“Let Food Be Thine Medicine”
— Hippocrates
original writing by Mo Rees
The first thing I ever felt spiritually connected to was interestingly enough, food. I was in my early 20’s and up until this point I felt pretty jaded about religion and spirituality, However, I was interested in energy. I remember hearing somewhere that different foods held different energetic vibrations. Organic produce had a high energy vibration while processed food was essentially dead. I realized that everything that went inside of my mouth was having an effect either positive or negative on my energy body.
My eyes were opened in 2012 when I watched a documentary called “Hungry for Change.” I remember this visceral reaction I had to the information in this doc. I bought a juicer the next day and thus my journey began. I started researching benefits of different vegetables fruits and herbs. I would spend hours geeking out on what parsley and cucumber could do for the body. I was beginning to read labels on everything I bought and started to really care where I was sourcing food from. I began to feel a connection to something greater and was really feeling the shifts in my energy when I would consume high vibe foods compared to processed foods with a shelf life older than me.
It would be a big lie to say that my relationship to food was all rainbows. I still struggled with body image issues, eating disorders and an alcohol problem that started earlier than it should have. Restriction and over consumption, eating to soothe heavy emotions and beating up on myself relentlessly were still a part of my experience during this time. For me, the journey to loving and accepting self has been long and non-linear. I attribute this mainly to three things:
The unresolved emotional trauma i was carrying
The societal messaging around diet culture and beauty standards, especially for women, and even more so for young girls.
Living from a space with a dysregulated nervous system
I was proud of myself for the steps I was taking to improve my health, however, I was blissfully unaware that I was operating from a place of survival. This can make the mind body connection a little more tricky to navigate. Was I feeling better with my clean diet? Yes. Was my body regulated? No. I was still dealing with immune system issues, chronic stress, and gut problems. It doesn’t matter what food or exercise you are giving your body if your nervous system is out of whack. If our autonomic nervous system AKA fight our flight is dysregulated, the system is unable to return to a state of homeostasis or to appropriately deal with stress. So here’s the deal: even if you are eating the cleanest most high vibration diet yet your body is operating from fight or flight, you might experience digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, and malabsorption. You read that right- when the body is operating from a state of stress, it can actually divert resources away from digestion and lessen nutrient absorption.
If you are trying your best to feed and nourish your body and yet you feel chronically stressed, have digestive issues or low energy levels, it might be time to get to know your nervous system because the role it plays is absolutely vital and there is no bypassing this important function. Luckily, there are many ways to regulate your nervous system and having an awareness of the role it plays is the first step to improving health on all levels.
Here are some signs your nervous system might be out of whack:
Brain fog
Mood swings
Irritability
Chronic pain
Digestive issues
Respiratory issues
Sleep problems
Difficulty regulating emotions
Sexual dysfunction
Substance abuse
Fatigue
Weakened immune system
Anxiety
Depression
Easily triggered by everyday situations
Reactive
Sound like you? Me too! Luckily, there are tried and proven ways to bring your system back into balance. Here are a few:
Breathwork:
There are a variety of breath work exercises and techniques that are easy to do anywhere- belly breathing, reverse nostril breathing, breath of fire, box breathing, bee breathing- to name a few. Breath work will stimulate the vagus nerve and has a number of amazing benefits for the brain, one of them being an increase in oxygen.
Meditation:
This can be one that people run from and one that elicits feelings of impatience, frustration and boredom. Finding a meditation practice that resonates with you and your needs specifically is everything. I recommend the app Insight Timer. There are guided meditations and music that can help you relax and focus. if you’re still struggling try listening to music with a 528 or 432 Hertz. the more you experiment with meditation, the easier and less daunting it becomes. meditation promotes neuroplasticity and improves overall health. I think meditation is the most useful tool when it comes to nervous system regulation. Try for ten minutes a day.
Yoga: If you’ve been living with chronic stress and dysregulation this can be a total game changer in regards to your relationship to your body. Combining breath and movement stimulates the vagus nerve and brings your focus inward. Yoga also makes you feel like a total bad ass. There is something so sweet about having a breakthrough in either mind or body through a personal yoga practice. BTW- yoga can be laying on the floor with your hands on your heart or moving in an organic way that feels right in your body.
Connecting to nature:
Did you know that being in nature can very quickly change our physiological state? According to a review by the National Institutes Of Health (NIH) exposure to nature and green spaces can decrease cortisol levels, heart rate and blood pressure and counteract the fight or flight response. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6926748/
Make sure you are spending a little time immersing yourself in mama nature every day you can. Soaking in serene spaces for 5-30 minutes is all it takes to facilitate change on a biological level.
Humming:
Humming creates a vibration that stimulates your vagus nerve, which controls your “rest and digest” state. It relaxes hormones, decreases heart rate, and improves lung function. To practice this easy exercise, find a comfortable seat and grow tall through your spine. Take three breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth to ground into your space. Then take a breath in and on the exhale create a hum or buzz at the back of your throat. mmmmmmmmmm. Gently plug your ears to amplify the internal vibration.
Singing:
Singing releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine (happy chemicals). It activates various regions of the brain and can actually increase neural plasticity which gives the brain the ability to adapt to new life experiences, strengthen neural networks and even repair itself from an injury. gift yourself one song a day that you love to sing! Bonus points if it makes you feel happy or empowered.
Deep and restful sleep:
Sleeping allows the body to rest and repair. it also removes toxins in your brain that develop during waking hours. sleep deprivation can lead to mood swings, fatigue and cognitive impairment.
Massage:
Activates the vagus nerve, helps counteract fight or flight response, relaxes muscles, reduces blood pressure, boosts our happy chemicals (endorphins, serotonin and dopamine).
Tapping (EFT):
EFT in my opinion, is the easiest way to combat negative thoughts and you can literally do this technique anywhere! There are specific acupressure points throughout the body and tapping on them with your fingers can actually stimulate them in a way that’s similar to needles in acupuncture. Some studies suggest that EFT has neurobiological effects and can actually impact brainwave patterns and stress response.
If you are reading and resonating with this information, it might be time to check the gauge on where your system sits energetically. Are you maintaining homeostasis more often than not? The first step is recognizing and accepting where you are at without judgement. And maybe now you have more or new information and can start to incorporate some of the regulatory exercises into your daily life. i know that this won’t resonate with everyone, and if it doesn’t- keep kicking ass in your mostly-regulated state. and for those who do, I hope this helps.
We can try our best to nourish and care for our bodies, but if our system is out of whack our attempts will most likely be thwarted until we can operate from a regulated place. It’s taken many years, much practice, regulation, reframing, self acceptance and unpacking deeply rooted beliefs to come to a place where I can truly and honestly say that I fucking love myself and my body. i am grateful for her everyday and for the role she plays in every facet of my life. My journey is still unfolding, expanding and changing but i live in gratitude and awe that i’ve come this far. And you can too.