I don’t remember when I first heard about meditation. I don’t remember when I first sat down to meditate. But I do remember being quite resistant to this form of self-care.
I didn’t “believe” in it, thought it was silly, something for new age hippies and anything but helpful.
How can you sit for 30 minutes without being restless, your mind mulling over every problem you have in your life?
How could something like this be good for you?
However, one morning I got up and I meditated. And then I did it again. And again. And again.
And slowly, almost unnoticeably, my world changed. Or maybe my mind did. But somehow everything seemed different, better, less troublesome and scary.
I began to listen to my body, notice my real hungers and fullness and my emotional eating attacks began to fade away.
I began to see opportunities, happiness and friendship and my life started to become richer and so full of joy.
I began to love myself more and more and more and my mind began to stop the onslaught of hateful thoughts that I experienced for all of my life.
Meditation is listening to the Divine within. – Edgar Cayce
Meditation changed me to the core. Meditation freed me from obsessions and painful thoughts and feelings. Meditation gave me hope and the confidence to move to NYC, to start and continue to pursue my way of changing the world, to leave my husband and take on the journey of being a single mom.
Meditation gave me inner freedom and the realisation that I too am worthy of earning money, creating abundance and receiving love.
Today, meditation is my #1 healing tool. Yes, I even use it more often than my beloved writing. Although I don’t meditate every single morning, I turn to this self-care routine as often as I possibly can. My body craves it, my mind feels deprived after a couple of days without sitting in silence, without focusing and simply being, being me, being here, being now.
Using Meditation To Heal Your Relationship With Food and Your Body
Now, despite the apparent simplicity of “just sitting down and doing nothing”, meditation is a lot more complex and, well, difficult.
If you’ve ever tried it, you will know that after only a couple of minutes, you become restless, your mind starts to fill with “to-do lists” and other tasks, which make remaining in silent contemplation seem more stressful than simply getting up and getting to work.
However, don’t stress out now. Meditation isn’t impossible to learn and master. Over time, you learn to stay focused and be more mindful of the very moment at hand.
At the beginning, focusing on your breath or using a simple mantra will make your meditation life a whole lot more enjoyable. By simply tuning in to your breath or repeating a few pleasant words, you can slowly ease into this golden self-care tool.
Begin by meditating for a minute a day, then for two, then three, then four – you get the point.
And don’t let yourself be discouraged by your stubborn thoughts. They’ll always occur and they might even seem more destructive and painful (because you are silent and are actually listening), but you can choose not to focus on them and simply return to your breath.
Training our mind through peaceful abiding, we can create an alliance that allows us to actually use our mind, rather than be used by it. ~ Sakyong Mipham
In order to heal your emotional eating tendencies – like I did -, focus on sending love and gratitude to your body and begin to truly inhabit it again.
If this feels way too overwhelming and you need some guidance to dive into a meditation practice, grab a copy of Finally Free – Guided Meditations To Freedom From Emotional Eating CD. It’ll help you to stay focused on the matter that’s most crucial for you right now: healing your relationship with your body and food.
Meditation truly is a gift from heaven and it has changed my life from being a hardcore struggle to being a more wholesome, easy ride.
If anything, give this self-care tool a chance – even if you ridicule it. Try it and try it again. And you’ll see for yourself the impact it’ll have on your life.
