Those of you familiar with Zentangle®, know it is not about drawing something. It is not about the repetition of a drawing. It’s about the repetition of “One simple stroke.”
The Zentangle trademarked tag line is "You Can Do Anything, One Stroke at a Time."
Make that the philosophy of your life and you can’t go wrong.
EXPERIENCE EATING MINDFULLY
What I love the most about writing this blog is that it allows me to share the two things I’m passionate about: being mindful and healthy eating. Mindfulness means intentionally paying attention and experiencing the present moment. And one of the best things about Zentangle® is it gives us permission to stop all the mental chatter and practice focused attention. If this is one of the reasons you love Zentangle®, why not take mindfulness to another level? Try mindful eating which is another "simple way to experience focused attention."
At the recent Juice Plus+® Conference they introduced a new campaign: "One Simple Change."
My Juice Plus+® website states: Most of us strive to live a healthier lifestyle. Finding the right place to start is a challenge. Eating right, exercising regularly, and still making time for family, friends and our own needs can seem like overwhelming goals. Instead of attempting to conquer our health all at once, what if you started by setting more manageable goals? Making small changes today can lead to great health benefits down the road.
The website stresses eating more whole foods, getting more exercise, drinking more water, and sleeping more and stressing less. In future postings, I'll introduce ways you can incorporate each of these topics. We all can get health benefits by making small changes, one at a time. One way we can stress less is by slowing down. I have always been a fast eater. As I was growing up my mother was a nurse and had been a Navy nurse, thus it was her habit to eat fast. In high school, I had 27 minutes to get from a class to the cafeteria, stand in the food line, eat my lunch and get to my next class. Then as a mother, much of my mealtime was jumping up to serve my family thus I gulped bites in between the bounds from my chair to the stove or refrigerator. Sound familiar? I don’t think I ever tasted my food. The habit became ingrained and I never stopped. I am now working at changing this habit into a practice of mindful eating. I invite you to join me. Please comment below about your experience.
Mindful eating encourages us to slow down and be present throughout our meals. That means devoting attention to our food throughout the meal.
- Taking a mindful approach to eating begins by asking yourself if you are truly hungry.
- Turn off distractions: TV and devices. Ignore the phone and don’t multi-task.
- Look at the food you are about to eat. Reflect on its source: how is was grown and prepared.
- Notice how you are feeling.
- When you place the food in your mouth, chew each bite slowly and carefully. What does it feel like? Notice the flavors.
- When you swallow, try to see how far you can feel the food in your body.
- Focus on your food, smile and appreciate each bite.
- By slowing down you give your stomach a chance to signal to your brain that you are full. This leads to eating less, thus consuming fewer calories and, over time, to weight loss. Savor your meals.
A Mindful Eating Revolution
In the April 2015 issue of Mindful magazine, Editor-in-Chief Barry Boyce states, Eating a raisin, or a grape, an apple or a pear—slowly with attention—has become a standard part of many mindfulness programs. It’s no surprise. The first thing we usually put our attention on in meditation is our breath, because without that, well, we’re dead. But the next most obvious thing to put attention on is eating, because without that, well, we’re dead.
Try this Mindfulness Exercise - Eating a Raisin
I first read about the Raisin Consciousness exercise many years ago in a newsletter from Dr. Andrew Weil. It is an exercise Jon Kabat Zinn uses with his clients as a first meditation. For this exercise, you’ll need about 5 minutes and one raisin. A raisin is best, but you can substitute any small food item such as a piece of fruit or a nut.
There is one rule: whenever you find your mind wandering from the task at hand, just gently return your attention to the raisin.
- Begin by placing the raisin in the palm of your hand. Spend a few moments examining it. Really look at it with a sense of curiosity and imagine it as it might have been in nature. Notice it’s shape, texture, color, size.
- Gently pick up the raisin with your thumb and index finger and roll it between them. What does the raisin feel like? What are its textures? Is it hard or soft. Is it wrinkly or smooth? Is it light or heavy?
- Close your eyes. Sniff the raisin. What does it smell like?
- Gently place the raisin on your tongue, but don't chew. Just let it sit on your tongue for a few moments and notice how it feels. Roll it around in your mouth.
- When you’re ready, slowly begin chewing. First, just bite the raisin, next chew a couple of times, then stop. What does the raisin feel like between your teeth? Notice the texture, taste and smell.
- If you feel the urge to swallow the raisin right away, just notice that urge, and slowly chew the raisin for a minute or so, without swallowing.
- Finally, swallow it. Sit quietly. Breathe.
2015 Dietary Guidelines
In February, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee issued its newest recommendations on what Americans should be eating. It says: the U.S. population should be encouraged and guided to consume dietary patterns that are rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in low- and non-fat dairy products and alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages and refined grains.…Additionally, these characteristics align with recommendations from other groups, including the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the American Heart Association (AHA). Read more of the guidelines summary.
Juice Plus+ provides 26 fruits, vegetables, berries and grains with well over 13,000 phytonutrients. If, daily, you already eat 9-13 servings of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables then you probably don't need Juice Plus+®. According to the USDA ninety-eight percent of Americans do not consume that many unless they juice (no fiber, messy and expensive) or blend smoothies with lots of fruits and veggies. Otherwise you would have to be a cow because you would be chewing for much of the day. If you are among those that do not eat 9-13 servings each day, you should use Juice Plus+®. For the price of a Starbucks coffee you can get the benefits of eating 26 fruits, vegetables and grains every day. The more than 25 published clinical research studies examining its impact on a variety of biomarkers of good health has made Juice Plus+® the number one research health product in the world. That's why Juice Plus+® is marketed as the "next best thing to fruits and vegetables."
All the more reason you should let Juice Plus+® help you make "One Simple Change."
