Understanding Meditation
While many people think of it as contemplation or deep thinking, meditation actually refers to training in mindfulness -- being aware of and accepting all moment-to-moment experiences, including inner (thoughts, feelings,
sensations) and outer (sounds, sights, events).

The practice of meditation is about relaxing in order to focus: a daily session in which we intentionally focus our minds on something, such as our breath or a word. When the mind inevitably strays to a thought or emotion, we bring our attention back to the chosen focus. By letting thoughts and feelings pass without judging them, most regular meditators describe feeling more relaxed, less anxious and therefore less disturbed by negative thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.

How Meditation Can Help Eating Struggles
Practicing meditation regularly can help us deal positively with any problem that's triggered or aggravated by stress. Stress causes us to breathe shallowly and hold tension in our bodies. By repeatedly practicing letting go of thoughts and feelings as soon as we notice them, we train our mind and bodies to recognize when they are stressed and react differently.

People with eating struggles also do better by learning to truly nourish themselves. Meditation is a way to nourish ourselves with our attention. It is a way to befriend ourselves.

After only 12 weeks of daily practice, meditators experience less activity in the parts of the brain associated with the perception of threat, anxiety, fear, distrust or hostility -- and increased activity in the part of the brain associated with relaxation, compassion, and acceptance. The areas of the brain that are more active with memory, attention, focus and decision-making thicken even in people who haven't been meditating very long. No matter what meditation method is used, practitioners develop concentration and the ability to abide with feelings, events, or sensations as they are, without needing to change them.

Meditation can be very useful for people who struggle with eating. The relaxed, upright posture produces a calmer, more balanced emotional state. Watching the mind, being aware of thoughts, feelings and sensations, and bringing the mind back to a focus gradually trains us to be a "witness" rather than "victim" of our own states. Every time we bring the mind back to the focus, it is like exercising a muscle in the gym-the ability to let go of disturbances and focus the mind grows stronger. Gradually, we recognize that thoughts and feelings are temporary experiences, arising and falling away like waves in the ocean.

Starting the Practice
You can make daily meditation a habit with the steps outlined below. It is easy to get discouraged and quit, especially if we set high expectations for ourselves. The benefits we get from regular practice can keep us going, if we are realistic about how long we ask ourselves to sit, and if we don't expect to attain exalted states.

Note that meditation is not for everyone. As we begin meditation, our thoughts and feelings may seem to worsen - become more intense - although actually what we are experiencing is just a greater awareness of them. Emotional stability is important, so people who are severely depressed or vulnerable to psychosis are not advised to meditate.

Getting Started
1. Experiment with finding a time and place that works for you. It can help to sit in front of something inspiring, like a table with a beautiful picture or object on it. It may take time to find the right place and time.
2. Sit with your spine as long as you can, your shoulders and chest broad, eyes gently closed or slightly open, right palm on top of the left. Sitting on a chair is fine if you can sit with your spine straight.
3. Begin to notice your breath, without trying to change it, as it is, coming and going. This is called "bare attention," noticing your breath and the awareness that perceives it. You might count the breaths, beginning again at one when you bring the mind back. You can imagine your breath moving from your nose to the floor in front of you in an arc, or focus on the sensation of the breath in your nostrils or belly.
4. Some of your attention can be aware of, but not focused on, the stream of thoughts, feelings, sensations and sounds, (as you would be aware of yet ignore the tape that runs at the bottom of the CNN news.)
5. When you find you are distracted, bring your attention back to your breath. You will need to do this many times, like exercising a muscle. This is the activity that trains the mind to be aware of thoughts and feelings without judging or holding on.
6. Be kind to yourself and curious about how your mind is in any given session. Thoughts and feelings are natural, our goal isn't to stop or quiet them, but rather to be aware when we are distracted by them and willing to come back to the breath.
7. Begin with five-minute sessions. Set a timer if necessary. Training the mind is like training a puppy. Short consistent sessions build a habit of meditating and can be gradually lengthened. It helps to end a session before you want to so that you feel the desire to do it again.
8. You can begin and end your practice by dedicating any benefit that results to help all beings. This broadens the scope from just one to many, and builds the motivation to help others.
9. You may want to find a teacher you trust and a group of people to practice with, just as we benefit from having an exercise class or music teacher.

Further Reading
Smith, Jean. Breath Sweeps Mind: A First Guide to Meditation Practice, Berkeley, CA: A Tricycle Book, 1998.

This FitBriefing was written by Gretchen Rose Newmark, MA, RD, LD, a registered dietitian in private practice specializing in eating disorders in Portland, OR. She teaches meditation individually and to groups, and has taught hatha yoga. She is also a Spiritual Director, focusing on people's religious or spiritual lives.

This brief overview reflects the author's Buddhist meditation training; other traditions, including Christian and Jewish, have meditation methods as well.