how to eat
Written by Desmond Olubunmi · Founder of Sunya
Shifting the body into the precise physiological state required to fully extract nourishment from food. The practice of realising that eating while stressed turns even the finest food into a burden.
The autonomic nervous system has two primary gears: sympathetic (survival mode) and parasympathetic (rest and digest). When you eat while stressed — rushing between tasks, watching alarming news, or working through lunch — the brain has physically diverted blood away from the digestive organs and into the limbs.
In this state, the digestive system is essentially offline. Even the highest-quality food, consumed in a state of tension and distraction, will ferment, stagnate, and produce metabolic waste rather than nourishment. To extract maximum life force from food, the body must first be anchored in a state of genuine safety and presence.
The parasympathetic pause: Never take a bite while your heart rate is elevated or your mind is racing. Before eating, sit in front of your food and take three slow, deep breaths — a long inhale followed by a long exhale. This mechanically activates the parasympathetic nervous system, physically turns on the digestive organs, and signals the body that it is safe to receive nourishment.
Mastication — chew completely: Digestion does not begin in the stomach; it begins in the mouth. Chew every bite until it is completely liquid before swallowing. This pre- digests the food mechanically, dramatically reducing the load on the intestines and allowing the body to extract the maximum nourishment with minimal effort.
Digital fasting at the table: Remove all screens, stressful conversations, and chaotic inputs from the eating environment. Your eyes and ears are consuming the environment at the same time your mouth is consuming the food. Injecting anxiety or stimulation into the meal cross-wires the nervous system — the frequency of what you watch enters the body alongside the food.
Mitahara — the law of the void: Never eat to full capacity. The digestive system requires physical space to churn and process food effectively. The traditional guidance of Mitahara recommends filling the stomach roughly half with food, a quarter with water, and leaving the remaining quarter empty. If the furnace is completely packed with fuel, it smothers the fire.
Occasional writing on the levers, the practices, and how to actually work with them.
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