Meditate with Rice

Meditation with Rice:  How Yogic Philosophy Aids Healthy Eating Habits

The Answers Are Within

We have all heard the phrase, 'the answers are within.'  In times of confusion, it is generally best to be quiet and to take pause, in order to allow clarity to surface, so that we can see our direction with more ease. 

It's just a matter of listening. But listening can be challenging when the mind is turbulent with stress, confusion or pain.  

One of the most popular yogic texts, called the Patanjali Sutras, explores the complexities of our inability to listen, the causes of this inability, and how to solve the problem of not being able to listen through the practice of yoga.  The formula of yoga quells the obstructions that inhibit the inability to listen by quieting the mind. 


Create The Space for Calm in Your Life

In the Patanjali Sutras the stuff that clouds the mind, our thoughts, and mistaken beliefs are called vrittis.  Vrittis are often translated as 'swirling fluctuations of thought,' and are considered mental debris that block our ability to perceive the truth of things.  

Further, we project our vrittis on to the things, people, and experiences we perceive, further inhibiting our ability to accurately interpret.  Most of us, according to yogic theory are in a constant state of projection.  It is yoga and meditation that diffuses our vrittis and allows them to settle, so that like a clear lake, our mind becomes calm and translucent, enabling the direct perception of truth, as it is.

When it comes to eating food in a balanced way, it is often creating the space to connect with the self and really listen that is needed.  The more frequently we do this, the more often we take pause, the more we allow ourselves to 'stop,' the more easily we can act in accordance with our inner truth. In the practice of connecting with the self, many of our habitual patterns to food can be alleviated. 

Try A Meditation with Rice

Just take a moment and plunge your finger tips and hands into uncooked rice.  Feel the temperature of the rice and its texture against your skin.  Notice its weight, temperature, and smell.  Really let yourself experience the physical presence of the rice. 

Ask yourself: 

• How does this rice make me feel?
• Do I enjoy this rice when I eat it? 
• Where do I imagine that this rice comes from? 
• Is this rice good for me? 
• Am I grateful for this rice? 

The Benefits of Contemplative Practice with Food
The primary reason it is good to take pause, and contemplate your food every once in a while is that it slows you down.  It is this slowing down that allows your voice, intuition and inner knower to awaken.  You have a guide within you, but it often takes effort to reestablish trusting your inner guide.  Just like any relationship, it takes consistency and effort to nurture the relationship with that aspect of yourself.  In so doing, you develop self-reliance in your eating habits.  It frees you from the constraints of rules, lists and dogma — even ayurvedic dogma.    

My Coaching Programs & Intuitive Eating

I always include mindfulness into the work that I do with clients to restore a healthy relationship with food.  If you are interested in beginning a program with me so that I can help you, book a consultation with me.  If you have already had a consultation and would like to initiate a longer healing program that can help you develop a healthy and intuitive relationship with food, please email me directly at monica@hamsacenter.com, so that I can suggest a program specifically for you.  

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Imagine Your Dream Day Into Reality

One of the first exercises that I have new clients do is take a few minutes to imagine their 'dream day.' The 'Dream Day' that I am talking about is rooted in the reality of every day life.  It's not a dream vacation or a super hero power day — it is a 'what would you be doing with your every day life,' if you realized all your health and wellness goals type of day.  How do you want to be living your actual life?   To help my clients get started I pose a few questions: 

CONTEMPLATIVE EXERCISE

1.  What time would you go to sleep and wake up?

2.  What would you eat and what time would you eat it?

3.  What would you be doing for work and what time would you work?

4.  How about exercise and physical activity? 

5.  Where does leisure or social activity fit in?

6.  Are there any important projects, hobbies, interests you are working on during your dream day?  When?

IDENTIFY THE BLOCKS

After we collect these answers, we put their dream day on an actual calendar and identify where the blocks are in living this dream day.  Often, lack of preparation (didn't grocery shop, didn't prepare food, etc) is the primary impediment to eating right.  Not creating the time is the biggest cause for not working on projects or exercising.  Not getting enough sleep, or staying up to late, is often a huge factor in not utilizing time during the day as well.

INDIVIDUAL PURPOSE (DHARMA)

We use what we discover as my client's 'dream day' as one of the end goals in our working program together.  Each person has an individual purpose (dharma) to realize in this life.  In ayurveda, the realization of individual purpose is foundational to health.  My job as an ayurvedic practitioner is to be supportive of my client's realization of their dharma, which is a very personal discovery for most.

AYURVEDIC DAILY LIFESTYLE TIPS

Of course, I interject a few helpful ayurvedic tidbits on daily lifestyle that I believe will help to maximize my client's strength.  While there are many other daily lifestyle practices in ayurveda, these are are often the suggestions I make to the new comer. 

• Eat at regular times to maximize digestion and immunity while balancing weight.
• Meditate daily connect with your Inner Knower.
• Get good sleep, it helps to keep you vital and strong.
• Favor seasonal fruits and vegetables and try to get them locally for they are higher in nutrient value and are carry special antidotal properties that will keep you healthy.

BENEFITS TO WRITING OUT A DREAM DAY

The benefits of writing out an ideal dream day are innumerable.  Mostly, it gives us something to work toward.  It helps identify how we would like to be living our lives, and how we are actually living our lives.  It provides the framework for a strategy and a plan to get from where we are at to where we would like to go.  It brings to light where our resistance lies, and what opposing factors we need to over come to realize our dream day.  I encourage you to take a moment and write out your dream day and see what comes up for you. 

Basil Tea, Tonic & Pesto

Basil leaves are highly revered in ayurvedic medicine. Basil contains numerous essential oils that are natural antibiotics effective at killing bacteria, including: Listeria, Staph, and E. coli.

Ayurveda teaches that basil also relaxes the mind and opens the senses.  It can increase intuition and the ability to see the truth.

During the fall season, consume basil leaves regularly to help prevent cold and flu.  They can also be used to reduce the symptoms of flu in the event that you do get sick.  Below read 3 easy ways to use basil to help keep you healthy this season.

Basil Leaf Tonic For Cold/Flu Prevention

This is a tea that can help prevent the flu. Drink 4 cups daily for its medicinal benefits.

Ingredients

• 8 T fresh basil leaves, loosely chopped
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 4 1/2 c water

Directions: Bring water to boil and turn off heat. Add ingredients and let steep 7-10 minutes. Strain the leaves (eat the leaves through the day).

Basil Lung Soother

If you happen to catch a cold and begin to produce cough and mucous.  This recipe can help calm your lungs and release congestion.  Drink 4-6 cups daily for its medicinal effects.

Ingredients

• 8 T fresh basil leaves, loosely chopped
• 1 T fresh ginger root minced
• 5 whole cloves cloves
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 6 c water

Directions:

Bring water to boil and reduce to simmer. Add ingredients and simmer 7-10 minutes.

Strain the spices.  Once the tea begins to cool you can add raw honey.  Do not add honey to boiling hot water.  Ayurveda teaches that cooked honey is denatured and toxic.

Basil Boosting Pesto

Basil leaves boost the immune system.  You can chew on the fresh leaves daily or make a delicious basil pesto.  Vegan pesto is generally better if you are weary of illness, or if you are already sick, because dairy stimulates mucous production.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. basil
• 1/4 c walnuts
• 1/4 c pinenuts
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 3 T nutritional yeast

Directions: Place the basil, walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor or highspeed blender. Pulse to reduce to a fine coarse mixture.  Slowly mix in the lemon juice, olive oil and nutritional yeast.