Everything is Food for the Senses
Let’s reframe how we think about food.
Let’s give digestion an eastern spin and consider the concept of food from a yogic and Ayurvedic perspective.
Food is not just what goes into your mouth. Nourishment is not limited to the fire (hydrochloric acid) in your belly metabolising the green smoothie you had for breakfast into nutrients to enliven the tissues of your body. And that’s making the assumption that your digestive strength is able to unpack and repack the smoothie (anything cold is a shock to the belly and harder to digest).
Everything that comes in through our five senses can be considered food.
Everything we see, hear, smell, taste and touch are all different forms of energy that need to be digested, assimilated, stored or released if we are to sweetly hum our way through life.
The sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin – all receive food in the form of energetic impressions. Life is a like a smorgasbord for the senses, constantly offering us a vast selection of flavours to feed body, mind and soul. Everything we swallow, savour, choke on or spit out - a banana, an old love affair, a new sorrow, a conversation with a stranger – everything we ingest leaves an impression in our being. And these impressions create our thought stream which then curates our body. In other words, biology will follow our thoughts and only then will prana coalesce around the tissues.
We can be a whole lot more conscious about how we’re feeding our senses.
We have the choice to say YES to nourishing impressions.
We have the choice to say NO to impressions that will leave a bad taste in our mouths.
We have the choice to say MAYBE and then look to our direct experience to verify benefits.
Take right now for instance; this blog you’re reading is ‘food’ that your eyes are ingesting. Your brain is turning words from this page into meaning, your mind is infusing that meaning with its own stored narratives based on your past experiences – and all of this changes activity in your cells and how you feel, think and relate. The body is an expression of our conscious and sub-conscious mind.
What else are you directing your sense organs at today? Are you offering yourself experiences to build your blood, soothe your nervous system, enliven your mind, move your beautiful body, inspire your imagination, make you playful, and to connect with your loving heart?
How do we know if we’re making fabulous choices for our senses? We have steady and sustainable energy levels, a bright heart, and can navigate the swings and roundabouts of life without depletion. We’re enlivened by the content we choose to fill our days, curious and engaged with every shape we make, on and off the mat. Cravings dial down, satiation dials up. We are available to ourselves, our people, our communities and world.
Today – and every day – become more aware of what you’re giving your precious attention to. Pay close attention to the impressions you are inviting in, because whatever is coming in is what is continuously creating You.
Tat tvam asi. You are That.