On The Path March 2014 | Page 6

Nutrition & Lifestyle

by Valerie Moore

Healing Your Sacral Chakra with Food

As we continue exploring the body’s energy fields, also known as chakras, I’m excited and intrigued to learn more about this 2nd level, the sacral chakra: the seat of emotions. It is located in the lower abdomen, a couple of inches below the navel, and is associated with the reproductive organs (testes, prostate, womb, ovaries and genitals), the kidney and urinary system, the spleen, the lower back and the lower intestine. Because this chakra is located in the lower abdomen area, as mentioned above, I can’t imagine that the digestive process remains unhindered if this chakra is blocked. It is also associated with the sense of taste, as this chakra is affected by physical pleasures such as food and sex. It is my intent to reveal the linkage between the balancing of this chakra and your mindset concerning food. Remember, food is EVERYTHING!!! As a holistic health coach, I just believe wholeheartedly in our interconnectedness as humans: mind, body & spirit. The more I study holistic health, the more I’m drawn to and fascinated by alternative medicine and the body’s ability to completely heal itself. For instance, in the traditional medical setting, if a woman is having issues with conceiving, the doctor is not going to say, “well how’s your sacral chakra”, or “when was the last time you had a Reiki session?”. We are so conditioned as a society to believe that “prescription drugs” are the only option when something is not working properly in our bodies. Let’s begin our journey. The Sacral chakra is the 2nd in the body’s energy system. As mentioned above, it is considered, the “seat of emotions” because it acts as the storage center for all of our experiences associated with love and hate. The feelings of acceptance or rejection from us and others, since childhood, have influenced the relationships we’ve created in our lives, including that with food. Just as with any, our relationship with food has either nurtured us or led to deprivation. Our bodies are either thriving or failing on a cellular level where nutrients and enzymes are absorbed and utilized. Allow me to take a moment to define what a healthy relationship with food looks like:

 >Your sense of worth is not connected to what you eat; eating doesn’t define you as a

person;

 >You mindfully plan what you eat and eating doesn’t consume your thoughts;

 >You eat when you’re hungry based on your internal cues not based on external

conditions, situations or emotions;

 >You view eating as a way of taking good care of yourself;

 >You are very aware of the nutritional value and the significance of what goes into your

mouth;

 >You are connected with how certain foods make your feel physically, removing the

emotional tug of war;