Day 7 of Deepak Chopra's Meditation ~ Honoring My Body ~ I Do Not Need Delicious Cookies ~ I Am Happy And Content As I Am

Day 7 

Today's Centering Thought: My body is a magnificent vehicle that connects me to Spirit. 

Our Sanskrit mantra:

Lam, Lam, Lam 

Repeating “Lam” opens the root chakra,

allowing us to feel grounded

It’s become much easier for me to focus on the mantra during my meditation since I had my Ah-ha! moment on Day 5.  Today I remembered that mudras are another body oriented task that help me focus my wandering mind and keep me present.  The philosophy behind how mudras work is so fascinating and one day I will explore this topic with the experts in detail.   

Today I used chin mudra because one of its benefits is improved concentration. If you are interested in incorporating mudras into your day, there are a few yoga mudra apps available for the iphone.  This is the one I have.  Search for YogaMudra in the app store.  I like this app because it gives a full description of what each mudra is used for.

One of the most difficult challenges for me to overcome in my efforts to honor my body is to eat for my body, not for my mind.  

I am fully aware in the moment that my body wants herbal tea, not coffee or doesn’t really want the glass of red wine that will totally compliment the cheese my body also doesn’t want, but half the time I choose the option I know will imbalance me.   

I also find it challenging to quash my nostalgic eating habits.   I know when it’s happening... I walk to the bacon section of the store because this is Saturday morning and a big breakfast with bacon reminds me of family moments as a kid where we all sat and had good times around a big Saturday morning breakfast...the smell of bacon filled the house.   I want popcorn and chocolate whenever I watch a movie because it reminds of movie time with my dad who passed away years ago.  Popcorn and snowcaps was a staple whenever we went to movies.  Luke and I will ride our bikes to get milkshakes for a special treat because that's what our family did when we were kids.  A burger and a beer reminds me of care-free summer fun.  A glass of wine relates to relaxation. 

 Nostalgic eating is not honoring my body.  It is a somewhat insane effort to recreate a moment from the past and usually when I give in, it doesn’t satisfy what I am really craving - the moment itself.  The food is just a detail of the moment and sometimes it is far to easy to get caught up in the details.  

How much healthier we would be if we created nostalgic memories centered around healthy foods.  Our kids would crave carrot sticks or apple slices to reminisce in the memories of family picnics instead of fried chicken and potato chips.  Or we could take food out of the equation altogether so the important facets of those nostalgic moments - the interaction and experience -aren’t clouded by the details. 

Now when I desire foods and other bad-for-me treats I check to see what is pulling me towards the food.  I ask myself, “Does my body really want this or is it my mind?”  99% of the time my body will say no, but if I decide I still want the treat I ask myself, “can my body handle this right now?  Is it worth the imbalance?” And I make my decision from there.  If I have a really hard time dropping the cookies and backing away from the snack cupboard I repeat to myself, “I am happy and content as I am.”  It really helps me during the times I want to stuff salty and/or sweet treats into my mouth by the fistful.