We all know about the benefits of healthy eating – whether you aim for your five-a-day, ten-a-day or struggle to fit in a portion of fruit and veg a week.

We’re also hearing more and more about meditation and mindfulness, and that keeping the mind healthy can lead to better overall wellbeing.

Now you can kill two birds with one stone, increasing your fruit intake while achieving inner zen: raisin meditation is here.

This simple technique is a good way to bring a bit of mindfulness in to your daily routine – and if you’re not a raisin fan then just swap them for any other food or drink.

Below we talk you through how to use all your senses in raisin meditation, as advised by Eugene Farrell, AXA PPP healthcare’s psychological health expert.

Once you've grabbed a raisin, find a quiet place to sit, and take a few deep breaths to prepare for the exercise.

  • Look at the raisin. Really concentrate. Let your eyes roam over the fruit and pick out all the details – the colour, areas of light and shade, any ridges or shine. Before moving on, you might want to close your eyes, as this can heighten your other senses and help you focus.
  • Touch the raisin. Feel its smallness in your palm. Explore the raisin’s texture with your fingers. Is the skin waxy? Are there any edges? It is soft or hard?
  • Smell the raisin. Bring it close to your nose and with your deep inhalations and exhalations, concentrate on any scents and fragrances you can detect. Does it smell sweet? Or perhaps earthy? Has this triggered your taste buds or made your tummy grumble?
  • Taste the raisin. Place it in your mouth, noticing how your hand instinctively knows where to go. Don’t chew yet, just spend some time concentrating on how the raisin feels on your tongue. Turn it over in your mouth and feel it’s texture on the roof of your mouth. Take one or two bites into the fruit, without swallowing it yet. Fix your mind on the sensations just released into your mouth. How does it taste? How does this develop as the moments pass? How has the raisin changed? Do the smaller pieces of fruit feel different?
  • Hear the sounds you make as you chew it and swallow. Notice When you have really explored the sensation of the raisin in your mouth, notice your intention to swallow it and then follow with the physical action.

If you can, track the sensation of the raisin going into your tummy. Now take a moment to notice how your whole body feels.

Then you can get on with the rest of your day.

Practising this each day can supposedly help you become more focussed on the present moment and make you think less about past and future worries.