Meditation Monday: Bechamel Sauce

I love, love, love to cook.  For me, it's one of the best forms of meditation because it requires a fairly intense focus.  Problem is, with a 5 month old around I don't get much of a chance to cook the way I love to--all day long, with my husband on big projects like intricate pastas, soups or stews.  That is until grandparents show up for Thanksgiving weekend.

So, with the precious resource of babysitters around, we embarked on some epic cooking projects this past weekend.  One in particular, lasagna made with Bechamel sauce (a la Giada DeLaurentiis), provided an unexpected meditation opportunity. Bechamel sauce,  because it needs constant stirring, requires you to focus on just one thing for at least ten minutes.  Wa-lah!!  It fits my micro meditation definition.

There I was, stirring my Bechamel sauce.  I would breathe in for 7 counts stirring right to left and then I would exhale for 7 counts stirring left to right.  I did that for approximately 15 minutes while I waited patiently for the sauce to hit the right thickness.

There you have it.  Grab a pot, some milk, flour, butter, etc. and get to stirring, breathing and a very fulfilling micro-meditation.