Mindfulness is a bit of a buzz word at the moment. We are encouraged to be mindful in everyday life, mindful with activities at work, even mindful with how we eat!
Whilst part of my regular practice with clients is encouraging mindful eating, I have been learning more about mindfulness in general lately through Future Learn - worth a look, they have a whole range of free topics to learn about!
One of the recent topics was about ‘cultivating curiosity’. When we are truly curious, and interested in our experience, we have much better engagement with the experience. In the course, we are learning about curiosity in everyday life; being encouraged to become more engaged in our everyday activities, rather than trying to do a million things at once. This is similar to when I talk to clients about mindful eating; the more distractions around, the more challenging it will be to eat in a mindful manner.
I like the concept of being ‘curious’ though, especially in the context of our food. When eating mindfully, we are encouraged to pay attention to the flavours and textures of the food, think about how our mouth feels, listen to what it sounds like to be eating the food.
But what if we add curiosity into the mix? Rather than simply paying attention to these things, if we are genuinely curious about the food, the tastes, the textures, the feelings it creates, it may induce a more significant sense of engagement with the food… theoretically resulting in a more satisfied and satiated feeling from a smaller portion.
Next time you’re eating, why not give this a try? I’d love to hear your experiences, or what you think about this!