Yoga+Mindful Eating: What is mindfulness?

Yoga (healthline.com); Ananda (Dharma Bu Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The mental and spiritual aspects of [Eight-Limb] Yoga focus on developing mindfulness. This increases awareness on many levels.

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  Wakefulness (sati) is the way to awakening

  The Buddha gave mindfulness (sati or smrti) a special position in his Dharma or Doctrine. It occurs 14 times among the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment. Even if one has no spiritual objective, mindfulness is still helpful. What is it? It is attentiveness, attention, focus, vigilance, wakefulness, non-negligence, non-forgetfulness, conscientiousness, presence of mind as distinguished from distraction or absentmindedness. To be "mindful" (sati) means to be aware of what is without emotionally reacting to what is or thinking (pondering) about it, evaluating it, judging it, measuring it, or trying to change it. One simply and dispassionately observes what is as it is with awareness and radical acceptance. The goal is to see reality as it really is, not to distort it and make it something else. Mindfulness is bare awareness, unembellished, being wakefully aware, undistracted, staying, not looking away, but rather sitting with whatever is, not looking for something more entertaining, not allowing our usual reactions of grasping and clinging toward pleasant, aversion/fear toward unpleasant, or boredom/sleepiness toward neutral stimuli. One sits with whatever is at this very moment, watching it arise, turn, and pass away, noting that if it rearises, it is not identical but different. Rather than multitasking to remain distracted, it is intentional mono-tasking to remain focused. There are Five Powers or Strengths to keep in balance in the Buddha's teaching on reaching enlightenment in this very life: faith (saddhā, confidence, conviction), (2) energy (viriya, effort, exertion), (3) mindfulness (sati), (4) concentration (samādhi, stillness, integration, ecstasy, coherence), and (5) wisdom (paññā). Wisdom balances faith, and concentration balances energy, but mindfulness has no need of being balanced: the more of it the better.

Wait, what? This is just a snack while I watch TV and scroll my phone. Be mindful? I'm busy.

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Mindfulness can make us more conscious of how different influences (like foods) affect our mind, body, and spirit (breath-body).

A 2016 study suggests that people who develop mindfulness through a yoga practice may be better able to resist unhealthy foods and "comfort eating." They may also become more in tune with their body so that they notice when they’re full.

Yoga is thought to be especially beneficial for people who are struggling to lose weight in other ways as well.

• Q: One remains aware of whatever is at any moment, but what in particular should one focus on if awakening or becoming enlightened is the goal? A: The Four Sati-patthanas: body, feelings, mind, and mind-objects. These are all defined in two sutras: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness and The Greater Four Foundations of Mindfulness discourses.

A study from 2017 reports that mindfulness training has positive short-term benefits regarding impulsive eating, binge eating, and physical activity. There was no significant effect on weight loss directly, but it’s thought that weight loss is associated with longer periods of mindfulness training. Further studies are needed to expand on these findings.

No, I'm not busy. I'm just being mindful doing yoga. They're meditating but I can talk. What's your intention? [cell phones in yoga class] | ElephantJournal.com

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Since one is advised not to practice yoga on a full stomach, one is likely to make healthy eating choices before doing yoga. After a yoga session, one may also be more likely to crave fresh, unprocessed foods. 

One may also learn to chew each bite more thoroughly and eat more slowly, savoring what is being eaten, which can lead to less consumption. More

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  Next pose? In a minute. I'm busy right now.

  DANGER: But I like to keep "busy" so I don't realize anything about my life in particular or reality in general. I'll be mindful later when there's nothing else to do. Of course, there's always something else to do. Okay, when I eat, I'll be mindful when I eat, but not the rest of the time. When I'm in yoga class doing postures, I like to forward bend and peek at my phone to see what else there is to do. Social media keeps me connected. I was mindful the rest of the class...except those times I was distracted.

Rebirth and remembering past lives

Maha Satipatthana Buddhist Society (msbs.my); Dhr. Seven, Ash Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha remembered his countless past lives. Even today there are monks, nuns, and others who can remember their previous existences. Such a strong memory is a result of deep meditation and mental training [in mindfulness or "memory," smrti, sati, satipatthana].

For those who can recall their past lives, the idea of rebirth becomes an established fact that puts this present life in meaningful perspective.

