We normally think of nourishment in the context of food and nutrition. However, I would like to introduce a different, but equally important nourishment practice that we can all benefit from.
Nourishment is about substances necessary for our growth, health, and overall wellbeing. The state of being nourished is a process that we control.
We nourish ourselves with food, exercise, and perhaps self-care practices. However, we can always add more emotional nourishment to our practice. Our emotions and the expression of emotions are at work every day. In some moments we are able to pinpoint our emotions and attribute them to an event or action, however, other days we are not necessarily aware of what is happening in this arena. Mastering our own emotions is only something we can do for ourselves and is crucial in order to live our best life.
Taking care of your emotional needs is part of this nourishment concept. Many of us were nourished in many ways as children but perhaps lacked emotional support in a way that truly served us. As we are now adults, the only one to bring this home is through ourselves.
Many of my clients ask “How exactly do we do this? How do we nourish ourselves emotionally?” Our emotions are signs of what is happening for us, within us, and around us. When we feel lost in the emotional moment, it might be because we don’t have a clear understanding of what we are experiencing. Here are some tips on how to nourish yourself and perhaps fill a void that might have been left since childhood.
- Get to know your emotions and greet them with an open heart. Instead of ignoring them or fighting them off, sit with them and accept and embrace them. As you do this, observe yourself and how you are feeling. Try not to bring judgment to the situation. These emotions are here for you and need to be embraced.
- Give yourself the opportunity to express your own emotions and feelings. If you can share them with someone, that is a great way to acknowledge them. If not, using a journal to document what you are feeling is very helpful too.
- Silence is such a beautiful way to bring nourishment to our lives. Just sit in silence for at least a few minutes every day to start to notice how you feel. Studies have shown that sitting in silence can help reduce our blood pressure and bring a calming peace to our bodies and our minds. When we do this, we nourish ourselves.
- I am sure that you have heard that “laughter is the best medicine.” This can be so nourishing to our mind, body and soul. Bring some laughter into your life and observe how you feel.
- Nature is nourishing in so many ways and offers us an enormous amount of benefits.
- Movement is key to bringing nourishment to all parts of yourself. Try going for a walk, put on some music and dance around the kitchen, or find some movement that speaks to you.
- Connect with nature – go outside for meals, coffee or even just a good book.
- Sleeping is an integral part of nourishment. Are you getting enough sleep?
- Gratitude practices can offer a sense of nourishment for our mind and soul.
- Offer yourself a hug, meditate, do yoga, listen to music, connect with another human being, listen and feel your own breath, or breath in deeply and exhale with exaggeration.
These techniques are all ways that you can bring a bit of nourishment to your own mind body and soul, something that we all need every day. Remember, we can’t nourish others without nourishing ourselves.
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