Do you remember what you ate for breakfast today? Not just the food items, but also their individual tastes and textures, their aromas and appearances? If you are like me, who invariably has her nose in some reading material at breakfast, you would not remember any of these things. You are likelier to remember the news you read, which is what you were actually consuming at breakfast, not the food. And if you have a busy life fulfilling the demands of career, home and family, this would hold true for lunch and dinner as well.
Food forms the central axis of our physical existence. In many cultures, the preparation and consumption of food was elevated to an art form. You took time over creating a meal, and the chef was no less an artist than the ones who painted or sculpted. A well-prepared meal required leisure to partake of, and the company of loved ones. When you rose from the table, not only had your hunger been appeased, but also your senses. Your heart and mind felt sated and at ease.
In India, further texture was added to food by proclaiming “annam brahmeti”, where food is an aspect of brahman, Supreme Consciousness. The Taittiriya Upanishad describes five aspects of brahman that we have access to in our being — annam or food, prana or life, manas or mind, vijnana or wisdom, and ananda or bliss. These have also been described as koshas or sheaths that collectively form the individual, and within which dwells the atman.
Food is not only an art in Ayurveda — it is medicine and its preparation is a science. The correct proportions, according to seasons and time of day, prepared with ingredients appropriate to one’s individual constitution, were meant to not only to fill the stomach, but also act as a tonic to nourish and rejuvenate body and mind.
Special stress was laid on one’s mental state at the time of eating. Food eaten in haste or with negative feelings could cause disease, and when consumed with equanimity could result in a healthy body and mind. These days we rarely pay attention to what we eat, which is why an occasional food meditation is a good idea.
Allow yourself to feel hungry before you sit down to eat. Spend a few moments in silence, watching the breath enter and leave the body. When you feel sufficiently aware of the moment, serve yourself carefully, taking only as much as you need. Observe the food on your plate, the consistency of the dal, the whiteness of the rice, the colours of the salad. Place a morsel in your mouth and savour the different flavours and textures that constitute it. Chew the food slowly and, while swallowing it, feel gratitude for it. In this way, by eating mindfully, we can truly experience food and allow it to nourish our body, mind and spirit.
Swati Chopra writes on spirituality and mindfulness. Blog: swatichopra.com
