I have a bad habit; I often eat before I even sit down.
I acknowledged this during last Christmas holiday when I read about Ayurveda.
(Ayurvedic medicine is considered to be the world’s oldest healthcare system. It originates from India).
I laid on the couch and read Ayurvedic rules for eating:
1. Always sit down to eat.
2. Chew your food properly.
3. When you eat do nothing else.
Oh my, I had eaten several times while standing or walking during that day. And I even hadn’t realize I did so. I just ate without thinking anything at all.
Ouch!
I decided to try those three simple rules for eating.
But it was easier said than done.
I noticed that…
A) More than twice a day, a quarter of my food was already gone before I actually sat down to eat.
B) I was already taking the second bite before even tasting the first one.
C) I rarely just ate and did nothing else. I often felt this weird, almost compulsive need of doing something else at the same time when I was eating.
I was shocked! How I, whose biggest love in life after family is food, can eat like that?!?
OK, this may not be that easy but let’s try again! I said to myself.
I decided that I try to sat down to eat once a day, chew my food properly and do nothing else.
So I closed my laptop, filled my plate, sat down and took a long deep breath before eating anything.
I immediately started to enjoy my food more. I tasted more!
Still I had one problem. I was eating faster than I needed to.
The word drishti in yoga means a point of focus for your gaze.
I took the whole view from the window as my focal point so that I was able to relax and eat more peacefully.
(Ayurveda also states that relaxed eating improves your digestion. It kinda makes sense isn’t it?)
My drishti worked! Looking outside the window while eating made me to eat slower.
Nature’s rhythm is naturally peaceful. That’s why nature itself is a great view when we want to calm ourselves down.
With the help of nature I found a way to concentrate on eating better and enjoy it more. And you know what’s the best?
When I’m able to eat more peacefully I feel myself full earlier. And the need for eating stops earlier too!
The first thing what I said to Henri when he came home was:
I’m finally able to lose weight by just sitting down!
