Eating Like Royalty: Reclaiming Your Sovereignty with Food

“You do that like a king or a queen.

You do that because you want to do that, and not because you are pushed to do that.”

You do that on purpose. 

Pick up a piece of tofu, all the sovereignty. 

You know that you are doing that. It’s your will to do that. 

You are a free person.” - Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on Mindful Eating 

Full video here.

Eating is almost as fundamental to life as breathing.

Before we were even born, we had been nourished by our mothers, through the umbilical cord. 

That was our first experience with food. 

If we look at a layer deeper, at a DNA level, through the lens of epigenetics, 

Our relationship with food was formed even before we were conceived, through our ancestors.

Their relationships with food carried energy, which eventually passes down to us on a molecular level. 

Food is more than sustenance or fuel.

Food is bonding. Food is family. Food is culture.

Food is Love.

Our heart flutters when someone cooks us a delicious meal to our liking. 

It goes beyond the physical.

Food can touch our souls (at least mine). 

Yet somewhere along the way, many of us lost touch with this natural, joyful relationship with food. 

We became confused, restricted, guilty, excessive, mindless, habitual.

We stopped eating like the sovereign beings Thich Nhat Hanh describes.

Instead of discussing the latest debate around food, diet recommendations, or sharing with you what has worked for me,

I simply want you to sit with these questions for a while.

1. “Do you feel free in your relationship with food, or constrained by rules, guilt, or confusion?"

2. “What beliefs about food are guiding your choices?” 

3. “How are these beliefs serving your wellbeing — physically, mentally, emotionally?"

4. “What would eating with sovereignty look like for you?"

This week, practice picking up your food like a king or queen. 

Notice what changes when you eat with intention rather than obligation.

If you'd like support exploring these questions, I'm here for you.

Good Health & Qi,

Anthony
Beacon, New York