Free Chocolate Mindfulness Meditation
A Delicious Way to Practise Mindfulness
The Chocolate Meditation is a simple and enjoyable way to practise Mindfulness that can be done anywhere, anytime, with a small piece of chocolate. It is a form of mindful eating that focuses on the experience of eating chocolate.
Focusing on the whole process of eating chocolate allows you to notice the difference between how we usually operate and a more aware mental state. The more aware state, also called ‘being mode’, allows you to achieve two important things:
- To be present in your life for the good things you are experiencing, like eating yummy chocolate or enjoying your time with family and friends;
- To be aware of unhelpful thoughts and emotions and choose how you react to them.
The main benefit is that you can cope with stress, anxiety, low mood and the challenges of everyday life more skilfully. This can be achieved through regularly practising Mindfulness.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a state of awareness in which you become fully present in the current moment. It involves paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in a non-reactive and judgemental way. Psychologists often recommend and teach the practice of Mindfulness to their clients as it is shown to help people improve their mental health and wellbeing. Practising Mindfulness can help you to:
- be more accepting of yourself and deal with situations more calmly and effectively;
- be less worried, irritable, upset, and overworked;
- be more productive at work – producing better outcomes while feeling more energised;
- take better care of yourself – more time for self-care and less beating up yourself for things that aren’t perfect or better;
- be more present for the good moments in your life, such as time with family, noticing your environment, and what your body is doing.
Mindfulness in Psychology
Mindfulness is a powerful tool for improving your mental health and wellbeing. Many psychologists teach and recommend Mindfulness to their clients as part of a comprehensive psychological treatment plan to treat anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Practising Mindfulness regularly allows you to better manage stress, burnout, and anxiety symptoms, boost your mood, enhance self-awareness, improve your emotion regulation skills and cope more effectively with chronic pain.
Mindfulness in Your Everyday Life
Mindfulness is often associated with meditation practices requiring time and quiet private space. People often say they don’t practise Mindfulness because they have a busy life with little or no spare time for self-care. The good news is that Mindfulness can be practised anytime throughout your day. It is, in fact, necessary to learn how to integrate Mindfulness into your daily life if you want to get all the benefits from its practice. Once you have learned how to ‘drop into awareness’ at any given moment, practising Mindfulness won’t take you any extra time from your busy schedule. You can even practise Mindfulness while at work or grocery shopping!
Self-guided Chocolate Meditation
Connecting with your senses is one of the core benefits of Chocolate Meditation. Some people use nuts or fruit to help them focus on the senses of taste, smell and touch. You can use any food for this exercise. However, I chose chocolate as it is a fun and delicious Mindfulness exercise for everybody. Unlike mindless eating, where food is consumed without much thought or awareness, the Chocolate Meditation involves slowing down and savouring each bite, paying attention to the flavours, textures, smells, and colours of the chocolate and the physical sensations of chewing and swallowing.
To learn and practise Chocolate Meditation, follow the step-by-step guide below. In addition, it provides instructions on practising chocolate meditation independently [2].
Step-by-Step Guide to Chocolate Meditation
Some people like to follow a written guide, as it allows them to go at their own pace and focus deeply on their own experience. Others may find listening to guided meditation easier, as the recorded voice provides them with guidance throughout the process. The following audio-guided chocolate meditation [1] includes gentle reminders to help you bring your attention back to the present moment if your mind wanders. Simply follow the voice and allow it to guide you through the meditation.
Audio-Guided Chocolate Meditation
The goal of Chocolate Meditation is not to indulge in the chocolate but to cultivate a deeper awareness and appreciation for the experience of eating. It can be a calming and enjoyable way to practise Mindfulness, connect with your senses and enhance the joys of daily life.
Chocolate Meditation is not only a delicious way to treat yourself. Still, it can also be a fantastic way to practise Mindfulness and rediscover the little pleasures that bring so much joy into your life while reducing stress and improving overall wellbeing. It is about bringing awareness to the mundane and routine activities in our daily life. Try this Mindfulness exercise with other daily activities, such as showering or brushing your teeth. Focusing on the present moment and engaging your senses can cultivate a sense of calm and wellbeing.
Martin Hood is a Clinical Psychologist with a proven track record in producing good outcomes for clients across a broad range of presenting problems, including stress and burnout, anxiety disorders, depression, grief, ADHD and OCD. He has a special interest in working with executives, business owners and entrepreneurs.
