Chewing.. the secret is out!

Chewing comes up in all of my initial conversations with clients. It's on my list of questions.
How is your chewing?
You can learn a lot about how a person lives their life by watching how they eat their food.
We digest food, we digest experience. The two are pretty interrelated.

I found this article in the NY Times today: REALLY? The Claim: To Cut Calories, Eat Slowly

Though I don't generally preface my question about chewing with a claim about cutting calories, it is true and chewing simply needs all the attention it can get! I tell people it is like planting a seed, and that it takes time and care to cultivate - the act and practice of chewing.

Amylase is the first digestive enzyme that works to break down carbohydrates in our mouth. It is generated in our saliva and does not exist elsewhere in our body. If we do not chew our food and rev up our amylase production, we simply put a lot more work on the rest of our digestive organs. It hardly seems fair.
Then there's the idea (thank you great humble teacher Lino Stanich for your wisdom) that our 32 teeth (unless we've lost some) are energetically connected to our 32 vertebrae. When we connect our teeth as we do when we chew, we stimulate our vertebrae that send rebalancing messages to all of our organs. Think of it as a homeopathic dose of chiropractic care offered three times a day - for free!

Chewing makes for easier digestion, and it also makes for deeper breathing. And if amylase is good for you, believe me oxygen, is even more so. When we take time to chew our food, we suddenly have time to smell it, to notice it, to think about it. We have time to consider all that went into the making of it. Maybe even all that went into growing it. Maybe we notice how it feels in our bodies. Maybe we notice that we are full, sooner than we would have guessed. Maybe we discover that the food we are eating, we actually don't like very much. Or maybe we discover just how much we love it.

Slowing down can feel like an overwhelming life task. It helps to start small.

Chewing, is a small step you can start and restart at least three times a day.

Whether you are looking for less calories, or you are looking for a bit more peace of mind and a peaceful digestive process, search no more. It's yours for the taking, at every next meal.