with experiences that aren’t pleasant. Our tendency is to try to arrange the world and other people so that we feel safe, secure, and satiated. We spend a lot of energy trying to arrange people, places and things to suit the challenge is that life doesn’t cooperate according to our plans. The result? We use food to help us feel we’re in control.

Mindful Eating Helps Us Feel Connected

We all long to feel connected, to be included, to feel welcomed. When we feel disconnected, we become anxious and fearful.

As soon as these thoughts and feelings surface, we go looking for ways to numb ourselves with food, alcohol, drugs, we go looking for ways to convince ourselves we’re ok.

Anxiety is fueled by fear-based thoughts, both of the past and about the future. When we question those thoughts and allow them to drop us, we find ourselves no longer caught in our story. Rather, we’re able to see, however fleetingly, our right place in the world. We’re able to use food as fuel in a loving, healing way. We see how we’re all connected. We all belong.