We are into our last task for May. However, don’t allow your practice to stop after this month! Continue to develop a somatic lifestyle.

At the end of this blog, I will provide a link so you can review all the videos, audios and podcasts for future reference. When we start developing a mindful approach to daily activities, we create a healthier lifestyle and approach to everyday challenges.

Allow me to highlight this week’s theme in the following 1 minute video…

Task 5 - Mindful Eating and Nutritional Awareness

Do you find you often eat lunch whilst pursuing another activity? We have all done it, thinking that as long as we eat and continue with a task, we can “kill two birds with one stone.” However, this thought is flawed. When we eat “on the go” we do not allow our digestive system to fully digest and absorb the nutrients from our food. Considering the “fight or flight” stress response which we have considered in previous weeks this month, we know that when we are stressed or under pressure, the function of our digestive system slows down. It is a subconscious response which kicks in when we are under pressure. The brain thinks that when we are stressed and so the last thing we want to do is eat.  As a result, the activity within the digestive system slows down, allowing for survival responses to activate. These survival responses include an increase in your heart rate and breath rate, just to name a few.

So consider how this will impact on your health and well being. If you are eating whilst your brain is registering a highly emotional or stressful period of time, you will not fully digest and absorb the nutrients in your food.

Consider also the quality of your food. It is highly processed? Have you noticed how food influences your mood and sleep? Could you switch highly processed foods which are empty nutritionally for wholefoods which stabilise sugar levels, improve mood, enhance concentration, support good sleep hygiene and allow you to work efficiently?

Whilst eating your food, could you reduce external distractions such as magazines, books and mobile devices? Notice the texture, flavour and temperature of your food as you mindfully chew.

To support you this week, I have included a podcast with me and Dr Sarah Wilson ND. We discuss fasting, weight loss, smashing weight loss myths and mindful eating. Enjoy the podcast.

I am sure you found the podcast very helpful and will endeavour to apply some of the suggestions Sarah and I discussed during this week and beyond.

I hope you have enjoyed applying various aspects of Mindfulness into your routine this month. To encourage you to continue on with your practice, CLICK HERE to obtain all the support videos, audios and podcasts for this month. I have arranged them in a structured manner so you can return to them at any time to refresh your memory and skills.

If you have enjoyed learning how to create a somatic lifestyle, check out my online program at www.TotalSomatics.com. I provide further information, skills, techniques and advice to help you reduce pain, move freely, improve posture and develop mindfulness.

Keep in touch and I hope to be of support to you within my online program.

Take care,
Heidi Hadley xx
www.TotalSomatics.com