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Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Join Melli and Susan as they explore the theory and practice of mindful eating and the five simple steps to support this in daily life.
I'm your host Melli O'Brien.
And I'm really excited to
introduce you today to Dr.
Susan Albers.
And she is a clinical psychologist at
the Cleveland Clinic, but she's also
an internationally renowned expert
on mindful eating, which is what
we're going to be exploring today.
Susan has six books out on the topic
of mindful eating including titles,
like, just simply Eating Mindfully,
Mindful Eating 101, and many more.
So she is very, very much
the expert on the topic.
So I'm really excited, Susan, to
explore mindful eating with you today.
Thank you for sharing your time
and being part of this Summit.
Well, thank you.
The summit looks excellent and I'm so
excited to be a part of it as well.
Yeah.
So I'm really curious about your
journey to this point, because
you're really, this is really a
niche that you've found yourself in
being an expert on mindful eating.
So could you tell us a little
bit about your journey?
Why did you get so involved in this topic?
Sure.
Well, first of all, of course,
I love food like everyone else.
It's very important to me.
But growing up, it was a very
important piece of my family.
Early on my, I have an Italian
mother, so I grew up with food
being such a part of our home and
really linked with a lot of emotion,
you know, food with love and care.
My mom to this day never shows up at my
house without a bag full of groceries.
Right.
And then on my father's side, he,
his family grew up on a farm and
introduced me very early on to organic
foods and the importance of food
for both nutrients and also energy,
in powering your day working hard.
So it's been a part of my life for a
long time and then fast forwarding to
today, mindful eating in particular.
I was studying in Japan and came
across the concept of mindfulness.
And it was one of the first times
I had ever, ever heard the word
mindfulness and began learning
about how to apply that to eating.
What I found with my clinical clients
here and readers and people that I've
been working with is how much they
love the concept of mindful eating.
It's a wellness approach.
Everyone wants to eat more mindfully.
And it's something that no matter what
type of eater you are, whether you
have a special diet, your vegetarian,
your gluten-free, kosher, whatever
it is, you can use these skills of
mindfulness to be healing and nourishing.
Mmm and so there might be, there
might be many viewers watching this
who've never really heard of the
concept of mindful eating before.
This might be their first exposure.
So could you, could you explain
what mindful eating is and why
you really think it's important?
Absolutely.
And so if you haven't heard of the
concept yet, that's okay, because
we're going to learn about it today.
Mindful eating is not a diet.
So if you're somebody who's tried
dieting before, this is good news,
because probably if you hear that
word diet and you just either
shut down or you feel frustrated.
It's not about dieting and there's
really no menus or recipes.
As a psychologist, what I
focus on is the how we eat.
Oftentimes clients will come into my
office and they'll say, "You know what?
I know that a candy bar is
more unhealthy than an apple.
I know that, but what I struggle with
is making that choice in that moment.
And that's where it's really exciting,
is that we can bring mindfulness
to those decisions and it can be
incredibly helpful and transforming.
So what mindful eating is basically is
being more attentive of the how you eat.
And it sounds deceptively simple,
you know, but it takes some practice.
And what we can do today is I can
outline five different aspects
of mindful eating to get people
started to learning this process of
being more attentive when they eat.
I always say that we can eat
an entire plate of food and
not taste one single bite.
Right.
But when we bring mindfulness
to it, we enjoy it.
We savor it.
We really tune into our body
so that we're not overeating.
Because that's a trap that we often
get into, is that we're not really
tuned into our bodies to know when to
stop eating and when to start eating.
It's really, really confusing.
Yeah.
The other benefit of mindful eating is,
you know, as I said, it's not a diet.
The other benefit is that I see it being
helpful, and this is the part that just
has been amazing to me, to people all
over the spectrum in terms of their
eating, people who want to lose weight,
or just simply want to eat healthier,
make healthier choices all the way
to the other end of the spectrum in
people who really struggle with their
eating, chronic eating issues, such
as anorexia, bolemia, binge eating.
