Nourishing the Heart

 "The key to healthy eating is learning how to change your state of mind." - Ronna Kabatznick



I borrowed "The Zen of Eating" from the library about two months ago and have FINALLY finished reading it! It's not a difficult or tedious read at all....I just couldn't find a consistent time to really hanker down and get reading. This morning, I was not only able to sleep in, but I finished the rest of the book and felt the immense satisfaction I experience after reading something good.

"The Zen of Eating" is a non-fiction piece examining our relationship to food, our relationship to ourselves, and how to satiate our emotional appetities from within. I've learned only recently that emotional eating is more common than we may think. Fixation, or even disgust, in eating is voiced every day. The writer, Ronna Kabatznick, takes a Zen approach in identifying our cravings and desires and discusses how to find freedom from the eating issues that results from them, whether it be over-eating or restriction. It teaches you how to be more mindful of these desires and to understand everything really is always changing. That happiness and comfort is not actually found in food. On the flipside, we learn how restriction also feeds desire so much power. Finally, we understand that there is a middle way, and the book explains how.
 
Kabatznick does this by sharing a ton of stories about all sorts of people - their struggles with food, their identities with food, their belief systems, health status, etc, as well as a few 'tales' that are meant to illustrate a strong message. I think that the diversity of these stories would make it easy for any reader to relate to, whether you believe you struggle with emotional eating or not.

I found this book to be thought-provoking and mind-opening. I already am aware of certain Zen principles discussed in the book which made it easy for me to relate to. However, this book is NOT specifically for Zen Buddhists, or any religion for that matter...in fact, Kabatznick at one point covers beliefs regarding food in various religions. It's just interesting and has made me more aware of my own eating habits, and those of my clients.

Here's an example of a small learning from the book:

1. When my mind strongly desires a particular food, the power is in that food rather than in me.

2. By being mindful, I am realizing this strong desire and accepting that it is there.

3. By accepting the desire, it is easier for me to let it go.

This by no means is an easy feat, nor is it something I hardly think should be strictly applied to every situation in life. I do think that it's effective when we can't think of anything else but that food. For example, ever get so hungry that ALL you can think about is cheesy garlic bread?

Let me know your thoughts on emotional eating....and if you've had the chance to read the book, I'd love to know what you thoughts!