YogTaara

1. Mindful eating

The food we eat nourishes us in more ways than we imagine. Our physical body not just absorbs the micro and macro nutrients, but the inherent energy of the food we consume also affects the more subtle aspects. Not just what we matters, how we eat, where we eat, the cleanliness of the environment, the person who has cooked the food, all these aspects go into how much the food nourishes us.

Eating is a basic human need and practicing mindfulness while eating is one of the easiest way to incorporate being aware in our day to day lives. Here we will explore a simple exercise to embrace mindfulness while eating.

Select a meal time – breakfast, lunch, dinner or simply a snack. Set your plate and pick a clean place to eat in peace. For this exercise, avoid eating while watching television, listening to music or chatting with friends and family. If you are eating with family, eat quietly with your focus on the food.

• Step 1 – Look at the food. Notice the colours. Understand every item on your plate.
• Step 2 – Pick a piece and observe / feel the texture. Is it soft? Is it hard? Is it grainy? How does it feel against your skin?
• Step 3 – Smell the food item you just picked and allow yourself to truly absorb the smell of the food.
• Step 4 – Put it in your mouth and start to chew. Notice the taste of the food when you put it in your mouth and notice how it changes through the chewing.
• Step 5 – Combining all the 4 steps above, mindfully eat. Look at the food, smell it, chew it, taste it. Try to chew every morsel 32 times.

Enjoy your meal and observe what a gourmet experience this is.

2. Mindful walking

Whether at home or at work, we are always required to walk from one place to another. Thus, walking becomes yet another simple way to include mindfulness and awareness in our daily routine.

It is as simple as it can get. Whenever walking, practice the following –

• Count the number of steps you take.
• Observe the right foot stepping forward, observe how the heel makes an impact on the floor first, followed by the foot mounts and toes.
• See how the left foot follows.
• Try walking barefoot to feel the texture, temperature and the terrain of the ground you are walking on.

If at some occasion you are unable to walk yet want to practice mindfulness, firmly place your bare feet on the ground and establish a connect with Mother Earth. Feel the touch of the ground against your feet and soak in this connect.

3. Mindful breathing

Breath is our life force, yet it is the most involuntary process. Take a step back and reflect on how many minutes a day we breathe consciously. For this exercise, you require no set up and no external help.
Sit comfortably or lie down on the back and breathe.

• Very slowly bring your awareness to your breath.
• Observe how each inhale feels on the tip of the nose. The temperature and the touch of the air on your skin.
• Trace the path of the breath through the respiratory tract
• Observe the exhale. The difference in temperature of the breath and how it comes out of the nose.
  This is the simplest mindfulness activity one can practice everyday.

Everyday we eat, everyday we walk and everyday we breathe. These are the basic mindfulness exercises one can include in the daily routine. They form a great foundation for you to begin your mindfulness journey.