So I think that is just such an
amazing concept that it can be
helpful all the way across the board.
Yeah.
And so you said that you can, you can
break mindfulness down, the mindful
eating process down into five steps.
Five steps.
If you're somebody who wants to get
started with it, these are some simple
steps to just kind of get you going and
oriented to mindful eating, because we
have a lot of mindless eating habits.
Yeah.
You know, whether it's sitting on the
couch mindlessly popping food into our
mouth as we're watching TV or we're
sitting at our desk and snacking and
looking at our computer at the same time
and not really focused on what it is...
And before, you know, it, you put
your head back into the packet of
chips and there's nothing left and
you're like, oh, where did they go?
I know.
And that's actually when you go
for more, because we eat partly for
enjoyment and if we don't really taste
it and enjoy it, then we go for more.
You know, maybe it's eating at 12, o'clock
on the dot, whether they're hungry or not
just because or the food is just there.
I mean, that often happens as well.
So we have lots of mindless eating habits.
But mindful eating and number one,
step number one, again, sounds
very simple, is to sit down.
And these, I call these the
five S's of mindful eating.
So number one is to sit down when you eat.
Think about how often we're standing
in front of our refrigerator picking
food from the refrigerator or walking
and eating, or sitting in your
car and driving at the same time.
So my motto is always only eat off
your feet as a sort of a reminder that
you're putting your food on the plate.
And what this is going to do in terms
of mindfulness is to cut down on your
distractions and focus your attention.
So when you're sitting and you're
thinking about that practice of
sitting, it just really shifts your
attention in a much different way.
So number one is sit down.
Number two is to slowly chew.
And that's something that we probably all
have thought about at one time or another.
And here is a very basic trick that
you can use to help you to slow down.
Yeah.
And that's putting your hand, and
this may be different where you live,
but particularly the United States
it's eating with your non-dominant
hand or your opposite hand, whatever
hand that you tend to eat with.
Yeah.
And what research indicates is that
that slows you down by about 30%.
Aah, interesting.
And the reason that is, is
because it's a little bit like
writing with your opposite hand.
You can do it, but you really
have to focus in a new way.
And so it naturally slows you down.
So I would encourage
people to try that today.
My motto for this is: pace don't race.
Right.
I love that.
Don't race through your meal
which is sometimes hard.
Also I find is that, and what
research backs up, is that we tend
to mirror exactly the pace of the
people that we're eating with.
So if you have a significant other who
eats really quickly, you know, often we
do, unconsciously, we tend to mirror that.
And so we can bring mindfulness to
that practice of when you sit down,
pay attention to your own rate of
eating and then also the person
that you're with, tuning into that.
And not being judgmental as we're
using those principles of mindfulness.
No judgement, but simply noticing
and being present with that.
Yeah.
Great.
So that's step number two.
Yeah.
Number three, which we're going to
learn more about at the end when we do
our practice, is about savoring food.
And just think about how often we're just
mindlessly popping food into our mouth.
Some of my clients will call it zombie
eating, that they're eating just to eat.
That seems like the correct name for it.
Yep.
Doesn't it?
It does.
Because you don't really experience it.
And then you have that moment.
This is how you know,
you're in zombie eating.
Yeah.
Is that you have that wake up
moment where you say to yourself,
"Uh, why did I just eat that?
I just didn't really want that."
Or, "I eat too much."
Or that, sort of that realization moment.
And if we use mindfulness along the way,
we kind of avoid that wake up moment.
We're really present along the way.
So savoring is about taking mindful
bites, smelling food, tasting it,
noticing each spoonful, turning off that
TV, other distractions that are going
to impede us from really focusing in.
And what research indicates is the first
bite is actually the most flavorful
and that's because it's a new sensation
to our mouth right at that point.
And so if you can make that first
bite in mindful bite, it's actually
going to take you a long way.
So sometimes we're under the
misperception that mindful eating
has to take long periods of time.
And it doesn't.