The law [or regularity, lawfulness, impersonal working out] of karma can only be fully understood in the framework of many lifetimes. Sometimes it takes many lives, even aeons, for karma to bear its fruit.

Rebirth is not limited merely to the human plane [the manussya loka, which includes countless worlds in all directions wehre humanoids exist, earth being but one small example].

The Buddha taught that the plane of human beings is but one among many. In addition, there are planes of heavens, hells, animals, and ghosts [and other types of creatures existing on this and other planes, most numerous being devas of all kinds].

Depending on the karma one has accumulated [deeds one has practiced and stored up], one may be reborn into any of these. Understanding this brings up a sense of empathy and respect for the lives of all beings.

Because no realm is permanent, the repetitive cycle of birth and death [rebirth and redeath] and the wandering on from realm to realm is inherently unsatisfying [unfulfilling and incapable of being fulfilling].

• What is DEATH? - Maha Satipatthana Buddhist Society (msbs.my)

If life is unreal, what is death? Less real.

Eventually one seeks a way out. By following the Noble Eightfold Path to its culmination of enlightenment (spiritual awakening), the process of rebirth ceases completely [and with so do all forms of suffering]. Source

Reliving Past Lives (scientific research)

Dr. Helen Wambach, psychologist, past life regressionist, researcher, and author of Reliving Past Lives: The Evidence Under Hypnosis (4.4 out of 5 stars with 91 ratings)

In Reliving Past Lives, psychologist Dr. Helen Wambach, Ph.D., shares the fascinating results of her scientific research, a large-scale past life group hypnotherapy regression sessions. In an effort to rule out wishful thinking, false reports, clouded memories, and self-aggrandizing fantasies often associated with past life hypnosis reports, Dr. Wambach devised a rigorous protocol. More

What the Buddha calls "mindfulness" (3/12)

Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen, Wisdom Quarterly

Why do we meditate? (sharonsalzberg.com)

The Buddha taught the practice of mindfulness (Pali sati or Sanskrit smrti) to develop tranquility and insight. Remembering to bring the mind back to the present is the way mind (attention) is initially applied then sustained. But what passes for "mindfulness" nowadays is watered down to mean any kind of awareness. Mindfulness is much more. And the benefits are profound. We will look at what the Buddha says about it to practice insight-meditation (vipassana) as the path to going beyond to enlightenment in this very life. Free/by donation. RSVP:

• Dharma Buddhist Meditation
• Ahiah Center for Spiritual Living, Pasadena
• Thursday, March 12th, 7:00-8:30 PM

Sept. 19, 2020 (mindfulnessexpo.com)

FREE PIZZA: Meditation drop-in UCLA (July 1)

Ananda (Dharma Meditation Initiative), Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Jen, Wisdom Quarterly

The best little city school in a megalopolis

Monday July 1st (12:30-1:30 PM) will be a special day with free vegan pizza and vegan buffalo wings (courtesy of Califlower Pizza).

Mindful Awareness (what Eckhart Tolle calls "presence") is the moment-by-moment process of openly accepting and observing our physical, mental, and emotional experiences without grasping/clinging, resisting/rejecting, or reacting with delusion/confusion to them.

Vegan buffalo (cauliflower) wings with sauce

Mindfulness, which the Buddha called smrti in Sanskrit and sati in Pali, has scientific support as a means of improving attention, reducing stress, boosting mood and strengthening the immune system, reducing emotional reactivity, and promoting health.

Drop-in sessions are led by Diana Winston, Dr. Marvin Belzer, and guest teachers (of UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center, marc.ucla.edu  and uclahealth.org/marc/free-drop-in-meditation). Open to everyone.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

• Mondays: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Room 1109, Level 1, 757 Westwood Plaza, West Los Angeles
• Tuesdays: Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, 1250 16th Street, Auditorium, #G340, Santa Monica
• Thursdays: Hammer Museum, Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Bl., L.A.

Please check marc.ucla.edu ("Free Drop-in Meditation") for last minute changes to the schedule before attending.

We have meditation sessions on M, T, and Th. See here: uclahealth.org/marc... (marc.ucla.edu/free-drop-in-meditation). Must RSVP for free pizza

Dharma Meditation Initiative (meetup.com/zen-07) - MARC.ucla.edu