Buddhism spirituality links with healthy diet, lifestyle
Daniel Burke/Religion News Service
Issue date: 2/7/10 Section: Divine Intervention
Some, but not all, proponents of mindful eating are Buddhists themselves, said Dr. Brian Shelley, who developed a mindful eating program at the University of New Mexico. And while advocates are open about the Buddhist roots of mindfulness, they are not out to gain converts.
"It's more like a cognitive therapy than a spiritual practice," said Shelley, who meditates and studies the Buddha's teachings but does not consider himself a Buddhist. "We are very clear that this is not a course in Buddhism or spirituality."
Sheryl Canter, a healthy-eating counselor in New York, said mindful eating is part of a larger movement away from diets toward what she calls "normal eating" that is gaining steam among health-conscious Americans.
"We tell ourselves we don't know how to feed ourselves," said Canter. Mindful eating urges people to listen to internal cues about when and what to eat instead of "food experts" and faddish diets, she said. While she generally supports the practice, Canter said mindful eating fails to address the underlying emotional issues that drive unhealthy habits.
Many nutritionists - including mindful eating teachers - now believe the problem with American diets is not only the food we eat, but how we consume it.
The Buddha told monks to take meals silently, with no books or conversations to distract them, only an awareness of what their body needs to get through the day. When they felt full, they stopped eating, even if that meant leaving food in the bowl, Bays said.
Studies have shown that people tend to eat more when they are given larger portions and are distracted (i.e. watching television, surfing the Internet, commuting to work). Meanwhile, because the body is focused elsewhere, it fails to be satisfied by the meal, leading to even more hunger, according to Bays and other mindful eating proponents.
Bays begins mindful eating retreats with a single raisin, asking practitioners to consider how hungry they are on a scale of one to 10, while they investigate the color, texture, and taste of the raisin. The goal, she said, is to replace thinking with awareness.
"In Christian terms, it's called communion," Bays said, "coming into union with everything happening at that moment."
"It's more like a cognitive therapy than a spiritual practice," said Shelley, who meditates and studies the Buddha's teachings but does not consider himself a Buddhist. "We are very clear that this is not a course in Buddhism or spirituality."
Sheryl Canter, a healthy-eating counselor in New York, said mindful eating is part of a larger movement away from diets toward what she calls "normal eating" that is gaining steam among health-conscious Americans.
"We tell ourselves we don't know how to feed ourselves," said Canter. Mindful eating urges people to listen to internal cues about when and what to eat instead of "food experts" and faddish diets, she said. While she generally supports the practice, Canter said mindful eating fails to address the underlying emotional issues that drive unhealthy habits.
Many nutritionists - including mindful eating teachers - now believe the problem with American diets is not only the food we eat, but how we consume it.
The Buddha told monks to take meals silently, with no books or conversations to distract them, only an awareness of what their body needs to get through the day. When they felt full, they stopped eating, even if that meant leaving food in the bowl, Bays said.
Studies have shown that people tend to eat more when they are given larger portions and are distracted (i.e. watching television, surfing the Internet, commuting to work). Meanwhile, because the body is focused elsewhere, it fails to be satisfied by the meal, leading to even more hunger, according to Bays and other mindful eating proponents.
Bays begins mindful eating retreats with a single raisin, asking practitioners to consider how hungry they are on a scale of one to 10, while they investigate the color, texture, and taste of the raisin. The goal, she said, is to replace thinking with awareness.
"In Christian terms, it's called communion," Bays said, "coming into union with everything happening at that moment."
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