The Importance of Nourishment

Think about your last good meal…

Maybe it was at a local restaurant; or perhaps, it was a family favorite that you cooked up at home. 

Think about how it felt to sit down and enjoy it. 

Not only the tantalizing taste, but the smell of it filling the house or the aromas flirtatiously escaping out of the chef’s kitchen.  

Recall the presentation on your plate, the colors of the food- bountiful servings that made you feel abundance and satisfaction even before digging in. 

Remember the temperature of the food hitting your tongue and the textures that varied with each bite. 

What sounds surrounded you while you ate? The joyous laugh of children, the chatter of a loud and intimate family? Or the lively raucous of a restaurant? The volume of strangers rising and falling and the sound of many working forks and knives. 

As you think back to this meal or other delightful meals you’ve had, you’ll realize that it likely wasn’t just the taste of the food that made the experience so enjoyable. 

It’s the involvement of all five senses that truly nourishes the body and soul. True nourishment is essential to life and supports us on our path to wellness. 

We can certainly let what we take in be an afterthought or we can use our innate need for sustenance as an opportunity. Let’s explore what nourishment means and how we can intentionally nourish all five senses through the choices we make. 

What Does Nourishment Mean? 

“Nourishment is not just nutrition…” - Marc David

To “nourish” by definition means to provide food and the other substances needed for good health and growth. Nourishment is a basic need, one that we simply cannot do without. 

As an essential part of a connected and aligned existence, nourishment involves making mindful choices of what we put into and near our bodies. 

You are what you eat, sure. But you are also what you absorb- what you listen to, read, watch, etc.. We can survive on poor nutrition, but we cannot thrive. 

We have the choice to nourish ourselves wholly, with healthy foods that do less harm to the planet. We have the ability to create divine connection with what we listen to or or see. We can directly influence our mood with what we take in and how we treat our bodies. 

Nourishment, or wholesome sustenance, has the power to fill us up so that we can radiate from the inside out. As we learn to love our bodies at a basic level by providing them with wholesome sustenance, opportunity to transform the self flows into opportunity to transform our planet.

The Effects of Wholesome Sustenance

“The answers we’re looking for are all within ourselves, we just need to become better connected, more present - to what we eat, to nature, to our surroundings and to our inner guide.” - Mariel Hemingway  

Nourishment is directly related to our root chakra, the Muladhara. This energy center is our foundation, it grounds us into this physical experience. 

If you think of the hierarchy of needs or stages of development, then it makes sense that this lower chakra also relates to security, stability, and our most basic needs. 

Food, water, shelter all relate to the root chakra and wholesome, intentional sustenance keeps this chakra in balance. When it is in balance you feel grounded and less worried. You rest easy knowing that your needs are met. 

The effects of wholesome sustenance extend beyond ourselves. As we become more intentional with our choices, we invite others to do the same. As our communities, cities, countries make better choices (like eating seasonally, using natural products, and practicing gratitude) our entire planet reaps the benefits. 

Nourishment is about more than just the foods we eat. It can make us more connected to our inner guide. To nurture this connection, we have to purposely nourish all fives senses. 

How to Nourish the Five Senses

Misuse of the five senses leads to physical and emotional stress and disease. Junk food, too much alcohol, violent TV shows, hateful speech or music- these things may feel good in the moment, but ultimately harm the body, mind, and soul.  

Proper use of the five senses leads to balance. Being intentional about what we eat, smell, see, touch, and listen to promotes a healthy and calm mind. 

Nourishment is ultimately an act of self-care, and there are so many beautiful ways that we can use our senses to find more joy and peace in our daily life. 

Taste

Every time we eat, we have the opportunity to give ourselves a gift. Nourishing ourselves through food starts before we even begin the meal. It begins with awareness of our emotional state. 

First noticing what the body needs. Questioning, “Am I hungry or just anxious/bored/etc?”

From there, “What am I craving most right now?”

