Chewing On Mindfulness: Gum Is Your Secret – Stress-Management
Chewing On Mindfulness: Gum Is Your Secret
My grandmother, a feisty and athletic woman in her younger years, was a gum-chewer. She was never without a pack or two of Wrigley's Doublemint gum. She wasn't a snapper or
bubble-blower--she viewed that as highly uncivilized.Grandma kept her mouth closed, thank you very much, and her chewing silent. She insisted that it helped her concentrate. It turns out that she was right. Research has shown that chewing does indeed increase our ability to concentrate and to retain what we've learned.In fact, studies indicate that, for both kids and adults, mental tasks are completed up to 20% more effectively when we chew gum. Here's why: When we chew--whether it's food, gum or just air--we respond by salivating, which releases a surge of insulin. Our body gets ready for a meal. The insulin leads to an increased heart rate and sends glucose and oxygen to our brain.The result? This blast of brain food helps us learn faster and retain this information longer. If that's all it takes to boost learning, I'm all for it! In fact, I'd like to suggest that we chew gum as a mindfulness exercise. Really. Perhaps instead of "Om" we should be chanting "Grom-grom-grom".Why not? We already know that mindfulness can be very effectively practiced during repetitive physical activity. It's hard to find a more repetitive and less demanding activity than chewing gum!Try this: Sit comfortably in any position that allows you to breathe with a relaxed belly. Pop some gum into your mouth and begin chewing. Pay attention to the burst of flavor and accompanying saliva. Feel the texture of the gum as it softens and stretches.Focus on chewing the gum on only one side of your mouth ten times, then switch to the other side. Continue as you slowly chew, allowing yourself to count to ten before switching sides again. Keep this up for about two minutes while concentrating on the chewing motion.Simple? Sure. Mindfulness IS simple. And it can become pretty easy to focus for short periods, especially if we have a particular physical activity as the center of our attention.Many people find this a much easier and more effective way to experience mindfulness than simply sitting and watching thoughts. There's no need to make mindfulness difficult, uncomfortable or woo-woo. If chewing gum is good for your brain, take advantage of it as an easy way to practice mindfulness.On a bus? At your desk? Take a two-minute break to chew gum. Nobody needs to know what you're doing. It will be your minty little secret.Salvation? Okay, maybe not. Here's to salivation!Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse in Portland, Oregon. Through her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, she teaches fun and effective eyes-wide-open alternatives to meditation. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.MassageYourMind.com
Mindfulness – The Key to Avoiding Overeating – Weight-Loss
Mindfulness - The Key to Avoiding Overeating
I made myself a sandwich today and thought I'd be efficient and do some work over lunch. I was brainstorming some ideas for my next article. Deep in though, the ideas came easy to me. By the middle of page two, I looked down and noticed that I was on my last bite. It was weird, like when you fall asleep and wake up feeling like you just blinked and the alarm went off. I didn't taste my sandwich at all. After cleaning up my plate, I thought, I could go for a little something sweet, maybe I'll have a piece of fruit. My body just ate lunch, but my mind missed out on the whole experience. So there's my article topic!Most of you have had an experience like this. In our hurried world, we have become excellent multitaskers. We eat while working, watching TV, reading, driving, dressing?you name it. While this seems to help with our time management, it may be one of the factors contributing the ever increasing incidence of obesity in our country.Mindfulness is a Zen term used to describe being fully aware and alive in the moment. It is the process of being aware of your sensations and thoughts without trying to judge or control them. To eat mindfully is to experience the meal with as many of your senses as you can, and be fully present in the experience.Mindful eating is not a new concept. Behavioral diet programs have suggested tips associated with it for years. You've probably heard things like chew each bite 25 times, put your fork down in between bites and eat all your meals at the table. These tips are all ways to slow down while we eat. New evidence shows that while eating slowly is important, it is also important to pay attention while you eat in order to feel fully satisfied.Normal eating is described as "eating when you are hungry, and stopping when you are full". Sounds simple enough? But this can only happen when you are fully attuned to your body's signals for hunger and satiety. Chronic dieters often lose this ability- through training (constant dieting and "willpower") they have learned to tune out physical hunger and eat only according to their current list of "shoulds" and guidelines. Even people who do have the capacity to recognize the body's physical signals, have to pay attention to it.In addition to recognizing hunger in general, it is critical to determine the difference between mind hunger and body hunger. By mind hunger, I'm referring to all of the other reasons that we eat- a stressful day, a celebration, boredom, sadness, fear of feeling an emotion? We have learned that when our body or mind is yearning for something, we give it food. It is a quick and easy fix. Maybe what we really needed was a nap, or a hug, or someone to listen or to learn how to express ourselves better. Learning to not feed mind hunger with food is a long process, this is a behavior that we learned long ago, and need to relearn other coping techniques. But just being aware is a great start. When you think you're hungry, ask yourself if food is truly what you need.As you eat, just notice how hungry you are, how your food tastes, notice that more you eat, the less enjoyment you get. As your body reaches the point of satisfaction/satiety, your food doesn't taste as good as it did on the first bite. See if you can find this point. Geneen Roth explains it best, "Eat what you want. Eat until you've had enough. Satisfaction is both emotional and physical. There's a physical point of satisfaction. It happens often that somebody is eating, and then there's one point at which your body says, 'I've had enough now, anything you put inside me is for your mind, not for me, your body.' You've got to be paying attention there, so that means you've got to be present. If you're distracted, if you're doing something else, you're going to miss that signal."To make your meals more mindful: Keep a food log- ask what, how much, how you felt, who was with you, where were you, how hungry were you? How did you feel afterwards?