It's just really a shift in attention
and it can be at that first bite.
So that is number three.
Oh, and my motto here is:
when you eat, just eat.
Right.
Don't do anything else.
Don't type.
Don't talk on the phone.
Don't drive.
Eat, just eat.
And that's so hard to do.
We're often eating and doing a
million different things at the same.
Yeah.
I love that.
It's so simple, but it's not really hard.
We just kind of I feel like
we're in a habit of doing it,
but it's actually really simple.
That's actually really accessible
and simple and powerful.
And often we're trying to grab
our mindful eating skills in the
moment when we're sort of in crisis
of like, Oh, I'm eating too much.
I'm really enjoying this.
I need to stop.
But if we practice in the times that are
calm and with everyday foods, I think we
can really, it becomes ingrained in us.
And I'll tell you when people become
mindful eaters, it's almost hard for
them to turn off at later times because
they're so attuned and so aware.
The next S is to simplify.
And what I mean by this is to place
healthy foods or foods that you enjoy
in places that are easy for you to see.
And what my motto or tagline
about this is that: In sight, in
mind, out of sight, out of mind.
What we know with mindfulness, of
course, is that things could kind of
be the out of our mind or in our minds.
And we strategically place our
attention in different places.
And food is one of those things
that we see all over the place.
And so where we place food is important.
And so if you're listening, one thing
you can do, if you're just trying
to eat healthier is to place foods
in a place where you'll see them.
Maybe a nice bowl of apples or
pears right on your counter.
So that when you go by, you intentionally
see them and you see the bright colors.
And not only is it a calm and
peaceful moment, but you are more
likely to eat things that are
convenient and in your sight path.
Right.
You know, often when we have a
cookie jar sitting right there on
the counter, we reach for it very
mindlessly, just because it's there.
So we can create those
mindful environments.
And even at your desk or different places.
Places that you find that you
tend to sink into mindless eating.
I would encourage people today to go home
or if they're at their office and really
be mindful, tune in to their environment
and see what is maybe triggering
mindful eating or mindless eating.
Right.
Yep.
That's a little bit reminiscent to me.
It brings to mind, you know, how a lot
of mindfulness teachers will really
emphasize, you know, being aware of the
community and the environment that you
place yourself in, just because there
are certain environments that are going
to make it more difficult and certain
environments that are really going to
lend itself to you being more mindful,
certain people, certain communities.
And it's sort of like your community
of food that you put around you, you
know, can be helpful or it can be
more challenging for your practice.
Yeah.
Exactly.
And our environment does matter.
If it's cluttered, sometimes you walk
into a place and you just automatically,
even unconsciously, feel overwhelmed.
So making that mindful
environment is important.
And the last S is to smile.
Oh, that's one of my favorites.
And it's to smile between each bite.
And I kind of like to think of
it as sort of the Buddha's smile.
You know, creating a little
smile between each bite.
And what that does is it gives you
that pause moment or that mindful
moment between the next bite to say,
"Is this something that I really want?
Am I full?"
That moment to tune in for just a moment.
Also smile, as we know, creates
those positive feel-good
chemicals in our brains.
And so that helps as well.
But mostly it helps us to take that pause.
And my tagline is:Take a
breath to manage stress.
Right.
Too often, we are stress eating and
mindlessly eating because of our
physiology and how we're feeling,
so smiling and taking that breath
before the next bite can help.
Yeah.
Right.
I love this.
This is so simple and practical.
Yeah, I love that.
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I'm sure that's very, very handy practical
stuff for our viewers and for me.
Yes, if you want this, I have
this outlined on a handout.
And if this is something that people want,
they can email me or go to my website
and it's all sort of outlined for them.
So they can hang this on the refrigerator.
And have it really handy and a great
reminder of the these five steps.
Great.
Well, I will link to that underneath
this video so people can just click right
through to it, so to make it super easy.
So I really, I'm curious also
about this topic of comfort eating
because you have a book, don't
you called, Quit Comfort Eating.
