Lesson Topic, 3.1

Exercises & Practices

 Eating Mindfully

Eating mindfully involves bringing moment-to-moment awareness to our food as we are eating. Not only will we more fully taste our food, we are also stepping out of autopilot mode and into the present.

1. As you eat your food, be as curious as you can to find out as much information about it. Using all of your senses, fully explore your food.

a. What colours, textures, patterns, etc. can you see? b. What textures can you notice? Is it crunchy or soft? c. What do you notice about how the food smells? d. Does the food make any sounds as you are eating?

2. Next, place the food in your mouth and roll it around to all sides with your tongue, noticing how it tastes and feels in your mouth. 3. Take a moment to reflect on all that you discovered.

The 3-Minute Breathing Space

The breathing space provides a way to step out of automatic pilot mode and reconnect with the present moment. The key skill in mindfulness practice is to maintain awareness in the moment. Nothing else.

To remember the three steps of the Three Minute Breathing Space Practice, you can use the acronym AGE: Awareness, Gathering, Expanding.

The Practice

1- Awareness

Bring yourself into the present moment by deliberately adopting an erect and dignified posture. If possible, close your eyes. Then ask: "What is my experience right now in thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations?" Acknowledge and register your experience, even if it is unwanted.

2- Gathering

Then, gently redirect full attention to breathing, to each in-breath and to each out-breath as they follow, one after the other.

3- Expanding

Expand the field of your awareness around your breathing, so that it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture, and facial expression.