When Lilian Cheung first met Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as “Thay” to his millions of followers) she thought she had found the fountain of youth. “Thay is 85 years old, but his mind is so lucid. He was exposed to agent orange for years in Vietnam, but he looks incredible. On his retreats he wakes up at 5:30 and leads a morning exercise of Thai Chi. A lot of the younger folks can not keep up with him!” Thay’s secret, according to the book, is mindfulness, an ancient Buddhist practice that can help you finally stick with healthy habits such as eating right and exercising. FOF spoke with Dr. Cheung about Savor and her own quest to become “a part-time Buddha.”

• FOF: You’ve been a nutritionist at Harvard for many years. How did you get involved with Thich Nhat Hanh?
  • Dr. Cheung: I attended his first retreat in 1997 in Key West. I got a brochure in the mail at home. The subject of the retreat—Touching More Peace and Joy in Your Life--was very interesting to me. It was a hectic time in my personal and professional life. I have three kids.
• FOF: You’re a busy FOF.
  • Dr. C: Yes. So I went to the retreat. Over nine hundred people attended.
• FOF: Wow.
  • Dr. C: We spent nine days together and half of the retreat was in total silence. We practiced mindful eating, mindful walking and mindful breathing. Thay was teaching mindfulness in a very experiential way.
• FOF: What exactly is mindfulness?
  • Dr. C: Being aware and present in the moment so that we can focus on the truth.
• FOF: Can you give a real-word example?
  • When you’re walking somewhere, you’re probably thinking about your work, or your kids or your next appointment. When you walk mindfully, you focus just on the walking. You connect your body and your mind together through breathing.
• FOF: I think I get it.
  • Dr. C: Thay is very good at teaching you to integrate mindfulness into the most mundane, everyday routines. In the book we have the traffic jam meditation; the grocery line meditation—even the email meditation. Before you send an email, take three deep breaths to so you can calm down and focus on the task at hand. That way, you don’t make any mistakes like sending to the wrong person!
• FOF: I love that. How does this apply to eating and diet?
  • Dr. C: As a nutritionist, I know how to tell people to eat more fruits and vegetables, but the difficult part is sticking with it! Through mindfulness, we can actually change our brains and maintain these habits.
• FOF: Okay, so how would you incorporate mindfulness into how you eat breakfast in the morning...