GAGGING THE COOK

WEEK 5: Today Frederiko the cook showed up out of the blue. He was a wave of words in my quiet group....."Well I know all about this, I'm seeing 4 psychologists now, when I have a leave I go to group therapy....."...etc. Every time I'd try to introduce the theme of the day, he would wildly wave his arm with an urgent question...something like, " Well, if you're left handed is it true that you get paralysis on the right side of your body?" I decided to do an excersize on mindfull eating, and had brought them chocolate coated pretzels. I asked them to close their eyes and breathe, and hold the pretzel in their hands, noticing smell, texture, etc, then little by little tasting and breathing and noticing what happens in the mouth when we bite into something. Since the other members had already done the raisin excersize and knew a little about mindfullness, they experimented with the flavour. I had my eyes closed and was instructing how to notice, when I heard a mad gagging sound. Frederiko had gulped the pretzel down, and while breathing proceeded to gag on it..he was turning blue, gulping, coughing, sputtering. My other quieter more compliant students were trying not to laugh....Frederiko tore out of the room doubled over. "I breathe in calm body. I breathe out I smile. I breathe in"....("where in the hell was the prison doctor when you needed him?")... "I breathe out....I smile."