Thankfulness
Mindfulness is one of those concepts we all know a lot about, but I prefer to think about thankfulness as something that is just as important and just as powerful. Thankfulness is also something we often forget to implement in our busy, stressful lives and we easily forget the enormous benefits of being thankful. A thankful approach to eating, moving, breathing, sleeping can improve mental and physical health and wellbeing, may be one of the keys we need to keep away the winter blues and as we continue the long fight against CV-19 and come to the end of the third lockdown.
As you know, mindfulness is essentially about awareness and being present and the same can be said about thankfulness, with the added understanding that we are thankful to someone, primarily, to God, but also to the people in our lives. Being thankful, like being mindful, is to be increasingly aware of how you feel and being present in what you are doing throughout the day. And this simple change to our focus can have some impressive results. As research shows, mindfulness can increase grey matter density in brain regions associated with learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective thinking.[1] Mindfulness and meditation practice support creativity and the development of thinking that promotes new ideas.[2] Research shows that people who are focused on the action they’re performing in the present moment are happiest and least susceptible to anxiety disorders.[3] To me, thankfulness is a slightly different perspective that includes all these benefits, as well as the added benefit of bringing you closer to God.
Eating
Eating with a thankful attitude has massive benefits for digestion and enjoyment of food, as well as an overall mindful lifestyle. Developing a more conscious interaction with your food and a greater sense of gratitude for each meal means we slow down and think of food in a new way. Instead of mindlessly reaching for chocolates or biscuits when you are tired or bored, remember that there are other ways of dealing with these feelings such as physical activity. When we eat well, we are honouring our body’s need for nourishment and also honouring where our food came from. For me, ultimately, all good things come from God, so I give thanks to him for all my food and I make choices about where my food comes from so that I support local farmers using sustainable and ethical farming. I also make sure to eat when I am relaxed and at peace so that my body is in a parasympathetic state of ‘rest-and-digest’. Our bodies digest food best when we eat slowly, chew properly and enjoy what we are eating! Have you ever tried to eat an apple in a thankful way? Take the time to really see and experience the apple from the moment you pick it up and bite into it, to the moment your stomach receives it and uses it to nourish your body.[4] Observe and enjoy what you are holding, seeing, touching, smelling, placing in your mouth, tasting, crunching, swallowing, and savouring! What difference does it make for you to pause here and be thankful?
Breathing
One of the best ways to calm our body and mind is to take control of our breathing. We all know what erratic, shallow, forced breathing feels like when we are stressed or anxious. Instead we should aim to have times where we are present with each breath, developing a thankful attitutde which balances emotions, calms an overactive mind and replenishes energy levels.
Slow, relaxed breathing with your diaphragm fully activated is vital for the effective working of our lymphatic system, which depends on the diaphragm to move lymphatic fluid around the body. As you know, our lymphatic system is an important part of our immune system and removes waste from all the organs in our abdomen.
There are many techniques to develop thankful breathing and you may already know which ones work best for you. If you would like to explore this more, please contact me or you can read more here.
Thinking
I am going to mix metaphors here! If our thoughts and feelings are like a garden, they need to be pruned and weeded so that the negative thoughts do not dominate and take over. If our mind is like a train station, we don’t need to hop on each thought that comes through your mind. There will be some thoughts which, like the wrong train, will take you where you don’t need to go and you can make the decision not to hop on it. As Christians, we see in the Bible that we can ‘take every thought captive’ (2 Corinthians 10:5) as a way to ensure a thankful mind.
As a Christian, I am attentive to my thoughts and to what feelings attach themselves to my thoughts. In the ongoing journey of being thankful, attentive and present in each moment, I am also aware that God is present in each and every moment. More amazing is the fact that God is paying attention to me as well with lovingkindness and joy.
Sleeping
This may seem like a paradox in terms, because when we are sleeping we are not consciously thankful of anything! However, quality sleep is something that sometimes does not come naturally, especially when we are stressed or anxious or ill in body or mind. Sleep is so important because it boosts our immune system, improves mental health, supports neurological processes and protects physical restoration.[5] Being thoughtful and thankful about sleep may include getting to bed a bit earlier, turning off all artificial lights, reducing caffeine and alcohol, or acknowledge any emotional issues and calm your mind before you fall asleep.[6]
What else can help improve our mental and physical health so that thankfulness can come naturally and easily?
- Get more Sunlight!
Many people recommend a lightbox or light therapy such as an alarm clock that uses light to wake you up, and I always recommend taking Vitamin D in supplement form during the Winter. Sunlight plays a critical role in the serotonin activity and Vitamin D helps combat all the negative effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder. See me if you would like to check your Vitamin D levels – good levels range from 50 to 70ng/ml.
- Eat food that is good for your gut!
Probiotic fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and kefir can increase healthy bacteria and they often work through the vagus nerve. When you have your probiotics, remember to eat prebiotic food because this is what probiotics feed on and proliferate from!
- Get more ‘flavonoids’ in your diet!
A specific group of polyphenols called “flavonoids” are known to combat depression and cognitive decline. Flavonoids are found in foods such as oranges, berries, and cocoa products and food groups rich in polyphenols are cocoa, blueberries, flaxseeds, nuts, black olives and artichokes. A 2016 study showed that higher flavonoid intakes may be associated with lower depression risk and a 2007 study showed that a high intake of flavonoids through diet, resulted in better cognitive performance in people 65 and older. You might like to read this French study from 2010!
- Eat more oily fish
Salmon, sardines, mackerel and trout are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and can also help with depression: omega 3 fatty acids are essential fats that make up the external membrane of the brain’s neurons and they are often missing in people with depression. If you really don’t like fish, make sure you eat plenty of nuts and seeds (flaxseeds, hemp, walnuts) which also have essential fatty acids. You can also take omega 3 supplements!
With every blessing,
Emma
Emma Maitland-Carew – Registered Nutritional Therapist
Dip.ION, mBANT, CHNC Registered Practitioner,
Metabolic Balance® Coach, HeartMath Coach.
[1] Hölzel, B.K., et al. (2011). ‘Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density.’ Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), pp.36-43. nihms-232587.pdf
[2] Colzato, L., Ozturk, A. & Hommel, B. (2012).’Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring meditation training on convergent and divergent thinking.’ Frontiers in Psychology. Apr;3, p.116. Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking (nih.gov)
[3] Killingsworth, M., & Gilbert, D. (2010). ‘Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders.’ Science, 330, p.932.
[4] Thanks to Ben Greenfield at Kion for this idea which is derived from his ‘raisin meditation’ Breaking a Fast Mindfully: Intentional Eating After a Fast – Kion (getkion.com)
[5] See my blog post Restorative Sleep – Nutritional Therapy Oxfordshire (emmamaitland-carew.co.uk)
[6] You might like to listen to this podcast by ‘Deliciously Ella’ with Matthew Walker https://deliciouslyella.com/podcast/why-we-sleep-with-matthew-walker/#play
