Mindful Meal Preparation & The Sacred Kitchen

When we fall into the habit of viewing our time in the kitchen as a monotonous, mundane chore we disconnect from the sacredness of the food that we are preparing for our bodies.
It’s so important to shake off any irritation, grudges, tensions and negative feelings before entering your Sacred Kitchen space. Sometimes it may be hard to just ‘snap out of it’ and into a good mood. If we harbor resentment while we are preparing food we are directly infusing our food with negative emotions, shifting the vibration of the food and our bodies to a less resonant frequency. Creating a ritualized routine for transitioning into meal preparation in the kitchen can help us connect to our underlying intentions, inherent wisdom and mindful attention to the present moment.
With this perspective in mind, your kitchen no longer becomes a place where you cover over emotions and distract yourself from the stressors of everyday life, but a place where you can slow down, connect to yourself, and deeply appreciate the beautiful moments of your life.

Sacred Kitchen: Mindful Meal Preparation

Mindful eating starts in the kitchen with mindful meal preparation. Just as there are powerful mindful eating exercises to allow you to explore your relationship to food, this is a process you can guide yourself through to practice the mindful preparation of your food. We are all connected to Mama Gaia, and the best way to show our deepest gratitude for the abundance she provides us is best prepared with present moment awareness, thankfulness and love in our hearts.
Here are some suggestions that you may want to include when creating your own own sacred kitchen routine.
Set the Mood: One thing that I love to do when I get in the kitchen is play feel-good, inspiring, music. Music has the ability to totally shift the energy in the kitchen in an instant, so choose your music consciously. I love to enjoy my kitchen time while I resonate with the beautiful frequencies of uplifting sound. Sometimes it’s nice to just have quiet time when we’re letting thoughts settle. Peaceful music without words, resonating the sounds of nature or perhaps devotional music are also nice options. You may also feel called to chant, sing, whistle or hum your own tune – whatever feels right for you. Gently swaying or dancing to music can also help ground you into your body and out of your mind, as a way to enhance the divine energy to flowing through you.
Get Comfortable: Put on your most comfortable clothing, allowing yourself to move freely or put on your favorite apron that allows you to ‘go for it’ without worrying about your clothes getting dirty. I just love my little blue hemp fabric apron, a gift from a friend; makes me smile every time I put it on. After I put on my apron, I automatically mindfully wash my hands – a necessary first step when entering the kitchen.
Centre Yourself and Breathe: Every time you transition into the kitchen, take a few moments to centre yourself and take three conscious deep inhalations and exhalations. Focus all of your attention on your breath, grounding in to the present moment.
Try to stay present while you’re in the kitchen as opposed to worrying about the events of the day or the day to come. Use this time as a grounding force in your life. When you notice thoughts of future or past creep up, as they surely will, just touch that thought gently and label it as ‘thinking’. This is a very simple technique practiced within many meditation traditions. No need to attach any judgment to the thought whatsoever, simply label it at ‘thinking’ and return your attention to the present moment.
Attitude of Gratitude: A very easy way to shift your vibrational frequency and shake off the emotional burdens of the day is to think of one thing that you are grateful for. You may notice an immediate shift in your body and/or mood. If it takes you a few moments to arouse the feeling of gratitude, then just be patient and stay with that for a moment until the feeling naturally arises. No need to force any feelings or fake them, when we connect with something that we already know to be true, like our love for our children, then feelings of gratitude will arise naturally on their own.
Inner Body Awareness: A great way to start to align with your inner body wisdom is to become more aware of it. Implementing short inner body awareness meditations sprinkled throughout your day can help you to tune into your body from the inside out. Start by becoming aware of how you are holding your body. Are you tense, rigid or relaxed?
Stand with your feet firmly on the ground, close your eyes and bring your awareness to your hands. Think of it this way: If you didn’t know you had hands, with your eyes closed, how would you know they are there? How do they feel from the inside out? Feel the energy in your hands. You may feel this in the form of heat or tingling or pulsing.
Visualize a white light coming in through the crown of your head, into your body and radiating out from your hands. Notice if the sensations in your hands change. Stay with this image for as long as feels comfortable to you.
Set Your Intentions: A powerful way to align with our deepest values is to start your meal preparation by setting a heart felt intention. This is also a great way to instantly shift from viewing something as mundane and repetitive to viewing it as sacred. This is also a way that we can set the intention to pay attention to what we are doing.
“May the food I prepare carry the vibration of love into my body and those who I am feeding.”
Set An Aspiration: Set an aspiration before beginning to prepare the food. An aspiration is like setting an affirmation but it can have a far greater reach – extending out to all sentient beings. This is an easy, powerful and effective way to stay and feel connected to the rest of humanity.
You may want to adopt these aspirations, or create something of your own:
“May all beings be free from hunger”
“May all beings feel loved and nourished”
These are all ways that we can learn to stay more connected to our sacred food source, Mother Earth, to each other and to our bodies. What do you like to do before you start preparing your meals?
Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii!
Laura Dawn, Registered Holistic Nutritionist


From

http://sacredsourcenutrition.com/