When it comes to creating health and wellbeing one can’t go past the notion of nourishment. When I say nourishment, the mind might automatically wander to food and you wouldn’t be wrong there. Nourishment, however, extends far beyond just food; it encompasses feelings of being loved, supported and cared for. It can come about from a hug, a sentence, a yoga class, a meal.
Holding a sense of being nourished can not only change how someone thinks but the very health of the body.
In my workshops, we often discuss what that means to each person. All of us have different memories from our past when we experienced love, care and/or support; and bringing some aspect of that memory into the present can induce a greater sense of vitality.
One lady who came to a workshop remembered that when she arrived home every afternoon after school her Dad would be there, to welcome her and make her a toasted cheese sandwich. She remembers it fondly and said that when she gets sick, she’ll make herself a toasted cheese sandwich and invariably feels supported, loved, nourished. Just like she used to when her father made it for her.
Whenever my mother was sick as a child, her mother would make a cup of milky tea; nowadays, she rarely drinks milk or even regular tea, yet when she feels sick that cup of tea is her medicine.
To know what to give yourself as you need it, is medicinal. Sometimes regaining health is not about eating the correct amount of nutrients and minerals but rather bringing a past moment into the present in some small, tangible way that brings about a beautiful sense of feeling supported, loved and so.. nourished.