{"id":32444,"date":"2015-04-17T09:32:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T17:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=32444"},"modified":"2015-04-17T09:32:09","modified_gmt":"2015-04-17T17:32:09","slug":"5-reasons-cooking-actually-good-meditation-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-reasons-cooking-actually-good-meditation-disguise\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Cooking is Actually Good Meditation in Disguise"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

You’re lying in bed at night, trying to fall asleep.\u00a0 As you start to doze off, you are overcome with an incredible feeling.\u00a0 You can’t quite put your finger on it.\u00a0 Did you turn off the oven after dinner?\u00a0 No, that’s not it.\u00a0 Did you prepare the coffee for tomorrow?\u00a0 Yes, so that’s not it.\u00a0 That report for work…did you forget something?\u00a0 No, you went over it three times, so that’s not it.\u00a0 You feel like the room is closing in.\u00a0 Something is definitely wrong.\u00a0 You’re having trouble breathing and you can feel your blood pressure rising.\u00a0 Then it hits you…<\/p>\n

…the stress that’s been building slowly, from everyday pressures, has finally got to you; you’re having a panic attack.<\/p>\n

Life is busy, and those events and pressures create stress that has a negative effect on your mind and body. Job performance, relationships, children, schedules, traffic congestion, money problems, illness, and interactions with negative people all contribute to your stress.\u00a0 You’ve got to reduce the amount of stress in your life to be healthy.\u00a0 So what can you do?<\/p>\n

Meditation is a wonderful long term solution to reducing stress.\u00a0 Meditation promotes relaxation, gives you a sense of well-being, peace and calm, and a clear the mind.\u00a0 It also can help ease health concerns. \u00a0 It helps you restore your mental equilibrium and balance.\u00a0 But how do you fit in another activity into your already busy life? You can combine meditation with a very basic, everyday activity that is essential to your needs, and that activity is cooking. \u00a0There are many forms and levels of meditation.\u00a0 Start out with the enjoyment of a simple task and work your way up to the Loving-Kindness level.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Simple Tasks Encourage Peace<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    One of the most basic forms of meditation is finding peace and enjoyment in simple daily tasks.\u00a0 Cooking is a simple daily task.\u00a0 You can also attempt complex recipes to give yourself more practice at both cooking and meditation.\u00a0 Easy soups and casseroles now become a peace-enriched event.\u00a0 Soak up even more peace by trying a more in-depth recipe by extending your experience in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Silent Reflection<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Silent reflection is a great way to get in touch with your emotions and thoughts.\u00a0 If you let your mind wander, there are many realizations and epiphanies that you can allow yourself to acknowledge.\u00a0 Cooking is a great place to let\u00a0your mind wander as you perform the simple tasks, and be aware of where your thoughts take you.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Therapeutic Relaxation through Repetition<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Repetition is relaxing and therapeutic by focusing only on the task at hand. Cooking is full of repetitive action, from cutting, to peeling, to stirring, to grating, to mixing, and much more.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Mindfulness<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Merrium-Webster defines Mindfulness as: 1.\u00a0\u00a0the quality or state of being\u00a0mindful<\/a>\u00a02.\u00a0the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis;\u00a0also<\/i>:<\/b>\u00a0 such a state of awareness.\u00a0 Cooking is a great activity in which to practice Mindfulness. \u00a0Be present in the moment to take in the sensory information of the food you are cooking.\u00a0 The smells, the colors, the tastes, the feeling of the food, and the sounds are all senses to be aware of.\u00a0 What emotions do these experiences evoke?\u00a0 What thoughts do they bring to mind?\u00a0 Be aware of these emotions and thoughts, and acknowledge them.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Loving-Kindness Meditation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The Loving-Kindness level of meditation takes the most focus and attention.\u00a0 You may need to work up to this level before you attempt it.\u00a0 You must develop a love for yourself first, and then work toward others. \u00a0Infuse the food with love and kindness by actively reflecting on yourself or the loved ones you are cooking for as you cook. Love is the secret ingredient of the tastiest dishes,\u00a0after all!\u00a0 Typically, you would visualize yourself or your loved ones smiling at you, and feeling happy. \u00a0Visualization is just one form of the Loving-Kindness Meditation. To incorporate this into cooking, visualize yourself or your loved ones smiling and happy as they (or you) eat the food you have prepared.<\/p>\n

            So what will you cook to help you relieve your stress?<\/p>\n

            Crystal is the founder of Simply Playful Fare<\/a>, a food blog with an emphasis on cooking from scratch and a twist of humor. She’s a native Montanan who loves to create. \u00a0She has always been passionate about cooking, baking, and eating, and food has been a huge part of her family. She learned how to cook from her Grandmother (who learned to cook from her French Grandmother) and her Mother. Writing is her other passion, after her husband of course. She has a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Meditation is a wonderful long term solution to reducing stress. Meditation promotes relaxation, gives you a sense of well-being, peace and calm, and a clear the mind. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":32449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2162],"tags":[4248,109,483,4654,66,3637,1837],"yoast_head":"\n5 Reasons Cooking is Actually Good Meditation in Disguise<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how cooking is a good form of meditation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-reasons-cooking-actually-good-meditation-disguise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons Cooking 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