So could you define, could you
define exactly what comfort
eating is and why we do it?
Sure.
Yes.
And it's interesting because
in the UK and in Australia, it
is called quick comfort eating.
In the United States it's called Eat
Q, which is emotional intelligence
to help with comforting eating.
But same book, just to clarify that.
Yeah.
But comfort eating is the eating that
we do to help to manage our emotions.
So when we're feeling stressed or anxious
or overwhelmed, and also this is a
myth that it is just negative feelings,
but also positive feelings, encourage
us to eat, to regulate our feelings.
Okay.
And again, that's where the mindfulness
is helpful because it's a different
strategy for regulating your feelings.
Instead of stuffing down your feelings
with food or pushing them away or escaping
our feelings, we can bring mindfulness as
a calming and soothing and replace that.
My new book that's coming up, 50
More Ways to Soothe Yourself Without
Food, it comes out in December.
It uses many of these mindfulness
concepts to replace comfort eating
with things that, with strategies that
are healthier, long-term, ongoing.
And the nice thing about
mindfulness, it's free.
Yeah.
You know, it's not fancy.
You know, it doesn't cost a lot.
You can bring it with you anywhere.
And so could you give us, could you
maybe give us a few of those tips on
how we can skillfully, more skillfully
handle those moments of, you know,
when we want to reach for the, you
know, the sugar or the caffeine or the
alcohol or whatever it is, what are
some of those ways that we can do that?
Well, there are so many.
There are so many ways.
Many of the strategies have
used, as I said, use mindfulness.
So they, it outlines in different steps of
how to bring your mind back to the moment.
So if you're worrying about what you've
eaten in the past or about the future,
to bring your mind back to the moment.
There's other techniques
like self massage.
So taking a tennis ball, putting it under
your foot or behind your back against a
wall to calm and soothe down your body.
There's also some yoga moves and
Tai Chi that are very simple.
And also some chair yoga that you can
do in your chair if you're kind of stuck
in your office, instead of going to
the vending machine down the hallway.
And also things like tea
can be very soothing.
There's lots of different,
certain different types of tea
are more soothing than others.
So in this book, there's just a
plethora of different ideas that,
and walks people through them.
But my main goal when I created it was
to make sure that it was things that were
anybody could obtain, didn't cost really
any money, and were based in mindfulness.
Do you have a favorite?
Do you have a favorite or most
popular thing that you see just
seems to work for a lot of people?
What do you do?
What do you do when the moment
of craving comes to you?
You know, these days, you know,
cause I'm sure it still comes.
You're still in a human body.
It does.
You know, it comes, but it's interesting
that I no longer find food soothing.
It has been rewired for me that
my automatic go-to is now tea.
Like I have this certain
vanilla tea that I love, love.
And so it almost becomes rewarding
and it's almost something I crave now.
Food, it doesn't.
Comfort eating just doesn't sort
of work for me anymore, thankfully.
Yeah.
Also use mindfulness, here's
my favorite one that is so, so
super simple, is I think about
what's called a squeegee breath.
The squeegee breath.
And you think about a window
washer and that squeegee that
squeezes the water down and out.
And so when I take a breath, I imagine
that squeegee starting at the top of my
head and taking that breath and it just
pushing all of that sort of negative
energy down and that stress, in, out.
So that one is really simple that
people can try and do right now.
I also, the second one that I liked that
these is very easy and I talk about my
book, 50 More Ways to Soothe Yourself
Without Food is about the concept of sit.
And when there's, when you have any,
you have probably heard this metaphor
before, when we think about a new,
if you have a new puppy at home,
oftentimes they have that mind of, you
know, the puppy's all over the place.
I have a new puppy, his name is
Max and he's all over the place.
He'lll hear a noise over
here and then go over here.
And it's very much like our minds.
Our minds are like that bouncy puppy
going from one thing to another.
But you teach a puppy how
to sit, that command of sit.
