Living Perfect Health

If your intention for 2008 is to eat more healthfully or lose weight, Ayurveda offers valuable guidance. The first key is knowing that how you eat is just as important as what you eat. Do you regularly take the time to sit down in a peaceful atmosphere and enjoy a meal that delights your senses? Or do you usually eat on the run, gulping down a sandwich or fast food so that you can get on with your busy schedule?

Setting aside the tiny minority of people who have metabolic problems, most overweight individuals eat without awareness, disconnected from the body's intelligence. Ayurveda teaches that the body has an innate intelligence to choose nurturing foods in just the right amounts. However, many of us don't hear our body's messages because we eat unconsciously, consuming many more calories than we realize.

To tune in to your body's wisdom, begin to eat with conscious awareness. Simply slowing down and focusing on the appearance, aroma, and flavor of your food is extremely beneficial. Give yourself permission to savor your food. Studies show that eating with attention and intention raises the metabolism while improving the bodys ability to digest and extract nutrients.

Your Appetite Gauge

To increase your awareness of your body's true hunger signals, use this technique: Whenever you're ready to eat, place your hand on your abdomen and bring your awareness to your stomach. Then ask yourself, “On a scale of 1 to 10, (with 1 being absolutely ravenous and 10 uncomfortably stuffed) how hungry am I?” Don't eat until your appetite reaches a 2 or 3, and stop eating when you reach a 7. It's important to leave your stomach about one-quarter to one-third empty at the end of a meal. This will make your digestive system work more efficiently and allow your body to control its weight automatically. Also, if you leave a little room in your stomach, you will feel more energetic, light, and buoyant.

When you keep eating beyond the point of satisfaction, it's because you aren't paying attention to internal signals telling you that you are full. Engaging in other activities when you're eating, such as watching TV, reading, or working, is a distraction that can lead you to overeat. Instead, give yourself the gift of true nourishment and take the time to eat with conscious awareness. Food will taste so much better!

If you'd like to learn more about connecting to your body's inner intelligence, join us at Perfect Health. Thousands of participants from around the world have experienced physical and emotional healing at this transformational program, which takes place each day in the living room of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. You'll also enjoy a daily healing massage, detoxification therapy, meditation instruction, and yoga classes taught by our certified instructors. To learn more, call 888.736.6895.