Just Eat

Food is nurturance. To be able to digest and assimilate nutrients from our food, it is best to be present to the experience. If our attention is taken away from the sensory experience of appreciating our food, we miss out on the comfort and pleasure that eating can offer to us. Make a date with yourself and try just eating rather than eating while doing something else at the same time: reading, scrolling the cell phone, watching TV or driving. Just eating lets you notice when the first sense of fullness of your stomach arrives, so you don’t eat more than you need to feel satisfied in the moment. Yoga suggests letting the stomach have a third solids, a third liquids and a third of remaining space. Try it. You may be surprised at how enjoyable it feels to just eat.

 

You Are Made of Food
We literally are what we eat as our food and water provide the constituents for the life cycle of our cells. We are constantly changing on a cellular level. It can shift our perspective on what we eat and drink when we pause to askourselves if we really want our next round of tissues to be made of this? If your hair lacks luster, your skin does not appear bright and your tongue is not pink and smooth, consider the perspective of Yoga that teaches your body is a covering made of food.

Feel Your Feet

It seems such a simple thing to feel your feet as you move, but we rarely pay attention. As bipedal creatures our feet are the contact point with the Earth. Paying attention to the way your feet and the ground interact as you move, is a convenient way to become immediately more present. Newton’s law of every action has an equal and opposite reaction is a reminder that the Earth is pushing back up through each foot with every step. This ground force travels up the foot through the bones of each leg into the pelvis, to meet at the sacrum, strengthening your bones along the way. Learn to feel the ever-present support of Mother Earth.

Stand!

We sit too much in the West. Prolonged sitting stagnates circulation and breath and overloads the lumbar spine. If you are a TV watcher, consider making it a practice to stand up and take deep breaths through the commercial breaks. In your home or work office, create a standing work area. Height adjustable computer stations are becoming more widely available. Set an alarm on your phone or kitchen timer to remind you to change your posture every 20 -30 minutes. It feels good!

Soften Your Jaw

Our fight or flight stress response includes readiness to bite, if needed. Many of us hold this readiness as tension in the face or throat. In a relaxed position, your teeth should not touch, but the lips should gently rest together. Notice what position your jaw is in frequently through your day.

Muscles of the temple and those attaching the cheekbone to the lower jaw, close the mouth. When we clench or grind the teeth, theses muscles pull hard on the bony plates of the skull and compress the delicate jaw joint. This can create headaches, stuffy ears and a stiff or sore joint. Massage your face, temples and scalp whenever you shower. If you find sore spots, it is likely you are holding tension in your jaw.

Muscles in throat and under the jawline open the mouth and thrust the tongue. Habits of pressing the tongue into the floor or roof of the mouth or back of the teeth can make the throat feel tight, like there is pressure on your Adam’s apple. Teach your tongue to rest lightly on the large ridge of gum behind your top teeth.

Softening your jaw provides feedback to your nervous system that all is well.