Therapeutic cooking is meditation for people who love to eat (or hate to sit still) - Well+Good

As someone whose job it is to write about wellness, I have a (somewhat) shameful confession to make: I hate meditating.

It’s not for a lack of trying; I’m well aware of how it can reduce anxiety and depression, as well as its other major benefits for your brain and overall well-being. But for some reason I just can’t get into it. Even in a sensory deprivation tank the other day, with literally zero distractions, I just floated from edge to edge of the chamber while thinking about what I was going to eat for lunch. 

If you find yourself similarly stuck (i.e. you want the benefits of meditation without actually having to meditate), rest assured there is a solution: therapeutic cooking. Basically, it’s using the act of cooking for yourself as a mindful, meditative experience. And it’s a viable meditation alternative, says Harry Ritter, MD, the founder and CEO of Alma, a co-working space for therapists.

“Meditation as a concept is this idea of taking time out of your day, shutting everything down, and withdrawing into yourself for a period of time,” he says. There’s nothing wrong with that per se (again, meditation has so many proven benefits), but the traditional practice of sitting on a pillow, not doing anything, and just focusing on breathing is a tall order for some people. With therapeutic cooking, Dr. Ritter says you can use the act of cooking as another opportunity to create that space for yourself—no culinary degree required. 

No, therapeutic cooking is not the same as your usual rush job putting together a smoothie in the morning. Dr. Ritter says that you should only be focusing on preparing food (following your recipe, etc.) without any outside distractions. You set aside time to do it like you set aside time to work out, he adds. Any kind of cooking, baking, or creating in the kitchen will suffice. This not about working on the skill of cooking; it’s about using the existing skills you have in order to create space for yourself. 

It’s unclear whether it is as effective as meditation, since this concept has not exactly been widely studied. But there are promising potential mental health benefits of cooking in general—a 2018 review of studies found that cooking interventions can help improve people’s mood and self-esteem, and potentially even ease symptoms of depression and anxiety. (Sounds like meditation, huh?)

Want to see what therapeutic cooking looks like in action? Check out this sex writer’s self-care routine: 

Dr. Ritter believes there are a few things at play that make therapeutic cooking work. First, you have to pay enough attention to the task at hand when you cook, which allows you to separate your mind from things like how stressed you are about work or if you’re going to run into your ex at the gym. “It’s an opportunity to distract your mind and focus it on something else,” Dr. Ritter explains. Cooking can also help you reconnect with the physical world. “We’re so digitally connected that we sometimes forget to be physically connected. And so the idea of working with your hands, creating with your hands, is actually really powerful,” he explains.

A perk of therapeutic cooking not necessarily found with meditation: having a tangible result. “You have the opportunity to work on something that has an output at the end of it,” Dr. Ritter says. (And a delicious one at that.) “There’s something about being able to start something and finish it, and have something to show for it that I think is extremely powerful and really helps people connect and settle themselves,” he says. Traditional meditation absolutely has results (improved well-being, less stress, all that jazz), but if you’re the kind of person who needs a physical reward to feel like they’ve accomplished something, therapeutic cooking might be right up your alley.

Dr. Ritter says doesn’t really matter if you practice therapeutic cooking in the morning or at night, just as long as you aren’t rushed in a way that makes cooking feel like a chore. “People should do it at a time when they can really engage in the activity and they’re not trying to multitask,” he says. 

If you want to get started but aren’t super confident in your cooking skills, Dr. Ritter recommends making eggs in the morning. “It’s a really nice way to start your day,” he says. Sounds much better than my usual routine of scrolling through Instagram before rolling out of bed 10 minutes before I have to be at the gym, inevitably getting there late, and being forced by my trainer to do extra burpees as recompense. 

Practicing meditation can come in many forms—here’s why one writer says her manicures are important to her self-care routine. And, how to create a realistic self-care routine you’ll actually stick to.

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https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/therapeutic-cooking-meditation/

2019-03-14 20:14:10Z
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