As Donna and I both actively pursue our fitness goals, Donna has considered many interesting approaches to our relationships with our bodies, our fitness routine, and our food. Donna’s approach has spilled into other aspects of our lives. Please enjoy her post (and the second book review in 3 days!)
Lately, I’ve been on a journey to be fully present, particularly when Iʼm eating. This means savoring my food, really tasting it, and funny as it may seem, sitting down to eat. As a busy mother, or perhaps thatʼs just the excuse, I found myself ingesting way too many calories while standing up. Thereʼs likely a myth at work there that suggests that the calories somehow donʼt count if youʼre not actually sitting down while you eat. Or that eating isnʼt important enough and needs to be rushed. But the problem with that approach is that itʼs rarely satisfying. So I was lucky enough this past weekend to come across Geneen Rothʼs well-titled book, When You Eat At the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy (When you Feel Anything But). Roth explores the relationship between food and emotion in a way that offers self- compassion. Her work really speaks to me. So lately Iʼm trying to really taste my food. To feel it in my mouth and savor it. Iʼm finding that Iʼm eating more slowly, enjoying myself and, for the first time in my life, feeling really full regardless of how much food is left on the plate.
This experience of savoring my food also has positive consequences for savoring the present and being in the proverbial “moment.” How many of us move through much of our lives distracted by other moments, either dwelling in the past, worried about the future, or distracted technologies that take us out of our here and now? So, in the interest of urging you to be kind to yourself, Iʼm going to echo Geneen Rothʼs wish for her readers: I urge you to take five minutes each day to be fully present and grounded. Take some deep breaths to draw you into your body and into this moment. Notice sensory things, like the feel of the ground beneath your feet or the chair beneath your bum. If youʼre outside, notice the sun on your skin. If youʼre drinking something, feel it in your mouth and as it moves down your throat. If youʼre washing your hands, feel the soap on your skin; if youʼre having a conversation with someone, do what you can to be with them as fully as possible. If youʼre living with pain, notice the pain and the parts that feel good. If youʼre with someone you care about, just savor their presence. If youʼre alone, enjoy the gift of being with yourself.
Please be kind to yourself and be here, in this moment with all your presence and all your heart.
-Donna H. Kirschner, PhD.
Thank you to Donna for your post, and thank you for visiting. Be well!
-Andy
Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp will be creeping up on us soon….