And so sometimes I'll use that
with my own mind if it's all over
the place, thinking about what I'm
going to make for dinner and clients
and meetings and things like that.
I'll use that same command and say, sit.
And this sort of brings my mind
back to the center for a moment.
And then it will go on.
Ah, interesting.
Is there anything else that you'd
like to tell us about mindful eating
before we move into a practice?
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, I have two different foods
that I want to share with you that
I think illustrate kind of nicely
the simplicity of mindful eating
and are great snacks as well.
Okay.
So this one right here is a pistachio.
This is one of my very favorite
snacks for mindful eating and in part,
because it's got great nutrients in it.
But again, you know, I'm more focused on
the how we eat versus what we're eating.
But what I love about this and what's
called the pistachio effect is that,
and what the pistachio effect is,
is that simple changes can make
a big difference to your eating.
And so a particular researcher in
the Journal of Appetite looked at
pistachios and they investigated
either shelled pistachios that had
already been de-shelled or people
who had been given in the shell.
And what they found was that
people ate significantly less when
they were actually in the shell.
And how that relates to mindfulness
is think about how you open
this, the shell, you have to
sort of slow down and open it up.
You look at it and you hear
the crackle of an opening.
Significantly slows you down.
Instead of mindlessly scooping up the
nuts and putting them in your mouth.
The second part how it's helpful is
that it creates this little pile,
this visual pile in front of you, sort
of a gauge of how many did you eat.
When you're just scooping
them out, you have no idea.
Yeah.
You have no idea.
So it's something to think about in
terms of when you're choosing foods.
You can use that same principle for if
you have a snack of saving the wrapper and
keeping it on your desk, because we have
terrible memories when it comes to food.
We're really not paying attention
to what it is we're eating
and just mindless eating.
So, and I love pistachios too, because
they're great for managing stress, they're
great to help regulate your blood sugar.
But also, as I said, \you can
eat them in a mindful way.
Yep.
The second one, of course, is in,
this is actually a very large.
This is a Mandarin orange, but this is
like the largest one I've ever seen.
And what I love about them is that
you can create this meditative moment
with unpeeling the orange, you know.
And here I have a slice.
I love how they're perfectly portioned.
So you can close your eyes if
you're feeling stressed and take
one of these, you know, smell it.
The citrus smell is naturally
calming, according to research.
Interesting.
And it has about 80 calories.
So it's a low calorie snack.
It's sweet.
So you can really savor it.
I mean, you can really get
into it and it will only take
you a minute or two to eat it.
So it's something that will be very quick.
But you can bring that
mindfulness to that snack.
So if you're a stress eater, it's
the perfect, perfect snack for you.
Great.
So if maybe, if we're going to lead
now into a practice, maybe we'll just
give this moment right now if anyone
wants to pause the video and to go and
get something, you can do that now.
And then otherwise, I'm all ready to go.
I am really excited about this
practice because it's 6:30 AM in
Byron Bay, Australia, and I get to eat
chocolate first thing in the morning.
That's fantastic.
In fact, I'm going to reach for
my chocolate because I keep mine
in terms of that S of simplify,
I keep mine across the room.
In a closed cabinet?
In a closed cabinet so that it
does not in sight my cravings.
I will be back in a moment.
Okay?
Okay.
What do you have there?
I have a dark piece of chocolate.
Wow.
And I chose chocolate intentionally.
If you've ever done a mindful
eating exercise, my guess is,
is that you've used raisins.
Have you used raisins?
Many a raisin have I eaten mindfully.
I bet.
I choose chocolate very intentionally
because chocolate is one of
those foods that we have so
many conflicted feelings about.
We love and crave it, yet we
often feel guilty about it.
And almost never, we wake up
in the morning and say, okay,
Ino raisins for me today.
No raisins, but chocolate!
We kind of say that to ourselves.
So I like that you can practice
with a food that you love and crave.
And in fact, I would encourage that
because that's exactly what we need.
To eat the foods that we
love, but in a mindful way.
We can do that with chocolate.
