Mindful Holiday Eating

The holiday season is upon us! A common tradition to celebrate includes feasting on rich foods and decadent sweets.  What a perfect opportunity to really enjoy this abundance!

Here is a quick reference for using mindfulness to make your holiday dinner a unique experience and not just a delicious meal.  

Mindful Eating Exercise

1. gratitude.  Look at everything in front of you.  Acknowledge your abundance. (Where did it come from? How long did it take to prepare?  Who prepared this meal? How much money was spent to share such a bountiful meal?) Take a moment to be truly and genuinely grateful for all of it.

2. less is more.  Do not fill your plate.  If you take heaping portions you may be eating to get full, when you really only need to eat until you no longer feel hungry.  Try the different foods and get more of those things you really like if you are still hungry.

3. slow down.  Spend more time chewing, smelling, tasting, and talking with those around you.  Get the most out of this special feast by making it last.

4. breathe.  It may sound silly to add this step, but it is pretty common to get so caught up in the  excitement of the holiday that you forget to really take those deep, satisfying breaths.  Take a few moments during the meal to take a nice slow deep belly breath with a slow peaceful exhalation.  Your digestion will be better and your body will be more relaxed.

5.  savor.  How does it smell? Is that a hint of cinnamon? When is the last time you enjoyed this food? Enjoy the taste, smell, and texture for as long as possible.  

Happy Holidays!

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: Dr. Richard Davidson in Milwaukee

Dr. Richard Davidson:

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Can Change Them

On December 2, 2014, Dr. Richard Davidson spoke in Milwaukee at the Congregation Sinai to explain the work he does at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds located at the University of Wisconsin Madison.  Dr. Davidson is a world-renowned neuroscientist who wrote the book, "The Emotional Life of Your Brain" and has famously been challenged by the Dalai Lama to scientifically study meditation.  He has since been named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world!  Mke MindBody Wellness attended and have this important message to share:

"Why is it that people respond so differently to adversity?"  

 In 1992, Dr. Davidson was requested by the Dalai Llama to meet.  At this meeting, the Dalai Llama asked why if we can study anxiety, depression, and fear can we not study happiness, kindness, and compassion? At this meeting, Dr. Davidson was asked to do serious neurological research of meditation.  The study of kindness and compassion could then be able to show the world the science of wellbeing.    

The four themes that relate to this research include:

Neuroplasticity: How the brain changes in response to experiences. It has been shown with research that we can intentionally shape the mind.  It used to be believed that the brain stops growing- but this is FALSE! Our brains are continuously developing with new cells and it has been shown that stress will impair this brain cell growth!

Epigenetics: The science of how genes are regulated by external exposure (emotions, environment, etc.).  The effect of these external factors influences the extent at which genes present.  Having genes is not a guarantee that they will express and lifestyle and external exposures are a heavy influence on which genes will present or remain dormant. 

Massive bi-directional pathways in the brain: A brain is a fully integrated system and these pathways show how the brain mind and body influence one another. Example: Dr. Davidson took part in a study that tested the efficacy of the flu shot for immunity compared to meditation.  After several weeks of meditation, half of the group was given a flu shot and the other was not.  At the end of the trial, the group who did not receive the flu shot had higher rates of immunity with continued meditation.

Innate basic goodness:  Admittedly not an easy trait to study, but none-the-less an important feature in our human brains.  With studies showing infants preferring generous and compassionate behavior to selfishness, our basic emotion from the start is altruism. 

The goal of all of this research is to show that it is possible to become more familiar with the fundamental nature of our mind.  Wellbeing is a skill that can be improved with practice.  The most important thing to remember from all of this is that recognizing awareness takes practice and it is possible to pay better attention to your sense of wellbeing and improve it with meditation and mindfulness practices.

Integrative Health Coach Kerri Weishoff with Dr. Richard Davidson

We are grateful to Dr. Davidson for his visit and his dedication to making our world a better place! 