Before you eat, rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10, after eating; use a satiety/fullness scale. This will help you to identify patterns, triggers for overeating, and recognize the point of satisfaction in a meal.(1- starving, about to pass out, 5- just right, not hungry and not full, satisfied, 10- stuffed, uncomfortable)
Make eating a solitary activity, sit at a table, light a candle, add dinner music, make it a complete experience
Focus on the flavors and textures of your food.
Eat slowly and notice how enjoyable each bite is.Jonna Reynolds is the founder and CEO of Evolve Wellness Coaching. She helps clients achieve their weight loss goals by looking at all the factors that contribute to their success. Specializing in holistic weight management, behavior change and binge eating disorder, her approach combines exercise physiology, behavioral psychology, nutrition, life coaching to help clients make permanent life changes.Jonna holds national certifications in Wellness Coaching (Wellcoaches Corporation), Lifestyle and Weight Management Consulting (since 2003), Personal Trainer (since 1993), Group Exercise Instructor (since 1989) from the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Jonna received her BS degree in Health and Exercise Science from Colorado State University in 1994, and has done extensive post graduate work in Exercise Physiology, Wellness Management, Nutrition and Psychology.For more information on services or to request a speaker on this topic: (480)248-2428
http://www.evolve4life.comTo sign up for the free EVOLVE4LIFE Newsletter:
http://www.evolve4life.com/newsletter.html
A Bellyful of Mindfulness
A Bellyful of Mindfulness
Taco Bell, the Mexican fast-food franchise, has a new ad campaign focusing on the slogan, "Get full." The commercials show people ecstatically announcing that they are full--thanks, of course, to the huge value meals now available at Taco Bell.We know that feeling full isn't simply a matter of building a bigger, better burrito. There's a whole lotta emptiness going on, and it's not always filled by what we put into our bellies.The search for connection, for meaning, for love--these are longings not met by the bags we pick up at the drive-thru window. To feel full in the truest sense, we must figure out what we are lacking in our lives. We're not always mindful of this quest.Seeking satisfaction in activity? That can work. Be honest
here--is your time spent actively avoiding emptiness or actively seeking fullness? These are two different things. If you find yourself with a full calendar and an empty heart, you're bathing yourself in distraction, and sooner or later, that's going to plug up your bathtub.Being full doesn't mean you're packed with positive thoughts and emotions all the time. We need the whole enchilada to help us develop as caring, compassionate humans, and sometimes that means we are full of frustration, sadness or despair.Hey, it still counts as being full! You're a vessel, and you should be continually filled, but not necessarily consistently filled with the same stuff. It's the emptying and filling that keeps things interesting."A full cup must be carried steadily."--English proverbGetting spilled is part of life. What are you doing to spill yourself...and what are you doing to get filled up again?Spend time this week contemplating the concept of fullness. Be mindful of opportunities to notice when you are feeling depleted or overflowing.Concentrate on paying attention to thoughts, emotions, stories, people, places and activities that make you feel full, and practice saying, "This is full" whenever you notice it.Good full or bad full--don't judge that. Just be mindful of that sense of fullness wherever you feel it.Taco Bell entices people to "get full" and this is good advice. But skip the "full-on value meal" and concentrate instead on your own fullness whenever you see an ad or drive by a Taco Bell.Ask this: Am I full? What is filling me right now?Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Stir things up and start again.That's a recipe for full-on living.Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training in Portland, Oregon. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 100 countries. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.massageyourmind.com