Taking an Integrative Approach to Your Health
Integrative Nutrition is the unifying of seemingly separate factors that provide our body, mind, and Spirit nourishment. Coined by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, this practice is meant to show a unique perspective on food. Yes, food is vital for our physical health but there is also a psycho-emotional-spiritual component to our relationship with food. Similarly, our daily life habits and rhythms such as our sleep cycle, self-talk, and relationships, provide us with nourishment in ways that directly affect our physical health.
What is good for the body is good for the mind is good for the Spirit.
Integrative Nutrition is the process of bridging the gap between the mental and emotional components of nutrition and wellbeing. For example, if you are suffering from a chronic condition such as high blood pressure you may be placed on some type of medication to manage your symptoms, but this does not get to the underlying source of your hypertension. That is the same as pulling the tops off weeds every week. You know they will grow back, and you will continue expending energy fighting them off. To resolve the problem and get rid of the weeds, you need to pull it up by the root.
Following the previous example of high blood pressure, through an integrative lens, you can begin to assess what type of food makes up your diet, how much you are moving your body, your quality of sleep each night, as well as emotional components. Our mental and emotional state signal our level of wellbeing to the body. If we fail to express anger and struggle to create healthy boundaries, it can leave us feeling powerless and grasping for control. These subconscious thought patterns can trigger an inflammatory response in the body. They signal to the body that we are not well and not safe, so it will do what it does best and fight to keep you alive. But when we are regularly living in this type of distressed state, this inflammation response will begin to manifest as physical pain and illness.
We often know what needs to change or at least have an idea, but cannot push through the resistance by ourselves. Working with an Integrative Nutrition coach, also known as a Holistic Health Coach, can help as you implement lifestyle changes towards better health. Trained to combat the overwhelming process of beginning, these coaches serve as a guide and a facilitator as you begin to shift your overall lifestyle rhythms and habits.
This can look like:
Sharing educational information based on your health goals
Brainstorming forms of movement that feel fun
Reconnecting with childhood hobbies that bring you joy
Eliminating toxins in your environment
Accessing choices where you thought there were none
Inspiring action
Providing accountability
Working through resistance together
Holding space for pent up emotions to be processed
The intention behind Integrative Nutrition is to broaden your perception of what contributes to health and wellbeing. This helps bridge the emotional awareness gap between your daily lifestyle choices and your quality of life. Your mind, body, and Spirit are intimately connected, and they are always communicating to one another, and you. This approach provides you with more freedom to reclaim your power over your life and reconnect to the truth of who you are at the core.
Whether you are fighting a chronic illness or a mental and emotional condition, you do not need to untangle yourself alone.
If you are ready to take the next step towards building sustainable habits and want to partner with an Integrative Nutrition Coach, reach out now and schedule a complimentary clarity call with Madison to see if working together is right for you.