How your phone is making you fat.

Hello, are you there? It’s me, your body.

Everywhere I look I see people staring into smartphones.

They’re on trains, in buses, at dinner tables, waiting in queues, walking along the street bumping into things, in toilets. (Oops maybe I only saw myself do that, but I know you’ve probably done it too. Gross hey…) Every spare second is filled with virtual space, it’s demanding, incessant and seductive. And it’s pulling us out right out of our bodies.

Do you escape from your body into your monkey mind and out into the virtual world at every opportunity?

I know you probably do. Here’s some stats to prove it. 

• Almost 50% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up – 28% before even getting out of bed 
• 57% of people talk to people more online than they do in real life
• Globally more people own a mobile phone than a toothbrush.
• 60% admit to using their device while going to the bathroom. ( See it’s not just me! )
• There are more devices connected to the Internet than there are people on Earth.
• 24% of people have missed witnessing important moments because they are too busy trying to write about them on social networks.
• 40% of people spend more time socializing online than they do face-to-face.
• On average, we spend 4.4 hours of our leisure time in front of screens each day.

Source: http://thesocialskinny.com/216-social-media-and-internet-statistics-september-2012/

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But, what does that have to do with my weight?

Overweight-ness (I know that’s not a real word) and escaping from your body go hand in hand. If you’re constantly in the virtual world then you’re ignoring all the other sensory messages from your body.  You can become so disconnected that you forget how to listen to the subtle, quiet messages from your cells. Like hunger, or fullness, or sensory pleasure.  Not to mention the damage to our focus and productivity our brain pings to check our phone or email a few hundred times per day. All of this constant activity can cause you to feel busy and stressed and unhappy. Which means your cortisol levels rise and you store belly fat. And if you’re busy, stressed and unhappy you’re more likely to mindlessly comfort eat and not remember how to stop.

Quiet, stillness, introspection, listening to the quiet wisdom inside is the key to lasting happiness and health. It’s not just me saying that either.

“Within my body are all the sacred places of the world, and the most profound pilgrimage I can ever make is within my own body.” – Saraha

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

“It is only by grounding our awareness in the living sensation of our bodies that the ‘I Am,’ our real presence, can awaken.” – G.I. Gurdjieff

 The “get back in your body” challenge…

I challenge you (and myself) to ground yourself in your body at least three times per day by switching off your phone, taking three deep breaths and spending 5 minutes feeling your feet on the floor, the air on your skin and listening to the ambient noise. Close your eyes and allow yourself to dive within. I just did it here at my desk and it feels awesome, expansive, beautiful. If your monkey mind is chattering, calm it by repeating a word or two, like: Peace. Love. Stillness. Joy.  

And sometimes when you’re walking down a nice street, put your phone away and just enjoy watching the sun through the leaves, or the sound of your feet, the feel of your clothes on your skin. Life is too short to spend it all tweeting, posting, liking, pinging etc. Get back inside your body and remember how it FEELS to BE alive.