Step 1 – Set Up
Find a calm, peaceful place to eat your meal where you can easily reach your food. Set your place with everything you need so you don’t have to get up or be interrupted. Keep the meal relatively small to give you the time to fully experience your food. One or two items are a good start.

Step 2 – Relax
If you are in a chair, it is helpful to sit with your legs parallel and feet flat on the ground. Otherwise if you are comfortable sitting cross legged, that is good too. Sit up with your back straight. Imagine a string at the crown of your head and pull it gently toward the sky allowing your posture to straighten out. When you feel your posture is good enough you can do a short breathing meditation. Breathe gently through your nose until you feel calm and relaxed.

Step 3 – Smell and Taste
Close your eyes, continuing the breath, and allow the smell to come to you. Sink into the smell as if it were a mist. If thoughts come to you, brush them aside and bring your focus back to the smell. Allow the taste of the food to come to you through the smell. Allow the meal to permeate you completely. Sit with that feeling. When you are ready, open your eyes.

Step 4 – Eat
Begin with a small portion of food. No matter what you are eating, chew and break up your food in your mouth feel it as it dissolves completely. As you chew, notice the taste and texture of the food. Do your best not to judge it. Just notice it. Think of the identity of the food as it dissolves. What happened to it? Compare how the food seemed before you ate it, to when you first put it in your mouth and then to just before swallowing. Swallow, pause and take your next bite. Repeat this process for each bite.

Step 5 – Paying Attention
 You can apply this practice to everything in your life. It forces you to slow down; to see things differently. Everything by nature must dissolve and be let go. The feeling is what is important. Following through until you finish your full meal helps to complete the process. If you practice this way regularly, your relationship with food can completely change. You will enjoy it more, appreciate good food and see how much we miss by rushing. This practice of eating meditation also allows your body to absorb the food more completely, which lets your body function more efficiently.