By Dr. Gail Cloud
Today, I am sharing a little bit about our relationship with food. Food is the first way we are nourished and the main way that we nourish ourselves. So, food is important symbolically as well as literally. In our society, many of us are brought up with fast food, sugary snacks, and sodas, and so those foods become our go to foods; foods we go to almost instinctively. We usually don’t give thought to the little things we put into our mouths. Not only do they taste good to us, but they unconsciously become as comfortable as home.
However, choosing snacks and food and meals can become a choice rather than a blind way we feed ourselves. I also work with this in myself and is an important component to how I continue my own healing work.
What if we caught ourselves reaching for a coke or a cookie or a bag of chips, paused, and instead of simply doing what is automatic, but taking a minute to think about what we really want? For example, do I want energy and feel tired? Am I hungry for food, or something else, like comfort or a way to get away from an uncomfortable feeling? If I am hungry, what feels good to my gut and would feel nourishing and good versus just satisfying a craving? Could it be some fresh fruit for energy? Could it be a handful of nuts, or something more substantial like a quick stir fry with veggies and a protein source and rice or quinoa? It is amazing what a difference a little pause can make for us.
Doing so also involves doing our shopping in a more mindful way as well.
I enjoy guiding people to health in many ways, and one is through how we nourish ourselves. If you would like some guidance in this, or in other ways to health, please reach out and make an appointment. Gail@bodypresencing.com. www.bodypresencing.com. 314-995-9755.