Food Energetics A New Way to Approach Food By Lisa Erickson We have all heard of emotional eating eating in order to comfort, reward, or punish ourselves. We often eat in response to stress, depression, or physical pain, and when we do, our food choices are usually not the best. Whenever we reach for a food out of an emotional need, chances are it will not be what we need to nourish our body. Successful dietary shifts often involve unpacking our psychological associations with food, so that we can change our relationship with food, and decouple certain emotions from cravings. A related eating pattern that can plague many of us is energy eating eating in response to different energetic forces that we come into contact with. Most energy healing and spiritual traditions work with energy mappings such as the chakras or the meridians. Viewed from the prism of these systems, everything and everyone we come into contact with has a vibration, and our own energy body responds to this vibration. Foods also have a vibration to them, and different foods resonate with different parts of our energy body. We may reach for certain foods in response to energies that impact us from the outside, or we may have energetic imbalances in our system that cause us to crave foods. The first step in working with foods energetically is to deeply tune in to what we are feeling and thinking. Energetic eating is really an extension of mindful eating becoming aware of what we are really experiencing in the moment, and the kinds of foods it might cause us to reach for. Can we hear what our body actually needs, rather than wants? For example, one of the most common energetic eating patterns occurs in response to feeling ungrounded, or unfocused. This energy is related to our first, or root chakra, located at the bottom of our tailbone. This energy center is the foundation for our connection to our physical body, and that includes our brain. When we are feeling scattered, spacey or unable to focus, it frequently means we are not fully connected to our root chakra, or that it is blocked energetically. Our compulsion when we feel this way often is to reach for heavy carbs, as the denseness gives us a temporary feeling of solidity. However, the energy we get from the carbs quickly wears off and we are left feeling tired and drained even less conducive to focus. Food Energetics/Lisa Erickson 1
The foods that support the root chakra energetically are protein, root vegetables, and red fruits or vegetables. Providing our body and by extension our energy body with the vibration of these foods strengthens our root chakra, helping us to feel grounded in our mind and body in a productive way. To do this, we have to learn to override our instinct to reach for pasta or other dense cards when we are feeling ungrounded, and instead reach for some meat or nuts (protein), carrots or sweet potatoes (healthy root vegetables), red bell pepper or berries (red fruits and vegetables.) Chakra Foods As in the example above, I find that one of the most useful models for working with foods energetically is the chakras Each of the 7 core chakras is related to certain energies in our being. These energies can be described psychologically, emotionally or physically. For this reason, you don t have to be familiar with the chakras to begin to work with this system your starting point is your own feelings. Although the chart below is organized by chakra, your starting point for working with it is really the second and third columns What We Feel and What We Tend to Reach For. You can use both to start experimenting with eating energetically. For example, if you find yourself feeling joyless, emotionless, or creatively blocked, experiment with drinking more water, eating some nuts or fish (rich in Omega 3s) or eating an orange or mango all foods associated with strengthening your 2 nd chakra. If your boundaries emotional or physical are violated or disrespected in some way, leaving you feeling threatened or frustrated, consider eating some wholegrain bread, brown rice or yellow squash foods fortifying to your navel chakra. You can also use food cravings as a starting point for working with this information. If you find yourself craving caffeine more than usual, contemplate the feelings associated with a blocked 3 rd or 5 th chakra are you feeling frustrated or threatened? Blocked from expressing yourself in some way? Or are you experiencing more of a 6 th or 7 th chakra block, feeling disconnected from your intuition or spiritual faith? Read through the chart and note for yourself which feelings and/or food cravings tend to occur the most often for you. Food Energetics/Lisa Erickson 2
