Food and meditation

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Do you equate the two?

I think this is possibly a subject for a new topic. This appeared in yesterday's Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/o ... eth-hewson I can't imagine meditating whilst I'm cooking pasta/ragu.

A swimming friend of mine, always out for a good business opportunity, took herself off to one of Waitrose Cookery School's bread weekends with a view to starting Breadmaking meditation classes a few years ago. She keeps a kosher kitchen and it was primarily aimed at her Jewish friends. She even had an article in the Jewish Chronicle. https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/food/th ... on-1.61928 It didn't succeed although that may be because she's a bit scatty. I can quite see that breadmaking could be therapeutic, although hard work.

Is Indian cooking (big generalisation there, sorry) built around meditation? Other cultures perhaps?

My meditation appears to begin and end with a large slug of vodka at the moment . . . .

[Badger's Mate Profile]

My meditation appears to begin and end with a large slug of vodka at the moment

I think you'll find that's medication....

[Kacey Profile]

I've never meditated in my life, though OH does it twice a day, every day, and couldn't do without it.

I tend to find most cooking/baking therapeutic, in as much as I can unwind/relax after a stressful day by chopping veg and preparing a meal. I enjoy the 'ritual' of making all those lovely meals which are so familiar you can do by rote. In a way its a kind of meditation as you can let your thoughts go wherever they want. Cooking gives me 'thinking time' which sometimes I don't get enough of.

Its soothing to my soul to spend a weekend afternoon in the kitchen, batch cooking or baking or just trying new recipes.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

My meditation appears to begin and end with a large slug of vodka at the moment

I think you'll find that's medication....

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Not sure about meditative but I imagine that everyone who enjoys cooking finds it therapeutic. The secret is probably more in the setting aside of time for oneself with a purpose (so that there is no guilt) and immersing oneself in creative pleasure.

I think that good cookery classes are an ultimate joy. The ingredients have been bought, the correct utensils are to hand, there's plenty of space, no family members or pets are under your feet, someone else does the washing up and you get something nice to eat at the end!

[dennispc Profile]

I find bread making easy - a switch on the KitchenAid does help! Handling soft dough and producing an edible loaf is certainly therapeutic, as is producing favourite dishes.

And you're right about cookery classes EM, that's how it was at Ashburton.

[liketocook Profile]

When I was working Friday's tended to be quite stressful. I often used to make risotto for dinner, the stirring time used to be my window to reflect on the working week, put it to bed until Monday and then relax. A or 2 helped complete the transition.

[herbidacious Profile]

I have attended meditation classes (albeit reluctantly). It's difficult. I found it frustrating. Fits of the giggles did happen on occasion too... (Not just me. Sometimes, though, people would burst into tears.)

Gardening (as long as husband isn't in the garden gardening angrily and not too many people are out with their garden machines) does it better for me.

Yes I can see kneeding might too.

Not sure this any of these strictkly speaking involve meditation, though. More mindfulness. Meditation is when you try to clear you head of everything. Mindfulness involves focussing on one thing? If the pasta and bread thing were meditation, you would certialy need to be so good at it as to not need to think about what you were doing at all.

The City Lit runs Mindfulness photography courses. No idea what they involve. But, photography can have the same affect on me as gardening.

[Linnet Profile]

My meditation appears to begin and end with a large slug of vodka at the moment

I think you'll find that's medication....

Better still - dual purpose!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I have been to meditation classes occasionally, usually when they came bundled with other activities, and it’s not my thing

But I find the simple repetition of activities such as shelling peas or dicing a large amount of veg quite soothing and, I suppose, contemplative

When I sewed I used to find I could get into a calm state sitting doing invisible hemming by hand

[herbidacious Profile]

As I have said many times on the garden thread I think its simple activities that require a little bit of concentration, so that you block out other things, but not so much that it's taxing and/or a bit stressful that have this affect.

Maybe the hand eye coordination thing is important too. Passive things, like watching TV doesn't do it for me. i.e. it's not just a mtter of distraction.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

I make marmalade and I guess that’s the one time I totally get into a Zen thing when cooking but that’s because it’s well planned around possible distractions . . .

I’m trying an App called Calm at the moment (as recommended by Mariella Frostrup no less). It is so NOT my thing but I’m persevering.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Maybe the hand eye coordination thing is important too. Passive things, like watching TV doesn't do it for me. i.e. it's not just a mtter of distraction.

I think the coordination probably is important, I hadn’t thought of that - but if you have tv or radio then usually you would probably be listening to speech, which I understand opens up a lot of very specific pathways in the brain which isn’t what you want for meditation

[Suffs Profile]

OH meditates a couple of times every day. It's very important to him.

I think that knitting does the same thing for my brain that meditation does for other folk.

[Hope Profile]

I do meditate (really need to start doing it again). Mr Hope is doing it right now - he meditates twice a day.

I do find I often go into a sort of trance when I cook. Especially having to juggle so many different meals being cooked at once (what with my dietary restrictions and eldest son's restrictive eating due to autism). I find it hard when someone interrupts me when I'm cooking and I do like to have quiet in the kitchen at the later stages of cooking. But I don't find it refreshing like meditating is. When I garden or sew that refreshes me. I've seen it called "flow state" - when your mind is at peace. I love those activities that you can just do without thinking. I don't find cooking (at least the way I have to do it!) does this for me anymore!

I really do need to get back into doing meditation - it really boosts my energy, improves my sleep and also helps me to control my pain and anxiety.

[herbidacious Profile]

I get bored meditating. I guess that means I am not doing it right.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

I have the concentration span of a gnat, probably less, and can’t do meditation or mindfulness at all. I also am gentetically engineered not to do anything anyone tells me so the people on Mariella’s App wind me up quite a lot.

However. When I was teaching and always swam first thing every day I could get to a frame of mind in the water when I could plan all the day’s lessons, transport and meetings. It hasn’t happened since I retired 4 years ago.

Am wondering what the journalist in The G was on.

[Amyw Profile]

I’d probably use mindfulness more than meditation but I agree the right kind of cooking can definitely help relax and unwind . Making risotto is always very soothing for me and I love having some music in the background and cooking with a glass of wine .

Anything too technically challenging or which requires too much juggling different components isn’t the most relaxing for me , although I guess the end results ultimately more satisfying , because you feel like you’ve accomplished more under pressure

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I´m another in the "never meditated in my life" group. I can´t see the point, but then I´m a bit hyperkinetic. If it works for you, then great. I´d surmise that meditating whilst cooking might just be counterproductive; burn the sauce, overcook the greens, etc.
When I´m in the kitchen it´s more of a challenge to see how many things I can do at once. Multi-tasking, I suppose. A background of classical music is always helpful and/or inspiring.

[Suffs Profile]

Im wondering whether the journalist has confused meditation with good old fashioned ‘concentration’. It does seem to be a lost art ... simply concentrating on one thing at once.