Today’s New York Times article by Jeff Gordinier entitled, “Mindful Eating As Food For Thought” brought to mind an experience I had a few years ago, when I used Feng Shui to help me lose weight.
Like many aspects of Feng Shui, Mindful Eating essentially means slowing down.
A beautifully-set dinner table.
According to the article,
“For many people, eating fast means eating more. Mindful eating is meant to nudge us beyond what we’re craving so that we wake up to why we’re craving it, and what factors might be stoking the habit of belly-stuffing.”
The article goes on to describe a Buddhist congregation in upstate NY, mindfully eating lunch:
The group “spent the lunch hour contemplating the enjoyment of spice, crunch, saltiness, warmth, tenderness and like-minded company.”
This is where Feng Shui — specifically Five Elements theory — comes in.
Each element is associated with one of our five senses:
- Wood with your sense of sight,
- Fire with your sense of touch,
- Earth with your sense of taste,
- Metal with your sense of smell,
- and Water with your sense of hearing.
(For more on this aspect of Feng Shui’s Five Elements, check out my article, The Garden of the Five Senses.)
When you bring all of your senses into the act of eating, you slow yourself down, enjoy your food more, and stop eating when you feel yourself becoming full.
I have no doubt that using the Five Elements helped me successfully take off those stubborn pounds a few years ago.
Here’s how Feng Shui can help you become a more mindful eater:
- Look attentively at whatever you’re eating, enjoying its colors and shapes.
- Feel the texture of your food as you hold it in your hands, and as it comes into your mouth.
- Breathe in through your nose, enjoying the wonderful smells of good food.
- As you enjoy your meal, listen for the sounds of eating: your fork on the plate, the crunch of a salad…
- And of course, appreciate the flavors as you taste your food!
For best results, turn off the TV and your computer while you eat 
P.S., here’s another article about losing weight with Feng Shui.
(Photo courtesy of Freshome.com)