Chakra First/ Root Second/ Sacral Third/ Navel What We Feel Ungrounded, spacey, or unfocused Bored, joyless, or blocked creatively Threatened, frustrated, or unable to act What We Tend to Reach For Heavy carbs that temporarily make us feel more grounded, but ultimately just tire us out. Sweet or salty foods that provide temporary stimulation for our palate and body until we crash. Comfort foods (which vary by person but are usually carb or sweet oriented) and/or stimulants such as caffeine. We Should Reach Instead For Protein, root vegetables, and red fruits and vegetables. All of these are associated with strengthening the root energies of grounding, connection to our physical body, and focus. Water, essential fatty acids/omega 3s, tropical fruits, and orange fruits and vegetables. All of these help purify and strengthen our 2 nd chakra energies of passion, emotional connection, and creativity. Whole grains, high fiber foods, low glycemic carbs, and yellow/tan foods. These foods all support our ability to maintain healthy boundaries and to manifest our will into action the main energies related to our navel chakra. Fourth/ Heart Fifth/ Throat Sixth/ Third Eye Lonely or disconnected Repressed or blocked from expressing yourself Confused, blocked from insight or intuition sweets, or alcohol. Stimulants such as caffeine. caffeine or alcohol. Cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens, sprouts, raw foods. These all support our relational energies our heart based energies that we use to interact with others, and to feel and give love. They are full of prana or source life energy. Sea plants, soups, high water fruits like melons, juices. Liquids support our throat chakra, and our ability to get what we are feeling inside, out i.e. our ability to express and communicate openly and honestly. Purple red berries and grapes are the healthiest choice, but actually caffeine, chocolate, spices, and alcohol (particularly red wine) are all also considered third eye stimulants. Obviously these need to be used mindfully, in moderation. Food Energetics/Lisa Erickson 3
Seventh/ Crown Spiritually disconnected; crises of faith caffeine or alcohol. Pure foods of all types, sunlight, clean/pure air and water. This chakra is less about food, and more about purity and nature. Getting out into nature, and connecting to the source of your food products, will help strengthen the spiritual and soulful energies of this chakra. Of course, working with food is only one way of many for working with the chakras. If you are already familiar with the chakras and work with them in other ways through meditation, yoga, sound therapy, crystals, colors, or other mediums you can combine food work with these methods. But if you are not already familiar with the chakras, working with foods can be a great starting point. I have also included an appendix with other chakra associations if you are interested. Just as with nutrition, eating for your chakras is best approached holistically you want to nurture your entire energy being on an ongoing basis, not just medicate one condition. But working with this chakra food mapping can help you pinpoint which of your chakras may need extra fortification at different times, depending on life situations that arise. It may also help you unpack the energetic and emotional drives behind your cravings. Tips for Developing Your Food Energetics Sense There are several things you can do to develop and refine your sense of food energetics: Keep a food/emotion/energy diary. Keep track of your feelings, energy sensations, and food intake over a 1 or 2 day period, in 1 or 2 hour increments. This will help you to discern patterns for example that you frequently feel spacey in the afternoon, and reach for carbs, or that you often feel lonely and disconnected at night, and reach for comfort foods. You can then experiment with strengthening the corresponding chakras in advance through foods for example, eating more protein at lunch to support your root chakra, or more green vegetables at night to support your heart chakra. Categorize your most common cravings. In conjunction with your food diary or separately, make a list of your most common cravings. Which of these are comfort foods for you? Which are treats? Are sweets, carbs, or stimulants your most common cravings, and which chakra do each correspond to? Ongoing cravings can help you identify energetic imbalances in your being that you may want to consider working with in other ways besides food. Food Energetics/Lisa Erickson 4
Take mindful eating to another level. Anyone who has been on a diet is familiar with the common advice to eat slowly and mindfully, deliberately enjoying each bite. Doing so helps keep your mouth in synch with your stomach. You can take this to another level by attempting to really connect with the vibrations of the foods you eat. Just as you probably experience different sensations when you are out in nature, you can tune into the vibrational sensations of your food. Which foods do you find you resonate with? Which foods feel higher vibe and which feel lower to you? Additional Resources An excellent book for more information on eating for your chakras is Chakra Foods For Optimum Health, by Deanna Minnich. The author is a nutritionist in addition to being an energy healer, so she approaches food from both angles. I also recommend Energy Medicine for Women, by Donna Eden, although this is more of an overall women s health book focused on energy medicine, rather than solely focused on nutrition. If you are struggling to lose weight, she also has an excellent chapter on approaching this from an energy medicine standpoint. The Natural Health Bible for Women by Marilyn Glenville also contains good food advice from an alternative medicine perspective, although it is also more oriented around health conditions than every day living and emotions. I ve included a Chakra Overview chart on the next page to provide you with more general information on the chakras, and other ways to strengthen them. Food Energetics/Lisa Erickson 5