Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a client who was a month into herthree-month wellness mentoring program. Her journey has led her to a profound realisation: she discovered that the food she’s intolerant to could be the key to understanding her slowed metabolism and struggle to lose weight. As a psychologist, she has developed self-awareness and spotted something profound.
When she eats food that she’s intolerant to (because we all have a bit of self-sabotage), she becomes less tolerant of the people around her and life itself.
Food intolerance may seem like a purely physical issue, but from my 20-year experience, we are more inflamed when our digestion is compromised and the brain becomes inflamed. As a result, our ability to nourish our relationships, “digest” life, and think straight is compromised.
A study conducted over 30 years in a psychiatric hospital in Sweden found that removing certain foods, particularly gluten, and adding more nutrient-dense food that suits the patient’s constitution (or needs) led to a significant decrease in psychotic episodes. While this may seem like an extreme example, it highlights the profound effect that food can have on our mental wellbeing.
This is the reason why, in Ayurvedic therapy, you first take care of the digestion system and lower inflammation. Then, you take care of mental imbalances like anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and even insomnia.
We always start with a cleanse or detox to remove the foods and toxins that clog our system and affect the production of serotonin and dopamine in our gut!
We create space for the healing power of the body and mind to be activated.
Cleansing addresses physical symptoms and detoxifies the mind, allowing for greater clarity, emotional balance, and resilience. This is the relationship between yoga and Ayurveda- Ayurveda prepares the body so we can move to the yoga practice, the science of the mind.
The Vedic psychology approach is that life will always present challenges. Still, when we are well-nourished and digest food properly, our nervous system can deal with life challenges as opportunities for growth and strength rather than overwhelming obstacles.
Ways you can stay centred while being triggered
