Melting My Meditation Frustration:Why you should eat more chocolate
Consistent meditation practice seems to elude me. Sure, I can sit for a long time (probably too good at this), stare into a candle flame. I can take deep cleansing breaths and even manage to calm my spirit. Within a few minutes my mind wanders and if I’m to be truly honest…my mind wanders within seconds. Like most creatives, I have an active mind…VERY active. I have tried. I’d be sitting all “zen-like” in my room and if you were to pass by you’d think, “Wow, look at the meditation maven”. But inside my colorful brain , I’ve already thought of three businesses, 2 art projects I want to try, planned the menu for a month, beat myself up for some way I messed up my kids and planned a trip to Europe.
Years of meditation attempts have left me feeling like a failure, so I stopped trying until recently, when I learned that my Cortisol levels are crazy high! This is likely due to stress from that past year (maybe longer), resulting in adrenal fatigue, which includes brain fog, extreme fatigue and weight gain. Cortisol is a steroid hormone and is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucose. So I HAD to find a way to stay mindful, calm and rested.
You may be asking,”Kit, what does all of this has to do with the above photo of chocolate?”
In my research about cortisol and what varying practices, activities and foods trigger a response,
I learned that chocolate tends to lower cortisol and in moderation it can actually help me calm my mind, get back in balance and maybe even lose this weight I’ve put on this past year. Before you wolf down a big bag of name brand chocolate however, this only applies to VERY dark (72 %) all natural chocolate without the yucky extras and sugar.
Right after I read this I received a newsletter from Dr. Sara Gottfried , author of the Hormone Cure (I recommend) in which she touts the attributes of dark chocolate saying not only can dark chocolate be good for you, but depriving yourself is BAD for cortisol levels and even suggested to a patient that she use chocolate for meditation…. What??? Holy F–K, she is now my new best friend!
So here’s the deal…
1. Sit somewhere comfy.
2. Place a square of VERY dark chocolate on your tongue. Do NOT chew!
3. Close your eyes
4. Take some deep breaths
5. Now wait and let the chocolate melt on your tongue.
Notice the taste, the texture, the sensation, the flavor with each breath, really enjoy this moment. NO guilt about eating chocolate allowed! Just pure guilt-free chocolatey BLISSSSSS!
Do this every day and see what happens. Try with your sweetie for an intimate meditation, or even with your kids as a family moment to teach them a tasty mindfulness practice.
Now about the picture above…
For me to indulge in the dark chocolate goodness guilt free, I wanted to find a chocolate with no white to cane sugar and I have a huge bag of cacao that I bought by accident, so I Googled it and found a recipe to make my own.
Doesn’t everyone do that? 🙂
Raw Chocolate Meditation Melt-Away Recipe
Serves: 1-2
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, softened or melted a bit
- 4 tablespoons cacao powder (cocoa will work too)
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- a drop of vanilla (optional)
- sea salt to taste (optional)
Instructions:
Line a dish with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine all three ingredients and mix until well combined.
Taste and adjust sweetness as needed.
Transfer the chocolate magic mixture to the parchment-lined dish and smooth with a spatula if needed.
Sprinkle the salt on top.
Place in the freezer to set for 20 minutes, then use a knife to cut into bite-sized chunks.
Serve immediately or store in the fridge with parchment paper in between the pieces and reach in as needed for meditation 😉
Enjoy and you’re welcome!
Kit
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