Eat Your Attitude

Article written by Daniel Max, Holistic Health Counselor, Yoga Instructor, Shiatsu Practitioner, owner of Sense of Self

There is no doubt that diet plays a huge role in our health. Our food choices provide the nutrients from which our bodies build and sustain themselves. If eating junk food, a “junk body” results. When eating foods that are not processed and filled with nutrients, then the body is built from wholesome ingredients, providing a healthier body and a clearer thinking mind.

While people search for ways to prevent disease through diet and supplements, there is one ingredient that is overlooked by most: Attitude!

Eating with the right attitude:
Each meal is a conversation between the food and your body. As you eat it, it is becoming you. If you are eating something that you consider “bad” for you with an attitude of guilt, the experience will certainly not be nourishing. The same meal eaten with an attitude of celebration may have a very different reaction in the body. Think of how your body feels when you feel a joy for life coursing through your veins as apposed to when you feel run down by the “burdens” that life presents. When you feel defeated, your body is weak and it is not going to find the power to derive the energy out of the food it receives. Likewise, the healthiest meal may prove to be unhealthy if you are eating out of a fear of disease rather than a love for life. You are digesting your attitude as well as your food.

Last week I took a vacation with my family, traveling to Vermont to enjoy the foliage. The best word I can use to describe my feeling while I was away is "nourished". Throughout our entire time together I felt nourished by the experience of us all being together and nourished by the beautiful meals we cooked together and for each other.
On the same trip, while spending the day traveling, our lunches were not always a home cooked meal. We would find a small town and dine at the local restaurant or pub. What I found interesting was that each meal, even if what one consider “not so nutritional” was as nourishing to me as a home cooked meal. No matter where we ate, our plates were always filled with vitamin L (love).

How is your relationship with food? How is your eating environment?
When you are in a relationship with another being and you feel loving and loved, the communication lines are open and dynamic. When you are not giving the relationship the attention that it needs, then there is a good chance communication is down. When you eat, your body is communicating with the food you are eating. Are you listening to the conversation or are you too busy checking emails or driving your car?

Listening is vital in maintaining a healthy relationship. Find an environment that is soothing and notice the cause behind your food choices. Celebrate nature by eating natural foods, celebrate life by eating food filled with life. Find a clam nurturing environment to relate to your meals and Enjoy!