Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Do You Get Less Than a Half Hour of Exercise or Physical Activity Each Day?

Chef Sati Invites You to Dinner Chef Sati—a chef and Buddhist teacher—invited us to dinner to introduce us to the art of mindful cooking and eating. He promised that his dishes would enlighten our senses and that the evening would simply be an opportunity to touch the joy of life, but we would all have to take an active part in the meal. He placed

In all the practice centers in the tradition of Plum Village (Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery in France), whenever the phone rings or the clock chimes in the dining hall, people stop everything they are doing and breathe

May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit. May I be safe and free from injury. May I be free from anger, afflictions, fear, and anxiety. May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love. May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself. May I learn to identify and see the sources of ang

When practiced to its fullest, mindful eating turns a simple meal into a spiritual experience, giving us a deep appreciation of all that went into the meal’s creation as well a deep understanding of the relationship between the food on our table, our own health, and our planet’s health.

The Five Contemplations 1. This food is the gift of the whole universe: the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard, loving work. 2. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it. 3. May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation. 4.

The Buddha teaches that change requires insight, and insight cannot begin until we stop and focus our attention on what is happening right in front of us. This stopping, or shamatha, allows us to rest the body and the mind.

Practicing mindfulness can help us avoid the external cues that trap us, avoid mindless eating, and focus in on the practices that keep us healthy.

If you are eating with others, steer mealtime conversations toward the food: acknowledge the local farmer who grew your lettuce and tomatoes, thank the person who prepared the salad; or talk about other topics that help nourish your gratitude and connection to your food and each other. Refrain from hashing over work or the latest atrocities in the