Mindful Eating in 10 Seconds or Less

During the Mindful & Resilient Nurse program, we do an extended mindful eating exercise with a small piece of food (piece of chocolate, raisin, etc.). This exercise takes about 10 minutes. It is a very insightful lesson but not very practical for our day-to-day lives. Recently I visited one of my favorite places for health and wellness – Miraval.

During one of the classes the instructor, Sami Blumenthal, provided a great mindful eating exercise that takes less than 10 seconds which I like to call “3, 2, 1 Gratitude.”

The practice is simple, quick and effective. When your food is presented to you (whether that be you sitting at your kitchen table with your plate in front of you, the food being placed on the table by the waiter at your favorite restaurant or you cracking open a fresh bag of chips, pause and then…

3 – Look at your food and notice 3 things about it (colors, shapes, textures, etc.)

2 – With eyes open or closed notice two things you hear at the moment

1 – Take a deep breath in through your nose and notice one thing you smell from that meal

Finally, quietly in your mind express a bit of gratitude for whatever feels right at the time (the people you are sharing your meal with, all the things that had to happen for that food to be there in front of you, or simply for the meal itself).

This short exercise can help us be more present and aware throughout our day.

Pass It On

If you know of a nursing student or faculty member who could benefit from these self-care and resiliency building tips, please forward this on to them so they can sign up here for the free Mindful and Resilient Nurse monthly tip.

Want to Learn More?

If you found this tip valuable and are looking for further options to build your resilience, or that of your nurses or nursing students, please consider our Mindful and Resilient Nurse Program. Feel free to contact us to discuss how this program can be seamlessly weaved into your curriculum or simply be another resource you provide to your stressed-out students.