Free The Tao of Stress: How to Calm, Balance, and Simplify Your Life by Robert G. Santee Page B

friend
    while he ate lunch.
    The student, Kapena, was having a stir- fry, which he ate slowly
    with chopsticks. After finishing his meal, he leisurely drank a big glass of water. Meanwhile, Emilio gobbled down a large burger,
    French fries, and a piece of chocolate cake, gulping down a
    twenty- four- ounce soda and talking on his phone all the while.
    After finishing his phone call and taking his last bite of cake,
    which he chased down with his last gulp of soda, Emilio grasped
    his belly and started to complain that his stomach hurt. Looking
    across at Kapena, he said, “I just don’t understand. Why does this happen every time I eat? I always seem to get a stomachache,
    indigestion, and gas. I don’t get it!”
    Kapena responded by saying, “I might be able to offer some
    advice if you like, but I’d want to ask you some questions first.
    Would that be all right?”
    Emilio, who was grimacing with pain, said, “No problem. Sure.
    Anything to stop this!”
    Kapena asked, “Do you always eat and drink like you did just
    now— eating quickly, not really chewing very much, and gulping
    down soda?”
    Emilio replied, “I never really thought about it, but yes, I guess I do.”
    Then Kapena asked, “Do you often talk on the phone while
    eating?”
    Emilio nodded and said, “Yes. Or if I’m not on the phone, I
    usually do something else, like watching TV or reading. I always
    do something while I eat. It saves time!”
    Kapena said, “Okay. I think I have some advice for you if
    you’re still interested.” Emilio said he was, so Kapena continued.
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    The Tao of Stress
    “Your eating behaviors aren’t beneficial for digesting your food.
    They all stress your body, which results in digestion problems.”
    Emilio responded, “Yep. You nailed it. How do you know so
    much about this?”
    Kapena replied, “My family has a long history of trying to live
    in harmony with the ocean, the mountains, and the land, which
    we can talk about later if you wish. Anyhow, one of our guidelines is that we practice moderation in all of our behaviors. Looking at it that way, your eating behaviors are too excessive. As a result, your body isn’t in harmony, or, to use more familiar language, it’s overly stressed. This is probably why you have all these symptoms.”
    Emilio thought about this for a minute, and then said, “Okay.
    And your advice?”
    Kapena said, “You need to slow down and take your time
    when eating. Chew your food slowly and thoroughly before
    swallowing it. It’s best not to drink while eating. Drink after you finish eating. Also, don’t do anything else while you eat and drink.
    Just eat and drink. Finally, you should probably consider changing how much you eat and drink, and maybe what you eat and drink. I
    suspect that you don’t drink enough water. Most of all, just
    remember to be moderate in regard to eating and drinking.”
    Sophia’s Story
    After getting home from work at around 6 p.m., Sophia typically
    turned on all the lights in her house, made a pot of coffee, and
    watched soap operas for two hours, usually drinking two to three
    cups of coffee as she watched. She often didn’t start preparing
    dinner until 8 p.m. at the earliest, so she often ate around 9 p.m.
    As she ate, she usually watched a crime drama and drank more
    coffee. At 10 p.m., she watched another crime show while eating a
    big bowl of ice cream. Once that show was over at 11 p.m., she
    watched the news for an hour. Around midnight, she turned off all
    the lights and headed to bed.
    After tossing and turning for about an hour, Sophia usually
    fell asleep. But she often woke up in the middle of the night feeling 58
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    hungry, and when that happened, she usually got up and had a
    snack. After getting back to sleep, she usually slept until her alarm went off. However, she frequently woke up with a headache and
    felt tired, drained, and a little edgy. This had been going on for a month or so and