Food for Thought: Emotional and Mental Digestion

Mental Bloating is REAL!

How is you mental and emotional digestion?

We all know that digestion in our stomach is crucial to our well-being. No matter what we eat, if it is not assimilated and digested well, our body won’t be able to build new healthy cells. Ayurveda says that even a nectar can be poisonous to a person with a poor digestion, while someone with strong digestive fire can turn even poison into a nourishing nectar. So it is not only about what we eat but also how we digest and assimilate the nutrients!

But let’s come back to the emotional and mental digestion. Similar to the physical one, it can make us feel light and happy or bloated and constipated if we are not digesting our relationships and our environment well.

Signs of a healthy emotional digestion are:

feeling of ease when making decisions
good self-image
contentment
sense of fulfillment in relationships
clarity on what you want
confidence

Poor emotional digestion shows up as:

self-criticism
indecisiveness
feeling of emptiness and not belonging
constant dissatisfaction
reluctance to accept change
mental fog and inability to make sense out of the situation.

If your head feel congested or bloated sometimes, yoga and ayurveda can help!

Enkindling Emotional and Mental Digestion

We use spices to stimulate physical digestion. Ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper enkindle digestive fire and help to absorb nutrients better.

Certain things, let’s call them ‘emotional digestive spices’, can help us feel clear and comfortable in any situation that we have to deal with. They help to make the best even out of a poisonous relationship or the most confusing situation.

Here they are:

Smile. No matter what is happening around you, smile back at the world. Share this gift of happiness and people will smile back at you! Smile for yourself and your entire body. We often smile to others but rarely smile to ourselves. I think it’s unfair and needs to be corrected!
Let go of expectations. No one owes you anything. If someone is nice to you, be grateful. If someone is mean, ignore and move on!
Meditate. Even a few minutes a day will make a huge difference. Meditate with your eyes closed and a smile on your lips. Focusing on your breath and internal sensations will build up your awareness and create a sense of clarity. Fog be gone!
Get active. Physical movement improves physical digestive fire and will do the same for the emotional digestion as well. It will get your endorphins flowing and it will make the world seem like a better place. It will help to boost creativity and get new ideas flowing.
Find people that you click with. It is similar to finding foods that work for your stomach. Someone likes cheese and others will get feel heavy and bloated from its sodium. It is a matter of trial or error. If you like someone, spend time with them! If you don’t, decrease your interaction instead of trying to change the person. It might be a difficult decision at times but it will make your heart feel lighter.

What do you think about the concept of ‘emotional’ and ‘mental’ digestion? Do you ‘digest’ your environment and relationships well?

Nadya