And so I have chocolate today, but
you can use whatever food you want.
And as people, you know, left for a
moment and got food, they can choose
whatever is meaningful to them.
Also, if this creates too much
anxiety for you, as you're, as you're
watching, you can use your imagination.
You don't have to use an actual food.
You can actually start with that of just
imagining a food like chocolate that you
love and walk through it in that way.
Okay?
All right.
So if you're holding your piece of
chocolate, please put it in your hands.
And you can close your eyes
if you want to, or not.
And what we're going to do is
start with feeling the weight
of the chocolate in your hands.
Just noticing how it feels to you.
Does it feel heavy?
Does it feel light?
And just sit with that for a moment
of how it feels sitting in your hands.
Let's take that with just
a little glance at it.
And look at the piece of chocolate
or the piece of food in your
hand and describe it to yourself.
What does it look like?
Notice the color.
Notice the shape.
Most importantly, notice any
thoughts or feelings or emotions
that pop up into your mind.
And just sit with them.
Don't judge them.
Just notice whatever may be floating
into your mind about this food.
If you're holding chocolate, it
may be a craving or thought like,
I want that, or maybe a guilty
thought or even a memory of the past.
But whatever it is, just
sit with it, hold it.
And, and for me, I have a piece
of chocolate that's wrapped.
So what I'm going to do is listen to
the sound of opening up this chocolate
and just really tune into that.
Next, bring your piece of food
or chocolate up to your nose
and take a nice deep breath.
And just inhale.
Three nice deep breaths.
And as your inhaling, again
notice any thoughts or feelings
or memories that may come to mind.
We're just going to hold that and
sit with that for just a moment.
And when you're ready, place the
piece of chocolate into your mouth.
Mine is a very big one.
I'll have to chew some.
You can chew it.
And notice as you bite
into it, I heard that...
Mmmm.
Yes.
So whatever sound your
food make, tune into it.
If you're eating a pretzel, the crunch.
How it sounds as you begin to chew.
And here you have that first
bite, that first taste.
Describe it to yourself.
Do you like it?
Do you not like it?
Do you, what flavors are
happening in your mouth?
Maybe there's some intensity
to that piece of chocolate.
Or smoothness or richness.
We're just going to give you moment
to be quiet with that and notice
everything that is happening.
It's likely to take a different
form or changing texture as you're
rolling it around in your mouth.
And as you're ready, when you're
ready to swallow, follow it to the
back of your mouth and imagine it
traveling down into your stomach.
And when you're ready,
you can open your eyes.
Mmm.
Tell me, what is your,
what was your reaction?
I know you've done mindful
eating exercises before.
And I actually call this the mindful
bite instead of a mindful eating
exercise, because it's shortened
it for obviously for time purposes.
So it's kind of the mindful bite.
Well, Yeah, I have to say, you
know, I have here, you know,
a piece of Lindt chocolate.
And, you know, as I was holding
it, I realized, you know,
it's like a piece of art.
The way that they make this
chocolate, it's just...
like it has these lines and these
pattens and I was just going, wow.
I just, I don't think I ever
realized how much effort.
You know, these are made by Swiss people.
There's just all these
beautiful, delicate detail.
And I was like, wow, it's like a
little work of art that I'm eating.
How beautiful.
It's been interesting as I do
this exercise with different
people, how opinionated people
become about their chocolate.
I'll experiment with it.
I'll bring different types, you
know, very fine pieces of chocolate
or what I would call sort of more
mass produced and what comes up
for people in terms of their taste.
And sometimes they're surprised that, you
know, they thought they didn't like dark
chocolate and they fall in love with it.
Right.
Or, you know, I bring a piece of, at
sometime I bring two pieces of chocolate,
a fine piece and a more, a cheaper piece.
And it's interesting how people will
say, gosh, I wasn't aware when I started
to savor and taste it, the difference
between these two types of chocolate.
And made them real fans of, you
know, buying quality chocolate.
Yeah.
