Mindful Eating

Date: 

Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 2:30pm to 4:00pm

Location: 

114 Mt. Auburn St. Conference Room 406, Cambridge, MA
How often do we go to the market and end up purchasing groceries we did not intend to purchase? Plan to eat healthfully but find that we did not? Look in our refrigerator for a snack to meet an emotional need? Completely miss the taste and nourishment of a special meal because distracting thoughts carried us away from the moment? These all-too-common experiences happen to us when we feel distanced from our bodies, our thoughts, and our emotions. 

This session will delve into how a consistent practice of mindfulness can help us close those gaps, and furthermore help us manage the unconscious, reactive habits that build up around food. As a result, we will learn to become more aware of when we are truly hungry, when we are not, and when we are sated.  We will learn to better appreciate all aspects of our relationship with food, from purchasing to consuming, and from nourishing ourselves to connecting with others.  

This free course will introduce participants to mindfulness and guide them in three foundational mindfulness practices, with sufficient instruction for people to practice at home and work if interested.  We will then apply mindfulness to issues concerning eating, and engage in 3-4 practices to cultivate more awareness around our relationship to food. Participants should leave the session with several concrete suggestions and practices about how to modify their eating behaviors. 

Please note: dried apricots and peanuts will be used during the mindful eating exercise. Participants with food allergies should contact the Office of Work/Life at worklife@harvard.edu prior to attending this session.

Audience: All Staff and Faculty

Prerequisites: None

Cost: None

Late Drop/No Show Fee: None

Please contact worklife@harvard.edu with any questions.

Click here to register on the Harvard Training Portal.