Middle Way YOGA

I saw an article in a past Yoga Journal issue about weight loss and controlling one’s appetite. The key, the article said, is mindful eating. I eat mindfully, I thought. I’m very aware of how good that ice cream with chocolate sauce tastes as it goes down. It is soooo yummy! This is obviously not the key to weight loss for me.

But I think I might know what is, and it could be the key for you too.

First, let’s forget about all the reasons we overeat; knowing does not prevent doing, so skip the psychoanalysis and save your money. Instead, spend your time and effort on—are you ready?—quieting your mind. If you’re like me, you snack when your mind is restless, i.e., not serene. Here’s a short list of the times I am mostly likely to consume excess amounts of food:

• Watching TV, want a snack to go with it
• Depressed, want chocolate or some other comfort food
• Bored, start searching the cupboards
• Can’t sleep, food will help
• Just love the way it tastes, have to have more (I usually regret it afterwards when I feel bloated or have a tummy ache)

In each case I am using food to satisfy, appease or replace a sensation or emotion. Why? I don’t know, habit or convenience I guess, or I never learned any other way. But I think knowing why is not as important as recognizing that each instance is an unsettled state of mind. Even TV watching, a time we usually zone out and disengage the brain, is only another way to distract the unsettled mind. Often I’ll chew gum to avoid snacking, but I recently realized after a week-long gum sabbatical, that chewing only fed my restless mind and actually perpetuated that state of restlessness.

So how do we stop ourselves from doing these things? How do we quiet our minds? The answer is meditation. Meditation is the key to a quiet mind. You’re groaning. Hey, I didn’t say it would be easy, I only said I had the key. Meditation takes time and commitment and practice. It’s not a problem-solver or an over-night solution; it’s a way to change how your mind works, a time to practice positive affirmations, a time to focus and concentrate our energies during this lifetime of Short Attention Span Theatre. It’s a way to begin to recognize our Selves.

If you decide that meditation is the key to weight loss for you, I won’t guarantee that you shed pounds, but I’ll betcha that something good will happen.

Namaste.