Meditation: What it is and why it can be helpful
Meditation is a buzzword that is closely associated with mindfulness and relaxation. But do you know what it really is and how it can be beneficial to you?
Meditation is practice that supports settling into the mind and body. As you increase your ability to engage in meditation, you are training your body to increase awareness of mental and physical sensations. You are working on taking a step back to increase your perspective. To observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment. To start to understand yourself a little bit better. This is a huge skillset to develop, specifically as you work on healing your relationship with food, movement, and your body.
Meditation requires a tolerance of mindfulness – the ability to settle into the present and be fully engaged in the here and now. It can’t be done “perfectly”. Your mind and focus will wander off, or you will lose track of your breath. That’s completely ok and part of the experience. What’s most important is your ability to become aware of that experience, working at bringing your thoughts back to the practice.
Benefits of meditation
Meditation is a highly researched, evidence-based tool that can support in many areas of your life. Some benefits of meditation can directly impact how you relate to food, your body, and your exercise patterns, as well as reducing the need to utilize food and movement as a form of coping. Benefits of meditation include:
- Improved attention and focus.
- Increased productivity.
- Reduced stress.
- Increased compassion.
- Improved contentment in life and decreased depression.
- Increased energy and self-esteem.
- Improved sleep patterns.
- Deepened levels of relaxation.
- Improved digestion.
When you are able to slow down and become aware of what the brain and body is telling you, it’s possible to engage in forms of self-care that are attuned to your needs in that moment. It can also allow you to be more mindful and present while interacting with food, becoming aware to what type of nourishment you are wanting or needing in the moment. It doesn’t take a lot of meditation to experience these results. The benefits can be immediate, and long-term.
Meditation and meal time
While the benefits of meditation may support you in making more grounded, intentional decisions about food throughout the day, you may choose to incorporate meditation as part of your meal routine.
This could look like a simple 5-10 minute meditation before or during your meal. Connecting to the smells, textures, and flavors of the meal can support you in neutralizing the eating experience – neutralizing the emotions you are entering the meal with. The goal is to slow down impulsivity related to food or neutralize any anxiety or emotions placed on the food itself. Once you are able to identify and understand emotions that are present prior to the meal experience, you may be able to have a more balanced, relaxed attitude towards eating as a whole. Bringing your awareness to the process of eating, neutralizing emotions present, and removing distraction can also support you in being present with the experience as a whole – the people you eat with, environment you are dining in, and satisfaction with the food itself.
It’s important to acknowledge that true mindfulness – being completely present in your mind and body – during mealtimes may be overwhelming or even intolerable at the beginning phases of healing your relationship with food. You may choose to take a step back and work on settling into your body and connecting to food during the meal preparation process. This may look like being present while cooking – noticing the textures of food as you handle it, the rhythmic motion of your hands as you chop vegetables, or the aroma of seasonings blending together to make a sauce. For many, cooking is a form of self-care. Being mindful of each step of the preparation process is shown to reduce stress, increase satisfaction of eating, and improve focus.
During later phases of healing your relationship with food, you may choose to utilize meditation and body awareness in order to make choices about what and when to eat. Connecting to your mind and body can support you in identifying what types of nourishment your body is wanting (or needing) and can support in identifying hunger and fullness cues. It’s important to note that this requires your digestive system to be healed from any type of restriction AND your mind to have worked through remnants of diet culture. Make sure you connect with your dietitian to determine when this is appropriate, as utilizing meditation for this type of mindfulness is nuanced.
Tips for meditation
- Start small. Meditation requires an ability to tolerate stillness and attunement to your mind and body. This can be overwhelming, specifically if you utilize food to disconnect from yourself. Starting as small as 30 seconds or a few minutes at a time is a great start, working to add time as you are comfortable. Even a few minutes of meditation is better than none, and any amount of time will offer some benefit.
- Troubleshoot the best time of day. Like all mindfulness practices, the impact increases with practice and time. In order to build consistency, it might be helpful to have a set time of day. That may be the first few minutes after you wake up, during the first TV commercial of your favorite show, or after you take a shower. There’s no “right” time of day to build this habit – find what works for you.
- Consider an app. It can be easier to settle into yourself and your surroundings if you have a guide. You can “shop around” for different narrators and styles of meditation to find one that’s best for you.
- There’s no such thing as “doing it right”. This can be difficult for folks with perfectionistic tendencies, but there’s no such thing as meditating right or wrong. Instead, focus on the process and be cognizant of what your mind and body is needing during each session.
- Count your breaths. Like we already named, it is totally normal and natural for your mind to wander during meditation. The ask is that you notice when this happens and work to bring your focus back to your practice. One way to support this is by counting your breaths. Count one as you inhale into your lungs, count two as you exhale. Repeat this process until you reach ten, then start over.
As you settle into whatever type of meditation practice works best for you, make sure to enjoy the process and offer yourself grace as you go. This is just one way to work towards healing your relationship with yourself, your food, and your body. If you need additional support in the form of a registered dietitian, reach out to our team so we can begin the work today!
Resources:
iMove: Helping Your Clients Heal from Compulsive Exercise by Amy Gardner, MS, CEDRD, RYT
https://positivepsychology.com/loving-kindness-meditation/
