Nourishment: what are you consuming?
One of my favorite concepts to learn about during my Health Coach training at IIN was the difference between primary food and secondary food.
Primary food includes joy, relationships, spirituality, social life, sleep, physical activity, career and education. Secondary foods are the actual substances we put in our mouths like water, kale, sweet potatoes, chocolate, avocados, blueberries and cherries (and yes, from time to time, UTZ Crab chips)
Both primary and secondary food feed us. Both provide the nourishment that we need. You can eat all the spinach and broccoli in the world but if you hate your job that’s not going to nourish you completely. Loving your family and home life but eating factory farmed meat also will not fully nourish you. If we eat poor quality food / junk food we feel like junk. So why would it be any different based on the news we consume, the place we live or the folks we hang out with.
Intuitively this was something I had known for years. It’s the reason I felt amazing after a hike in the woods or a weekend trip with my girlfriends. The love from nature and positive people fed me in a way that strawberries might not. I’m not going to suggest you go away for a weekend with your BFFs and eat an aggressive amount of pitta chips + hummus and late night chocolate after a dance party and then you’ll feel great the next day (been there, tried that!) Rather, it’s finding the balance, a lesson from nature that we see repeated in yoga.
While primary and secondary foods nourish us, they can also deplete us. Too much or too little of one element can leaving us feeling empty or overly fully. Maybe it’s too little sleep and not enough time with family. Maybe it’s too much soda or doom scrolling social media and note enough veggies. Maybe you have to “just be nice” to that one person that bugs you while at a party, rather than leaving the event early like you really want to . Maybe it’s eating cheese even though you know it doesn’t agree with you. When we consume primary or secondary foods that deplete us we feel “off” and we know this in in our body, heart and mind. You’ll feel lethargic, bloated, achy, short-tempered or grouchy…signs physically, emotionally and mentally will make themselves known. We just don’t feel like our best selves because some form of food, either primary or secondary doesn’t vibe with us. Balance is the key here and finding a variety of things that provide nourishment is the experiment of a lifetime.
Below are some examples what nourishment looks like for me. I invite you to explore what works for you, knowing that it could, and likely will, change over time:
A nap in the hammock on a warm spring afternoon after teaching an early morning yoga class
A long solo run in the woods…or a city run with a trusted buddy that feels like a therapy session
Seeing live music with friends…and the subsequent post-show shenanigans including the puddle of giggles
Listening to a podcast by Brene Brown then discussing said podcast with a dear friend who also loves Brene
Laughing with buddies while enjoying an acai bowl in the park
Soup Sundays. Hours of chopping veggies, smelling the simmer of the soup and enjoying it in a fancy bowl. Bonus: freezing one quart for later and giving one quart to a friend
Holding hands with Rob while blaring music in the car driving to the beach
Bedtime ritual of sleepy time tea > skincare > reading
Dancing in the kitchen with Camden to an epic playlist of funky jams
Acupuncture (shout-out to the amazing folks at Mend!)
The group chat with my mom and sister
Watching the sunrise or sunset over the ocean or any body of water
Traveling to a new country and being completely out of my comfort zone
A question I like to ask while teaching a yoga class is, “what would nourish you?” or “what do you need right now?” Sometimes it’s taking child pose or maybe it’s adding 3 chaturangas to a vinyasa. Perhaps it’s a sip of water or a longer exhale. In a given moment we have the ability to notice what would nourish us and then provide ourselves with whatever it might be. This is living in alignment and balance. Our needs for nourishment change each day and certainly over our lifetime and that’s fantastic! Trying to get pregnant or training for a marathon or recovering from an illness will require different nourishment protocols. When we’re able to decipher what we need and then take the critical step to give it to ourselves that is growth and development.
Journal prompts / pause for reflection:
What is most nourishing for me in this moment? Make a list like the one I shared above.
Is there a primary or secondary food that is missing that I can add?
When I feel nourished, this is how I act, behave, move, etc