For me personally how food looks is part of the whole experience, that being said even if I am eating solo I will create a beautiful looking dish, light a candle and enjoy my beautiful meal oh and I also take 3 big deep breaths to connect to my body again before I dig in.
I truly believe that to get the complete benefits of of a meal the setting and ow we feel about it all is very important, now I understand that not every meal is going to be beautiful or in a calm beautiful setting, sometimes we have to grab something quick and eat on the road without a chance to stop... But if one out of all your meals you can remember to take a couple fo deep breaths before the meal it will really help in how you will digest your meal!
Your emotional state also plays a huge role in digestion, assimilation and absorption of nutrients, if you'e just had a really heated argument with someone you're going to be so distracted with anger that your body is basically eating anger not nutrients... again not always things that we can control especially if we are not conscious of them.
Recently I've been really paying attention to my body and surrounding before I eat, it's a practice that hopefully will become a habit. I've had instances of anger arise right before a meal and I've taken a breath and feel the anger in my body and actually cannot eat, well I could eat but if I'm present with my body the hunger isn't there so I've had to take a few minutes to process and move through some of the anger basically wait until I've simmered down to be able to eat... again not always easy but if you take the time to check into your body the digestive process will be much smoother!
Another thing to be mindful of is if you're eating with your phone out while scrolling or on the computer or phone, this can cause you to overeat a which can wreak havoc on the digestive system... again something that I'm also guilty of especially now a days with our phones having so much to distract us with.
AGAIN this is a practice so it's not something that comes naturally to us but if you remember to stop once in a while it will remind to stop more often ... I've been out for both business and social gatherings where I interrupt everyone before the meal and hold their hands around the meal and take three deep breaths, everyone is a little shocked at first but alwasy appreciate the moment to check in once we're done :) ... @crypto @ellemarieisme and @thearcanebear have all experienced this with me lol
Message in this post is that we not only eat to eat but to enjoy and nourish ourselves and when it's pretty it helps too ;)
Follow me @lorenayogini for more random and not so random tips :)