Your body communicates with you. You can attune to its wisdom and make food choices based on what your body needs. It will often point you in the direction of something nutritious and filling or communicate a message to hydrate. 

Eating and drinking is not an inconvenience, but rather a necessity. It provides us with the building blocks we need from the earth itself. 

A quick moment of gratitude coupled with a slow, deep breath before a meal can transform eating from utilitarian to a blissful experience of our most inner state of being. 

Mindful eating and hydration can change your relationship to food and to your body. It nourishes your sense of taste and fills you up in more ways than one. 

Smell

We all know how satisfying good smells can be. 

We fill our homes with the smells we love; candles, soaps, fresh flowers. We take in the smells of nature; fresh cut grass, pine trees in a forest, the smell of a summer rain.

Smell is the sense most strongly linked with memory. Oftentimes, the waft of fresh baked cookies transports you back to your childhood or the scent of a perfume or cologne brings back memories of a relative. 

We can intentionally nourish the sense of smell through engagement in our day to day. Taking the time to smell the ingredients of our food choices, relishing in each unique scent or taking a moment to breath deeply, inhaling the scent of your morning coffee or afternoon tea.  

Smell is the sense organ that relates to the root chakra. You can use this knowledge to incorporate smell to help ground you when you are feeling anxious or fearful. The nourishment of our sense of smell promotes health within the physical body and alignment within the energetic. 

Touch

Mindful use of our sense of touch is another opportunity to nourish the body and mind. We can experience this through self-touch like massage, dry brushing, or even applying our favorite lotion or body oils. 

We can offer ourselves the kindness of comfortable clothing and soak our bones in hot springs or mineral baths. 

There’s also the incredible healing power of both platonic and intimate touch. Letting ourselves be fully present and appreciative of a simple hug from a friend can be so good for the soul. Opening ourselves up to our partner through acts of intimacy strengthens our relationship and helps us to relax. 

Touch is a sense that many of us take for granted. It can be used to communicate, to heal, and to ease tension and stress. 

Sound

Sound is incredibly powerful. 

There’s a reason most people love attending concerts or playing instruments. Most of us have a favorite band or musician that soothes our soul and tugs at our heartstrings. 

You also know how grating sound can be, like a car alarm going off when you are trying to concentrate or the wailing of sirens through your windows. 

We can’t always control what we hear, but we can make mindful choices on what we choose to listen to and attempt to use sound to our benefit.  

In yoga tradition, mantra creates spiritual transformation through the repetition of words or phrases. Sounds have a vibrational and energetic component that nourish our mind and soul. This is made apparent when experiencing a sound bath, or listening to someone chant or play singing bowls. 

Studies suggest that sound can positively affect mood and well-being. How fortunate we are that modern technology allows us to have this powerful healing modality at our disposal at any time of day! 

Sight

Sight is often involuntary. We simply observe what’s around us without much thought. 

However, sight is a sense that we can nourish with intention, by fully absorbing what we see with reverence.

Making time to get out in nature opens our eyes to the incredible, natural sights. Taking time to truly see the ones we love, pets, children, a partner, can be an incredibly nurturing experience that calms the mind and fills the heart with love.

Nourishing our sense of sight is about slowing down, noticing things that we tend to glance by. When we look for and appreciate the beauty that is around us, our lives become filled with more meaning, gratitude, and connection. 

Nourish Your Soul, Nourish the Planet 

“One can do without food for a considerable time, but a man of the spirit cannot exist for a single second without spiritual nourishment.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Just as soil is the infrastructure of the planet, our root chakra is the foundation of our being. Nature provides us everything we need to nurture our root chakra and live vibrant and healthy lives. 

When we fuel our systems through nourishment of all fives senses, our minds become clearer, our bodies find new focused energy, even our sleep is of better quality. We strengthen our connection to ourselves and ultimately the world around us. 

We vibrate higher.

When we take the time to nourish ourselves at a soul level, the soul of our planet rejoices. It’s all connected and the decisions we make have a profound impact. The choice is yours. 

Will you choose wholesome nourishment?