IDEA! Mindful Munching...

Lots of people have read about the 'mindful eating' exercise where you mindfully eat a raisin. (I will write about this exercise in the near future for anyone who cares to try :) Basically you really focus on texture, smell, taste - really noticing everything about it as if you've NEVER seen or eaten one before

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This week I decided to try 'mindful munching' with the children. At snack time before we all start eating I ask them to choose one thing they would like to start with. I ask them to look really closely at it and just call out any words that come to mind. We roll it in between our fingers a little, smell it with each side of our nose, touch our lips with it, let in rest in our mouth before chewing. All the while I throw little questions out there to get them thinking such as 'Does it look bumpy, shiny or smooth?' 'What shapes can you see?' , 'Does it smell stronger in one side of your nose? etc.

I really did hear amazing language when we chatted about this (while they chomped down un-mindfully on the rest on their lunch :) The children described their food and their senses in such detail.

The whole point of this is to begin to practise mindfulness. Training your mind to come back to the present when it starts to wander. Activities such as this build up our awareness, enabling us to live mindfully, fully experiencing life and be alive in the moment - starting with just one little bite at a time!