Nutrition and the Chakras

As someone who practices both Yoga and Reiki, I also have an interest in the chakra system. As a nurse, I find it particularly meaningful in the way that the seven major chakras or energy centers in the body largely map onto the plexuses, major nerve branchings along the spine.

There is, unfortunately, a lot of drek to be found when looking for info on the chakras. I steer my Reiki students towards Anodea Judith's books. Wheels of Life is probably the best and most thorough introduction, and The Sevenfold Journey is a great workbook to go with it. I do also check out other books as I run across them and as time allows.

Most recently, I stumbled across The Inner Peace Diet. While I'm not sure I buy into all the book's claims, it does have some excellent-looking recipes. I don't have the time to prepare the week-long menus the book sets out, but I do like the idea of using food as a way to bring attention to and nourish the chakras.

When I teach Reiki III for Master Practitioners, I do it a bit differently than I've seen others do. I teach it over 12 weeks, and the first 8 are spent reviewing Reiki I and II topics in more depth as well as an intensive journey through the chakras. Week one, we work with the sushumna, the column of energy running parallel to the spine and along the seven major chakras. After that, we take one chakra per week alongside some of the basic Reiki topics. One suggestion I've often made to students is to include foods during the course of that week that resonate with the chakra in question.

The easiest way to do this, especially in warmer weather, is to incorporate fruits and vegetables that are the color associated with that particular chakra. I'm teaching a Reiki III class now, and last week ended up being a lot about tomatoes and strawberries and red bell peppers, for example. This week, we've got carrots, oranges, cantaloupe, peaches, and sweet potatoes, and I may even try making the pumpkin primavera recipe from The Inner Peace Diet. There are other chakra-related recipes on the net, several of which look interesting. But when life gets busy, keeping it simple can be the best way to go.

One of the things people in the US often struggle with is getting enough fruits and vegetables into their diet. That's one reason I find my bentos helpful, as the boxes make it easier (for me anyway) to make these the primary foods in the meals I pack to bring to work or school. I do, however, get into ruts. Taking the "this week is all about [color]" approach also lends itself to branching out a bit into fruits and vegetables I don't always think to include in my diet. Like oranges. I love oranges. Why don't I eat them more often? Well, this week, there'll be a bit more of them.