And I, you know, the other thing that
I, that I often talk to people about
when they ask me what, you know, what
kinds of things has mindfulness sort
of, how has that unfolded in your life?
And actually the very first thing that
I noticed, the very first switch in
my life was that I stopped overeating.
And I didn't realize that
I was doing it at the time.
It was something that I
reflected on months afterwards.
I was like, oh, I don't overeat anymore.
And I think it was because, and I felt it
just then again, even with the tiniest bit
of food, it's the awareness of satiation.
Doesn't actually, even the smallest, one
raisin sometimes when you do those raisin
activities, you're like that actually
made a difference in how satiated I feel.
Yeah.
Definitely.
Often times people are thinking about
the next piece of chocolate before
they finished the one that they have.
And when you turn mindfulness
on, you're really finishing this
entire piece and noticing that.
I think you said that beautifully,
that people are often surprised that
it helps them to stop overeating.
They think, okay, I've got
a diet, I have to be strict.
And it just kind of
naturally happens over time.
It's not painful.
But often people lose weight
kind of unknowingly because
they become more mindful.
I've also noticed that when people are
learning mindful eating skills that they
come back and they say, you know what?
I kind of noticed that I was more mindful
in general, as I started practicing
mindful eating in - my relationships,
at work - that it's almost like there's
a ripple effect across the board.
So that's another benefit.
If you want to start practicing
mindful eating, you're going to
notice all kinds of benefits in
your life, all over the place.
Is there anything else you'd
like to share before we close?
Well, I again want to thank you and
tell people that if they want to
learn more about kind of these basics
of mindful eating, my goal is to
make it really simple and accessible
to people and in practical ways.
I know they're busy.
I know that they're stressed out and
they don't have a lot of resources.
So everything I do is tailored to
bringing mindfulness to eating in
a way that is easy and practical.
So they can learn more about it on my
website, which is EatingMindfully.com.
Yep.
And as you said, I have six
books, all about mindful eating.
They're all about mindful eating,
so they can give you some really
hands-on strategies as well.
Great.
And I'm going to link to your website
under here and provide, you know,
make it really easy for people
to go and explore some more about
mindful eating, because it's such
a, you know what, it's such a joy.
You know, eating is such a
joyful thing that we get to do.
And like you said, because we
do it so often, you intersperse
these really wonderful moments of
mindfulness throughout the day.
So it's just a really practical way
to start being mindful without really
changing anything much in your life.
You know, if you don't want to
start a meditation practice, you
can just savor your food and enjoy
it more and reap the benefits.
Absolutely.
I totally agree with that.
It's something that we do.
We eat at least three times a day
and it gives us at least three
opportunities to be mindful.
Yeah.
And I just have one last question to
ask you, which is the, it's the same
question that I'm asking every single
person that takes part in the Summit.
And you know, it's, so it's been
said that mindfulness has the
capacity to change the world from
the inside out, one person at a time.
And so my question to you is, you
know, if mindfulness were to truly go
mainstream, I'm talking, you know, it
hit critical mass in the population.
How do you think that would change things?
What kind of a world could that create?
I like the sound of that.
I'm voting for that.
I think the world would be so much
calmer and that we would experience
an environment that would be, people,
I, you know, I think one of the
benefits is that with mindfulness,
you respond instead of react.
So if we were able to be a society
across the board that tuned in,
thought about our feelings and slowed
down and responded to what was going
on in the inside, instead of that
knee jerk, automatic reaction, wow.
It would be such a different place.
And in regards to food, the same thing.
We have so many knee jerk
reactions and habits around food.
I think that we would be making
decisions in a calm way around
food instead of in a stressful way.
Yeah.
Beautiful.
Thank you so much, Susan.
I really appreciate you taking the time
out for the Summit and I wish you all
the best in your continued journey.
You too.
And remember to eat, drink and be mindful.
Will do.
Thanks for tuning in and
we'll see you next time.
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The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
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- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
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So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
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Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
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Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
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I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
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- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
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Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
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