This is the 3rd installment of a series, guiding our focus out of a doing-state and into a being-state. Here, we open a pathway of clearer communication with the body's intelligence and inherent health codes. While some of the guidance may seem indirect in relation to weight-loss, I promise you, it is not. Conscious body connection cannot be discounted in self-transformation. Within any change – physical, mental or emotional – there is a currently running system in the BODY that also must change. Listening to the thinking mind day-in and day-out is what has not worked up to this point.
So read on, if you are curious...and if you're serious, put the challenge to the test!
MINDFUL DETOX PART 3: CONSCIOUS BREAK-FASTWhy?
We are too often checked into our busy lives to sense where our bodies are and what our bodies need most of the time. The brain is thinking about the next thing or worrying about the last one…but where is your body? Your thoughts could have you reeling on a situation from last Tuesday, leaving your body neglected and YOU detached from reality.
Our bodies are always present and ONLY present. They have no thought. They are just sensing what is currently occurring. They are also masterfully relaying cues and messages from current reality… not the fabricated timelines we can live from in our heads. The further our thoughts move from the body, the more likely our nervous systems are running in a Sympathetic state. This means your body thinks it’s “doing” something even when it’s not. The more intense the thought process, the more intensely your body tries to prepare. When action circumstances don’t line up with our action thoughts, the body can become trapped in a soup of stress hormones that never get put to use… aka released.
The Sympathetic Nervous System is for acting and reacting… The Parasympathetic Nervous System is for resting and digesting. We need both. But we need to begin understanding how to travel between them. The state of our health depends on it… including your ability to maintain the best weight for your body.
If your body thinks it needs to be prepared to fight a lion (or argue with your boss), it’s not properly gearing toward digesting and metabolizing your food. This is precisely why I am using meal times as a gateway for nervous system regulation. I’ve worked with incredibly high-functioning humans, simultaneously running households and companies, who don’t feel their stress. Our bodies have such incredible adaptation mechanisms, I don’t expect you to feel when you’re in a hyper-sympathetic state until its way too late. So we create practice, regardless of felt-stress. We down-regulate when it’s meaningful. We reap the benefits of properly telling our bodies “I’m here”. I am creating an environment in my body that actually facilitates what I am asking it to do. Rest, Digest, and Assimilate Nutrients to where they need to be.
Commit to trying this 5 minute pre-meal break 2X this week. If you skipped the first step already, here is your reminder! Set an alarm to go off before dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow. AND/OR, when you start feeling any hunger pangs that are outside of your usual eating windows, take an impromptu 5. I am always SHOCKED at how much my appetite cues change when I simply stop "doing" whatever I'm doing, stop "thinking" about the task, stop "thinking" about my desire to snack, and start FEELING. Set a timer for 5 minutes, find some alone space, and slip away for these precious moments.
The Steps.
Sit quietly, feet flat on the ground.
Let your shoulders fall.
Soften your face.
Take a deep breaths and drop your attention to your belly.
Release all the tension from your belly.
Welcome its fullness – forget about any appearances.
You may want to place a hand on your belly and the other on your heart.
Allowing yourself to feel held, and by your own hands, has an incredibly soothing effect on your nervous system.
Let your inhale expand the space between every rib and fill your lungs with air like a deep under-water breath.
Then relax and soften on the exhale.
Feel the physical sensation of your breath pooling into unseen crevices.
Feel the internal conversation of your body’s knots and openings.
Feel the emotional essence of tension melting away.
Be open to what you sense—fullness, bloat, tightness, pain, emptiness, cramping.
Don’t try to change or resist these physical feelings.
Instead, go into them; observe them; stay with them without attaching a story, no matter how uncomfortable.
The discomfort will often dissipate if you keep your awareness there. Feel through it with soft eyes and a soft heart, reminding yourself not to clench.
The belly is continuously giving physical feedback. Try to separate labels from sensations of feelings. It might feel gurgly, but not necessarily “hunger”. That may just be the label your brain has a habit of selecting when this sensation arises. Checking into the feeling vs. the thought can interrupt habits we have developed around these signals.
Once the 5 minute timer goes off, smile and thank yourself. Do not skip this GRATITUDE step. It is out of deep love for yourself that you’ve invested this time and you deserve both a Thanks and a Your Welcome. This, THIS, is the path to long-sustained transformation.
I’ve mentioned the Gut-Brain link in several pieces. The gut is a connection point for digestion, mood, and intuition. If you’ve ever felt “butterflies in your stomach”, you know the feeling. This is your intuitive gut providing some very real, very profound answers as to what your body needs. The tuning-in process, described above, links all those juicy messages to your MIND so you can start wiring actions and new habits in accordance with your truest nature.
If we leave ourselves detached from the body’s messages, it can be damn near impossible to create a new, lasting habit. I don’t care how many calories you cut or how many hours you workout each week, a dysregulated nervous system can overhaul it all. When a storm hits, old habits win. Unless we learn to regulate.
Old habits are what led you to your current position. The brain patterns are deeply grooved into a preset pathway of how you will react to feelings, motivations, deterrences, self-judgement, stress, time-restriction, social events, etc. When it comes to food choices, the pattern will tell you how much you are going to eat of what foods; how rushed the meal will be; how much you pay attention to eating vs. thinking…until you purposely hit PAUSE. And if you desire to change your current position, you MUST demote your brain from being the primary decision-maker. Profound changes in your eating habits can occur when you intentionally FEEL into this vast network of gut intelligence— it can help you make the most responsible-to-your body choices and overcome cravings in a way no self-talk, self-control, self-deprivation will.
It is up to YOU to invoke action steps to slow down and listen from a more consciously tuned-in state. You are responsible to yourself in a way no one else ever will be. That reality can feel daunting OR empowering... but it is a FACT either way. And the sooner you accept what that means, the more frequently you will experience the latter.
If you read all of this, and it sounded sweet, but your initial thought is "5 minutes is NOT going to happen today”...
I understand. But that doesn't mean you give up to the old way of thinking. You've read this far for a reason. Laying down new habits is HARD WORK. It can take some serious self-parenting. I do genuinely empathize that time is limited. To that end, when life is flying fast, start with 5 Breaths. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE that each and every one of you cannot devote 5 intentional breaths before putting food in our mouths. A little tough love goes a long way. Once this becomes attainable, start setting a 1-2 minute timer. Trust me, the benefit of that minute may look small, but the impact is more widespread than you can imagine. You will start to bridge the conscious connection your body has been craving.
We don’t ever have the time until we make the time. And just remember, any amount of time is successful as long as you are trying! There is a cumulative effect to practicing awareness-expansion, and you begin by, well, beginning. Ignoring the task all together is the only surefire way to fail this mini-retreat into YOU. I challenge you all. Next meal, check your mind OUT, body IN. Observe how it affects your food choices, speed of eating, body awareness, digestion, etc. You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.
