We all know how wonderful it is to have healthy physical digestion. We just feel better about ourselves and about life, am I right? But Yoga and Ayurveda teach that it is even MORE important to have healthy mental digestion. Here’s why:

There is a quote attributed to Henry Ford (the car guy!) which says it well:
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t—you’re right.”

The mind has the power to shape our attitudes and our actions. The mind decides if we’re having a good day or a bad day. The mind chooses to listen to and believe certain things, often to the exclusion of many other things which may be just as valid. Just as amazing, what goes on in the mind affects even how we feel in our body. Wow!

Now that you know how important it is to digest thoughts and emotions, here are a few ways to cultivate healthy mental digestion:

Pay attention to the ways your thoughts and emotions affect your body. Do you get sick to your stomach when a fear arises? Maybe a familiar pain returns when you have a difficult conversation with a friend? Seeing the relationship between body and mind is a good first step in noticing when you’re not digesting well.

Process your thoughts and emotions through writing or conversing with a trusted friend. Could you have handled a situation differently? What did you learn from what you endured? Have compassion for yourself and for what it means to be human.

Seek out other perspectives. Just like the body needs a variety of foods with lots of spices to keep physical digestion healthy, the mind needs a variety of views from people who see the world quite differently. Liberals need to listen to conservatives, conservatives need to hear liberal views, and all of us need to open our hearts to people from other parts of the world.

Get your 6-8 hours of sleep every night. Yoga and Ayurveda teach that our mental digestion happens most easily while we’re asleep. No one really know for sure, but maybe this is why we dream! What do you think?

Who doesn’t want healthy digestion? You just feel better, happier, lighter when you are digesting well. Maybe you even sleep more soundly and smile more too.

Compliments of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of healthy living, here are some suggestions for healthy digestion, just in time for the season of eating:

Eat food that has been prepared with joy since the energetic flow makes it move through your system more happily.

Eat in the company of friendly people or eat quietly by yourself without the distraction of media or unpleasant conversation.

Add spices to your food to help your body digest it more easily. If you’re only using salt and pepper, you’re missing out! Spices that especially aid digestion are cumin, coriander, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and mint.

Stop eating when your stomach is about half full. Nothing good ever comes from overeating. Enough said.

Go for a short, leisurely walk after eating. Bonus: If you have time to do so, it also helps to lie down on your left side for 10 minutes before taking your walk.

Eat at least two hours before bed so that the first stages of digestion are complete before you lie down to sleep.

Take this information into the holidays and you’ll be sure to have a happy, healthy body moving into the new year!

Did you know that our conscious mind only makes up 5% of our thoughts and behaviors, while our unconscious mind controls 95% of our thoughts and behaviors? Granted, a good portion of the unconscious mind controls things we don’t want to remember, like breathing, heart rate and digestion, but that’s still a lot of stuff we’re not aware of. What we’re not usually aware of are the habits of mind and action that put us on automatic pilot during the day. Automatic behavior can be a great thing when it involves giving yourself positive affirmations and going for a walk every day. But it can also involve things that are not at all good for you.

Consider for a moment what happens when you’re under stress. Do you eat unhealthy food? Go shopping online? Binge watch television? Spend hours on social media? Go back to bed? Scream at someone? Lament all the ways your life is not going the way you want it to go?

Practicing Yoga is one of the ways to become more aware of thoughts and behaviors. This is called “mindfulness” or “present moment awareness.” In that moment of awareness the unconscious becomes conscious. And once you are aware, you can make better choices.

Take a few minutes right now to think about your usual response to stressful situations. Consider both thoughts and actions. Is this the way you really want to deal with life? What could you do instead that would help you be the person you know you truly are? Now you are aware! The next time you feel the tug toward unconsciousness, stop, think and replace your thoughts and actions with more powerful ones.