In my Functional Nutrition practice with clients and my daily practices and routines, I always consider the whole person, including the Mind, Body, and Spirit. The whole person comprises parts that depend on one another, and if one part isn't working correctly, all the other parts will be affected. Together, the Mind, Body, and Spirit have a synergetic effect on your health.
Recently I evaluated my health. My being. I took a long, hard, objective look at the three components of health that I believe summate true health. I was doing a lot of the right things, I ate a healthy, nutrient-dense diet and carefully sourced my food and water. I put in daily efforts to exercise my body, build muscle, and maintain endurance. I was routine about taking supplements and practicing many self-care practices. But I knew something was missing. I was putting a lot of effort and care into my physical body, but I had fogotten to pay attention to my mind and spirit.
Something needed to shift big time; I needed to change how I fueled my soul radically. I was the only person who could make this shift happen. So, I got busy and started "the hard work."
I asked myself, "Eli, Who are you being when you live this life, and how are you contributing to the collective?" "Who are you being when no one is watching- because everyone is watching."
Mediation, stillness, visualization, and breathwork helped me clear and purify my intentions. This allowed me to see without seeing, and I realized that seeing is not believing; believing IS seeing. These practices also allowed me to become so grounded that no matter how much the wind blew or my branches swayed, I was as rooted as a grandmother oak tree.
I added journaling to my repertoire; it is an easy tool to incorporate to reflect and express emotions and thoughts. One day, I listed everything I thought I "should" be. This was a long list of unreasonable and unfair expectations I had put on myself, potentially fueled by societal expectations or constraints. This sad, unfortunate list of "shoulds" left me feeling like something was missing.
"I should be fitter."
"I should be more beautiful."
"I should know more about my profession."
"I should be more successful."
"I should not get mad."
"I should not feel the way I do (fill in the blank)."
"I should be more patient."
"I should be a better mom, sister, daughter, wife."
I had to surrender to these ideas and shift my words. I "could" be all these things, or maybe I already was. The story I was telling myself reinforced a narrative that was not serving and limiting me. The story I was telling myself had shaped how I showed up and lived my life!
How we speak to ourselves is equally important as how we talk to our children, spouses, friends and family, and strangers. Words are powerful, and words lie, but energy doesn't. So, when the words are no longer present, it's the energy/vibration that sits behind them can profoundly affect our health.
I also had to learn drop out of my head and into my heart. This was much more challenging than changing the language I spoke to myself.
Professionally, as a healthcare practitioner, it can be tough not to overanalyze the signs, symptoms, and data and "diagnose" or label a person with conditions. It is very easy to work with a client, get caught up in the data, and forget that a human is before you. So, connecting to people from the heart space to establish rapport and genuinely understand the person and their health is essential to connect, hear, and validate the person sitting in front of you. This requires humility and a heart's desire to understand.
On a personal level, intentionally connecting with the heart first set an energetic tone, increasing care and compassion in interactions and communications with myself and others.
It requires daily practice and staying present in the moment because the journey from our heads to our hearts is not always simple to achieve.
I added sound healing to my repertoire. Sound frequencies and vibrations seemed to dismantle stagnant emotions I had stored in my body and allowed me to feel many feelings I had not fully dealt with.
I began addressing what I believe were some passed-down generational patterns and my own personal emotions that had never been addressed—patterns, emotions, and thoughts that had been suppressed, normalized, and never metabolized. Patterns, emotions, and thoughts carry energy, which were unprocessed and stagnated in my body, disrupting the energy flow and laying the groundwork for "dis" ease and discomfort. I had to provide space for each pattern, emotion and thought to be acknowledged, processed, and released. This component was a critical part of my complete healing journey.
To heal, we must feel. It is the final frontier. This is why this is called "the hard work". It can be challenging and not so pretty. In the moments of discomfort, we have the opportunity to grow. You can be growing and healing and still:
struggle
feel hurt
get triggered
get defensive
be angry
lose your temper
make mistakes
have bad days
get overwhelmed
need a moment
need help
identify patterns
I had to give my mind and spirit a little extra attention so that my Mind, Body, and Spirit could return to balance and I could truly begin to live a fulfilling and healthier life.
I had to embark on this journey to find myself and begin living my life no longer fueled by the overflow of life but rather from the underflow of energy! I learned that how we fuel our intentions, purpose, and vibrations allows us to stay present, have inner self-peace and self-love, and embrace life with compassion, grace, and an open heart.
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