By Pam Walatka

One of my students suggested I write about better eating habits - not what to eat, but how to eat it. She reported, “I’m putting some meditation to work while eating. Instead of watching TV and doing a crossword puzzle while eating lunch, I’m just eating my food and trying to be aware of tastes and when I feel full.” Otherwise, she said, she can finish lunch without being aware of eating anything.

I know what she means. I once bought a candy bar and the next thing I knew, I was throwing the wrapper in the trash and the candy bar was gone. I had missed the entire experience of eating it.

What a shame to consume calories without knowing the pleasure of eating. Eating is one of the most pleasurable experiences we can have, and yet too often we let it slip by unnoticed.

Would it surprise you to know that slow, conscious chewing is one of the foundations of physical, mental and spiritual health?

My mother, healthy and vibrant at 92, has earned the right to give advice about health. Lately she has been teaching me to chew more. I traveled with her recently and tried to match her bite-for-bite. I’m still working on getting the hang of it. She says that if you chew each bite long enough, it gets sweeter.

Mom says that the longer you chew each bite, the more the digestive juices of the mouth have a chance to work, improving digestion.

It’s futile to argue with the physical benefits of thorough chewing. What about the mental and spiritual benefits? If you have practiced breathing in yoga, you may already know that mental, physical and spiritual energy come together and seek a common rhythm in the lungs. The mouth is another place where that happens.

Slow chewing can enhance mental health if approached as meditation. Meditation is a well-established stress-reduction technique. In Mindfulness Meditation (Zen), one normally meditates by focusing attention on each breath. But in a Zendo, Zen students also practice meditation when they eat. They focus their attention on eating. If you take some time to stop and chew, and know you are chewing, you can calm your mind.

It’s not just the calmness that does your mind good, it’s also the pure primal pleasure of eating. Eating is one of our most basic instincts - we are wired to take pleasure from it.

Fritz Perls, grandfather of Gestalt Therapy, postulated that chewing is related to aggression. When I first heard that idea, I thought it was nuts, but then I worked with Perls and found it to be healing. Perls was one of the first psychologists to talk about how the mind is interwoven with the body. Neurons touch every living cell in our bodies.

Mythologist Joseph Campbell used to say that destructive aggression is an inevitable aspect of life. In order to live, we must break down things that used to be alive. Campbell told me, “There is no getting around that.” He suggested finding enjoyment in the primitive need to chew.

The spiritual aspect of chewing is well documented. Countless spiritual leaders advocate long, careful chewing as part of the path to spiritual awakening.

Besides, if you know when you are full, you can eat less.

Pam Walatka teaches Mind Body Fitness for the Los Altos Hills Recreation Department. For more information, see www.pamwalatka.com.