There is one type of ritual we perform every day that can easily be turned into a spiritual practice – mealtime.

I wrote ‘easy’ but it wasn’t for me. In fact, I downright refused to listen to my body until the Universe had enough of my shenanigans and caused some major health issues to surface not only once, but twice, to force me to change how I feed myself.

Why does it matter? Our soul may be eternal, but our one-time-use body here on earth is an extremely sensitive mechanism that we tend to take for granted. We ingest highly altered “food” and drug products and have an unrealistic expectation that our bodies will just handle it. At some point though, the abuse will manifest in some sort of disorder or ailment. Usually, symptoms that don’t really add up to anything and are so subtle that we accept them as normal. Symptoms such as: bloating, diarrhea, feeling hungover even though you didn’t consume alcohol, skin rashes, sore joints, migraines, and the list goes on. These can show up minutes or hours after consuming foods that your body is having difficulty processing.

My personal relationship with food has been rocky the past couple of years. Mystery allergy symptoms and alopecia left traditional doctors puzzled and my body feeling like the world was against it. It wasn’t until my sister suggested the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP Diet) and I started detoxing my body that I began to feel better.

There was one side effect of clean eating that I wasn’t expecting though…becoming a clearer channel for Divine connection.

It’s easier for me to look back at my health journey after three years and see just how The Creator has slowly applied pressure to guide me to my soul purpose, Flourishing Roots Wellness.

When you clean up your diet, you provide your body and mind with the ability to function at a higher capacity. Think of it as if you’re trying to watch Dish TV in a snowstorm vs. a clear summer day. When the signal interference is eliminated it’s possible to become more in tune with our intuition, authentic self, and spiritual guidance.

The other half of the food spirituality equation is food sovereignty and our relationship with Mother Earth which I will write about in a future post.

9 ways to shift your relationship with food into a spiritual routine and self-care mindset:

Start with small changes

• Here’s the obvious one, drink more water. Try drinking a minimum of half your weight, in ounces of water every day, and increasing as your body gets used to taking in more fluid.

• Add more than one kind of vegetable to your meals, preferably colorful veggies.

• Resist the urge to buy junk food to keep in the house. You can’t eat it if it isn’t readily accessible.

Keep ingredients simple and as organic as possible

• If you buy processed food, opt for the one that has the least amount of ingredients and chemical additives.

• If you are starting to cook at home, simple recipes with minimal ingredients and steps are easier to master.

• Sometimes buying pre-cut, organic if possible, veggies are worth it, especially if you are short on time. You still need to rinse them though, they come coated with a substance to slow decay.

Have an attitude of gratitude for the way your meals will nourish your body

• As you prepare your food, be in the moment and do it with love for yourself, rather than seeing it as a chore.

• Give thanks with prayer in the manner that feels the best to you before consuming your fuel from Mother Earth.

• As you are eating, visualize the food working its way through your stomach and into all the cells of your body to provide it with energy and healing.

If you’re interested in learning some basic Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Recipes, I have a playlist on YouTube of instructional cooking videos I created.