There are moments when the stars align to offer you surprising opportunities to see your growth and stand in your truth and light.
I was recently at a medical appointment (Everything is fine, just annual maintenance.), when the doctor shared that after the holiday season, she was feeling kind of “yuck” and wanted to exercise more because of all the eating she did. Then she asked me, “Have you been “good” or did you eat a lot over the holidays?“
Here’s where it got weird: I had no idea how to respond. (This really never happens…) My brain was misfiring, screaming, “DOES NOT COMPUTE”, and nothing would come out of my mouth.
A thousand thoughts rushed througn my head in the couple of seconds between the ask and my answer as I realized that eating was no longer connected with guilt or shame in my life. This was not always the case, growing up in a culture focused on body-shaming and comparison. Like most females in the US, my relationship with food—inherited and taught—has been a work in progress for most of my life.
This doctor gave me a great gift that day—the chance to reflect on and feel, at the cellular level, the effects of the changes I’ve made.
This simple concept changed my life: “Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.” Becoming aware of the healing powers of food and shifting the way I eat in relation to that helped me to change my health 180 degrees for the better—increasing my energy and stamina, clearing chronic inflammation, eliminating rosacea and rashes, and actually changing the structure of my cells to be healthier. In fact, these shifts were so dramatic that I might not believe it if I didn’t experience it for myself!
Here are some of the things I learned that took me deeper:
• Nature is supportive. She gives us exactly what we need all year round in the form of foods that are growing naturally in the area where we live. These foods provide the qualities that are opposite to what is going on in the environment—for example, cooling, watery cucumbers in the hottest part of summer. When we eat more of these things, we become more balanced.
• Not everything is good for me. Because we are all individuals, there are no rules across the board. Learning what works with and against our particular constitution makes all the difference.
• Focusing on what we “can’t have” never works. Simply put, this just makes us want it more, maybe even leading to obsession. Instead, focusing on the things that are beneficial to our systems and ingesting more of them will leave less room for the other things.
Also, giving ourselves permission to have the things on the “no-no” list when we want to takes the sense of finality away, leaving us the space to breathe and choose.
• Spices are our friends. Beyond salt and pepper, there’s a whole world of spices out there with medicinal purposes. Adding them to our foods helps us to increase our health while doing something we were going to do, anyway—eat!
• Our thoughts affect the way our bodies receive food. Ingesting anything with guilt, shame, or a “negative” feeling, signals to the body that what is coming in is poisonous. This prevents it from being digested, as it is attacked instead.
BUT, when we can stand by our choices (no matter what they are) and ingest and enjoy what it is we are bringing in, the body has the chance to receive the most nourishment possible from it.
I know that shifting views and indoctrinations around food, eating, and body image is not always a simple feat. I share these things, because we each need a place to begin or continue from. These concepts are easy to digest (heh, heh) and profound and will pave the way to lasting change along with the right support.
I hope that you will be able to find more joy, in the simplicity and redundancy of something you have to do 3 times a day anyway, so mangia!
Oh, and in case you are still interested in my answer to the proposed question, it was, “Hm. I am realizing that I don’t really do the guilt thing around food. What I can tell you is that I enjoyed everything I ate, especially when it was made with Love.”
I hope that we all continue on the path to being able to ingest all the Love possible and enjoy ourselves fully while doing so!
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Want to know more about your personal constitution so that you can make more educated food choices?
An Ayurvedic Health Counseling Session with me will help!
Want more consistent support? The New Year, New You 3-session special should do the trick!