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Mindfulness and the Art of Chocolate Eating!

  • 2 mins

It would be fair to say many of us love chocolate and wouldn’t we all like to make some more time for mindfulness? Why not combine the two for this week’s Therapy Thursday idea!

We spoke with HenderCare Senior Occupational Therapist Alice Zubrinich this week about a favourite exercise of hers, mindfulness.

As winter weather kicks in and with many of us busy at this time of the year, it is so important to find time for ourselves and our mental wellbeing.

Below is a mindfulness exercise that allows you to find a sense of calm whilst also enjoying a chocolate treat:

This should take around 3-4 minutes.

You will need small bars of chocolate.

Please read each instruction one at a time before moving on to the next stage

Approach the exercise with an open mind and a gentle curiosity.

There are no rights or wrongs, just individual experiences.

  1. Consider the wrapped chocolate
  2. Does the wrapper make a sound? What colour is it? What does it say? Where did it come from?
  3. Open the chocolate, slowly –
  4. Do you feel a sense of anticipation, or an urge to immediately put the chocolate in your mouth? What physical sensations do you have? What emotions are you feeling? Just note them.
  5. Look at the chocolate
  6. Consider its texture, colour, weight…
  7. Smell the chocolate – does the smell trigger any other senses?
  8. Where do you feel your sense of smell?
  9. Place the chocolate in your mouth but don’t eat it
  10. How does it feel as it melts?
  11. Where in your mouth can you taste it?
  12. What is the consistency?
  13. What is happening with your mouth, teeth, tongue, and lips as it melts?
  14. Move the chocolate around your mouth
  15. Does the area of taste change?
  16. Does the taste itself change?
  17. What is happening to the chocolate?
  18. How do you feel?
  19. Swallow the chocolate, focusing on the sensation.
  20. Is there a lingering taste?
  21. How do you feel physically and emotionally?
  22. Take a little while to consider the experience.
  23. Now continue to the conclusion…

 

Mindfulness and the Art of Chocolate Eating!

Reflection points

  • How was this different from your general chocolate-eating experiences?
  • More intense? Frustrating? More pleasurable?
  • Were you more aware of your emotions during the exercise?
  • Would this change your future experience of eating chocolate?
  • Why?
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