On conscious consumption
As a Health & Wellness Coach, I spend a LOT of time thinking about, learning about & talking about consumption. Yes, this includes the things we eat & drink but, just as importantly, what we consume that isn’t on a plate (or in a glass/mug/bottle/etc.). The things we are reading, watching, listening to, scrolling by. The dynamics of the people, conversations & communities we invest our time & energy in. Every single thing we consume changes us on a cellular level.
With nutrition, each bite/sip we take is a source of information - shooting off a series of signals to the very core of us in the form of directives on how to function. Once received, our cells get busy responding to the information by growing, moving & reacting to threats when needed. Consider eating a juicy, ripe peach vs. a candy bar from the corner store*. Both sweet, both contain sugars yet the two could not be speaking more different languages when it comes to the signals they send. The naturally occurring sugars in the peach are telling your body a vastly different story than the additive, made-in-a-factory sugars in the candy bar.
Our cells also listen to signals that come from outside the body (crazy, right?). Have you ever noticed how you feel watching something disconcerting (like the news or one of those yelling-all-the-time very unreal reality shows)? I feel a LOT of things when doing either of those. If I pay attention, I can feel that my body tenses, my posture changes, I become hyper alert. I’m literally bracing for impact. My body is responding on a cellular level to what I am consuming in those moments. My nervous system is ready to fight off the bear it believes is chasing me down as I sit in my living room in front of the TV. My body is being the badass it was designed to be. Sense danger? It’s go time! Hormones get generated & released, blood flow changes, senses become heightened. I am ready for battle. On my sofa. In my living room. Just me and the RHONY (#teamjenna). Conversely, when I am reading a book that I love minutes can turn into hours & I can literally be transported into another universe. I will sink further into my seat, my body relaxed, my mind just the right amount of stimulated & soothed. Same thing goes for the people we surround ourselves with. Some leave us feeling like there’s a bear in the room while others transport us to a utopian state.
How we feel in our bodies, our minds & even our spirits (the radiant center of us where our somatic experiences live) is impacted by what we do & don’t consume regardless of if the “what” is served up on a plate or otherwise. This is at the core of what my work in coaching is all about. Awareness, growth, habits, routines, rituals, practices in the name of conscious consumption of what we are nourishing ourselves with in every possible way. There is introspection & inventory of what is, there is exploration of what can be & there is accountability for your process & path of evolution. There is a lot in this world that we cannot control (a jagged little pill for this Type 1 Enneagram to swallow ;) but, we can change the chatter of our cells. We can influence our wellbeing from the inside out & the outside in… how amazing, empowering & badass is that?
Curious about consumption? Let’s talk!
*For the record, I am a fan of the corner store candy bar. Moderation is everything & sometimes, “everything” includes a Snickers from the bodega.