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.

• 

  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.

.

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

.

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

• 

  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.