Nutrition and Yoga: An article co-written by Dawn Hart and Leah Seamark, Dietitian

Yoga is not only physical postures on your mat. It is about the choices you make in your life, how you treat others and yourself. This includes the food you eat and how you eat it. I teach Hatha Yoga which on the mat is slow mindful movement. When we apply this approach to how we eat, slow, mindful eating can positively impact our body, and it can also be used as an effective mindfulness tool in every day life.

Ideally we would always eat without the distraction of screens. We would be sat comfortably, and upright, which can aid digestion. We would allow our brain time to pay attention to the various sensations experienced from the food we are eating, including sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. By being mindful of these sensations, the rate at which we eat slows down. This gives our brain time to recognise the chemical signals that tell us when we are full. We would chew our food slowly, not rushing to swallow our food so we can speak, but instead pausing and taking the time to digest the various sensations, as well as the food.

For many reasons very few of us (including me!) do all of this every time we eat. Nutritious snacks and healthy meals are a huge positive step but if we grab them on the run or check our phones while we eat, we only get part of the potential benefits from our food. Slowing down the process of eating, allows us to breath more efficiently, calms the nervous systems, and prepares the gut for incoming food, which can optimise digestion. We are more likely to reduce the risk of indigestion and bloating, as well as prevent overeating, which can positively impact our health.

It’s not just physical benefits that we gain from eating more mindfully. The exercise below is a meditation exercise. It gives us an anchor, just for a couple of minutes, allowing our brains to switch off the ‘busy’ and focus on just one thing.

Mindful eating exercise:

• Chose a food that you enjoy, something that can be easily picked up with your fingers; a nut, dried fruit or chunk of chocolate work well
• Place a small amount that will comfortably fit in your mouth in front of you
• Now study it for 30 seconds or so, notice the shape, colours, textures
• Reach forward slowly and pick up the food, feel the texture and weight, take around 30 seconds to study it again in your hand
• Now bring the food closer so you can smell it, take few seconds to process what you notice, if there is no smell, just notice that
• Then place it in your mouth. Let the food rest on your tongue with your mouth gently closed. Feel the weight and shape maybe you sense taste or smell.
• After a minute or so begin to chew slowly. Don’t make it awkward just slow it down enough to feel the movement in your jaw, there may be sound as you chew, salivation in your mouth. Noice the urge to swallow and when you do swallow see if you can follow the food down your throat into your stomach.

Now reflect: what did you notice, was anything a surprise? If you did loose focus where did your mind take you?

I’m not suggesting you eat all your meals in this way, unless you really don’t have anything else to do or don’t mind letting your food go cold! But you can use it regularly to remind yourself to apply some slowness to your eating and perhaps other parts of your life.

For more nutrition and yoga information, contact Leah at www.leahseamarkdiet.co.uk