For more information about Dr. Davidson and to buy his book:

http://richardjdavidson.com/books/

Simple Daily Meditation: Thank You Thich Nhat Hanh

Meditation continues to be recognized by our western culture as an important practice for better health.  It does not mean that you must join a mediation center or dedicate thirty minutes per day to breath and try to clear your mind… That is an overwhelming prospect for most of us! Daily meditation can be as simple as taking time to breathe while repeating positive words that remind you to calm down and be aware of your body.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. 

His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world. (http://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/)

Thich Naht Hanh has played a pivotal role in sharing mindfulness practices and mediation to western culture, and he is currently in critical condition after suffering a brain hemorrhage.  To honor his compassionate gifts to the world, we share with you some of the meditations he recommends for daily practice.

• You may take three steps while breathing in and say “Breathing in, I calm my body” and then with the following three steps “Breathing out, I relax.” You can then shorten this to saying “calm” as you breathe in, and “relax” as you breathe out.  

• “Breathing in, I have arrived, breathing out, I am home.” Then shorten too “Breathing in, arrived, breathing out, home.” Have you ever had the experience where you were rushing home to relax. It doesn’t make sense and isn’t effective is calming the nervous system. Sometimes reminding ourselves that we have arrived to the present moment already and that we are home can help calm an anxious mind. We can then slow down and get home a few minutes later in a more collected and relaxed state.

• “Breathing in, I notice the colors all around me, breathing out, I smile.” Then shorten to “Breathing in, colors, breathing out, smile.” Even if we don’t feel like smiling, the simple act of doing a half-smile sometimes can change the tension in our faces, which in turn affects our mood.

Take the time to experience mindfulness mediation.  Even a few minutes a day can change the way your body and mind cope with stress.  Thank you Thich Nhat Hanh for dedicating your life to  promoting peace, sharing love, and encouraging kindness.  

Daily Gratitudes for Better Bedtimes

One of the mindfulness practices we use at mke MindBody wellness is the acknowledgement of gratitude.  Living in a fast-paced culture, it can be very easy to lose control of our stress and spiral into a mental loop of worry, analysis, frustration, and fear. At all ages, we are faced with stress and expectations placed on ourselves or by others that can make life feel overwhelming. Getting lost in stress robs your mind and body of the pleasure of accomplishment and gratitude.  Sometimes it really is simple: What am I grateful for? There has been a beautiful trend happening on Facebook that challenges individuals to list 3 things they are grateful for everyday for 5 days.  Each day, like a chain letter, the individual must nominate 3 more people to do the same.  We all get to reap the joy of this shift in perspective!  

So I encourage everyone- my children included- to spend the last moments of the day lying in bed and thinking of the 5 gratitudes of the day.  If your mind wants to wonder back into the worry and fear that usually dictates this time of day, try your best to breathe deeply and continue to find things to be grateful for- even if its the sun shining, the roof over your head, or the ability to cherish the time you have with loved ones.  I promise you will find at least 5 gratitudes and feel better for it.

For more on fostering gratitude (not only for kids- these techniques are useful for everyone):

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_to_foster_gratitude_in_kids

http://kidsforgratitude.org

http://phippsscienceeducation.org/2014/01/14/cultivating-attitudes-of-gratitude-teaching-thankfulness-through-nature/

HOW does acupuncture relieve anxiety?

It has long been known to practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine that acupuncture is effective in treating the symptoms of anxiety and stress.  What has been difficult for our western culture to grasp is exactly HOW this is possible.  

Researchers were able to measure biological mechanisms involving an assortment of hormones that the body secretes into the bloodstream as a reaction to stress.  In this controlled study of rats, they assessed blood hormone levels secreted by the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland -- together these are known as the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. They also measured a peptide involved in "fight or flight" responses, called NPY. 

 "The researchers discovered that stress hormones were lower in rats that had received electronic acupuncture. Results were published in the Journal of Endocrinology."

For full article: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/16/acupuncture-could-help-prevent-stress_n_2883996.html