Many think of food solely as a means to sustain our bodies, our energy and our health.

However, our relationship to food is much more complex, psychological and confusing. Mind-body eating—trusting the inner wisdom of the body—is one of the greatest health struggles of our time.

We often eat to replace love, desire and intimacy. Nourishing ourselves emotionally with food is often wrought with challenges, such as negative feelings, shame, suffering and self-sabotage.

Exploring our relationship with self, love and the role eating plays in our lives is a topic that is more prevalent in our culture now more than ever.

Many of us struggle with what to eat, how to maintain love and acceptance for our bodies and surely how to get out of the daily overwhelm, confusion and stress that many of us feel about eating.

Why has the act of eating and the instinctual drive towards simply feeding our bodies become so complicated, so guilt ridden and so full of shame?

The story of Adam and Eve is one of the earliest demonstrations of indulgence, pleasure and punishment. As Eve took the famous bite from the apple off the Tree of Knowledge she created her own suffering and in tempting Adam with the forbidden fruit, ejected them forever from paradise—the Garden of Eden.

The forbidden fruit complex is one that has taken over the patterns of eaters (especially women) all over the western world.  So often radical diet and weight loss techniques or even some of the more extreme health trends require a restrictive type diet that is not very sustainable and can often create long term damage and despair.

We are known to try every diet under the sun only to be left with more confusion. We eventually give up all together and indulge in the very things we have “forbidden”.

We are left with few tools to comfort ourselves in deaingl with the day-to-day stress of our current day lifestyles, the loneliness, the body image issues and mixed messages from the media.

Food becomes one of the “perfect” outlets for our pleasure and our pain. 

We can’t abstain completely from eating because we need food to survive and yet many of us are left completely lost in knowing what to eat, how to eat and what it takes to have a healthy relationship with food.

I don’t have a magic solution, and unfortunately I cannot solve this worldwide phenomenon.

What I can do is remind you of the innate mechanisms and wisdom that you do have within yourself. I can guide you back to your own inner voice where your body, sensation and presence can help you live more authentically in your relationship with food.

I can remind you that the external options are never going to be fulfilling and that the only way out of this battle is in. Eating is a practice that can become mindful, intentional and spiritual.

Mind-body eating is the practice of listening inward and attuning our inner wisdom to our outer actions in our eating.

Step One: Tune in—listen to your physical hunger cues:

Eat when you are hungry and what you are hungry for—physically. This may sound easy but it can be complicated separating emotional and physical hunger.

Start by tapping into the physical sensation in your body. Where is it and what does it feel like? How does hunger feel?How does satiation feel? To access these bodily cues it is helpful to slow down, sit down and create a sacred space for your eating. When we are eating on the go, in front of the television or in our cars, we are distracted.

Distraction does not lead to mindfulness. Attention and presence does.

*tip: Eat slowly so you can allow your body the space to communicate with you. Sit down and allow yourself “mealtime” to chew, witness, listen and experience the truth your body already knows.

Step Two: Eat a diet based in whole foods and whole fats.

When we eat foods found in nature, in a balanced fashion (free from any abnormal or extreme dieting theories) we become more nourished and more satiated. There is something profound that happens with our self-control and awareness when our diet is primarily made up of whole, natural, simple foods.

Our cravings for sugar and processed foods diminish and we can stay in balance more easily. Our bodies are being fed food we are designed to eat and therefore our bodily cues and wisdom are also heightened.

*tip: Avoid “fat free” or foods that are tampered with in general. Avoid skipping food groups and falling for all the “free” foods on the market—sugar free, calorie free, fat free. Get back to the basics.

Step Three: Make peace with your plate.

Often peace is the last feeling you have when it comes to your plate. As I mentioned, often what we have eaten, are going to eat or what we are thinking about eating can be our biggest source of stress and overwhelm.

Peace is a practice that happens when we create ease, gratitude and presence. Gratitude energetically changes everything. When we witness beautiful fresh healthy food on our table, practice a moment of gratitude.

*tip: Part of finding peace with our eating is visualizing your self as a peaceful being. It is hard to be peaceful when we are thinking stressful. Take a few moments to sit with your food and give thanks. 

Visualize yourself in a peaceful state of mind.

Step Four: Create foodie pleasures. 

We seek pleasure. It is part of our humanness. Food is a form of pleasure; there is no denying it. Throughout time we have used food to commune, celebrate and share joy. Food finds its way to our hearts in a plethora of ways.

Our bodies are designed for pleasure.

Experiencing the flavors, the smells, and the textures of our food creates fulfillment and satiation.

Make sure your plate represents both self-love and your intentions around food. Do you feel drawn to your food? Are your intentions for your eating obvious when you look at your plate?

The art of sensual eating and pleasure happens with cooking, preparing, presenting and opening our hearts through our meals—just as it does when we prepare, adorn ourselves and wake up our senses to make love to our beloved.

*tip: Eat slowly and soulfully.  Take the time as we have talked about to create your meals with intention. Engage your senses, and presence yourself in the spiritual act of eating.

Although our personal journeys with food are all unique, we can all benefit from these holistic principles of mind-body eating.

They remind us to eat intuitively and help us find our power and wisdom with respect to our relationship to food. It is a journey worth taking, as the results of health and vitality are priceless.

Take one small step at a time and be patient with yourself. Cultivate your own inner voice that can and will guide you towards a healthy and pleasure-based relationship with food, and find the ultimate freedom you deserve from the inside out.

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Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: wikimedia