I am so excited to have had to opportunity to sit down with Teri Mosey and talk all things Chakras, the energy within our bodies and how eating with intention can help us reach a happier, healthier sense of wellbeing! Teri Mosey, PhD, is an international speaker, health and wellness consultant, and author of The Hidden Messages in Food. I met her a while back at a conference and was fascinated by her talk about chakras and foods.
Teri has been in the health and wellness industry for 25 years now, but it wasn’t until about 15 years ago when she had health problems that her path of healing lead her to taking a more holistic approach, combining both Eastern and Western Medicines to help her reach a place in her life and her health, where she could feel better and whole again. This journey opened up a world of understanding us as more than just a mechanical being and physical being and realizing we are ENERGY as well.
She found the bigger picture. Where HOW we eat, not just what we eat, and our lifestyle plays a much larger role in our health then we realize.
Since then, she has healed from her health issues and expanded her wealth of knowledge to now helping others find other sustainable ways of living so that they are able to heal as well. Teri found that by looking at things in a holistic perspective, she was able to find that it’s not about should-haves, it’s about looking at food and health, and how can I create a lifestyle that I can do with my everyday choices. It is about a happier and healthier sense of WELL BEING.
Okay, so for years we are being told, you can and can’t eat this, this isn’t good for you, eat more protein, eat more vegetables, eat fewer carbs, and the list goes on and on. And that healthy relationship with food dissipates till we are left with just with what we are eating and not really paying attention to how we eat. At that point, it turns into an unhealthy relationship with food, and we become rigid in our ways, and it spills out onto this rigid mindset. Basically, HOW we do food is HOW we do life! It is literally just a reflection of who you are. And this is where we have to change how we eat and be mindful of our food in order to change who we want to become on the outside.
When you jump into talking about food, you have to know that this goes way deeper than just calorie counting, diet culture, body image, weight, and tying yourself worth to the relationship you have with food. Yes, that is all a part of the conversation, but a lot of us are not flexible and open about our food. We may think that we are, but in reality, you really aren’t! If you are really particular about what you eat, when you eat, you are super structured, what you like or don’t like… THAT is not being flexible.
In order to stimulate change within ourselves and look at food in a new way on how it can heal our bodies, we have to be open to trying NEW things. And this includes NEW foods, eating when you are hungry versus when the clock says it’s time to eat, and try new experiences! Raise your hand if you like what is familiar, what makes you feel safe and grounded. Yup! But life is supposed to be an evolving art, so you have to keep putting yourself in that space of newness.
HOW can I add this newness and variety into my life when it comes to food’ And one way to do it, is to eat like we used to, around the seasons. Now you are wondering, what does that even mean.. Well, it simply means eat what would be growing around you during that season. What would be harvested then or available to eat’ It helps you and your bodies energy to become aligned with nature, it gives you a guideline of foods, and you are never giving things up, you are just eating it seasonally. It means that its “not the time for that food” not “no you can’t eat that”.
If we do not feel grounded and centered within ourselves, we tend to turn towards food that is the one thing easily accessible that we CAN CONTROL. And when we eat to feel better, it sends off these certain hormones and different neurotransmitters that help us feel centered and grounded in our life. Each time you eat, it slows down your vibration so that you feel a sense of centering, so every time someone takes in a little bit of food, it slows the vibration within our bodies that allows us to feel a sense of comfort and safety even if it’s just a temporary little blib… So that’s why people like to eat all day long as you know, six meals a day or grazing all day.
{which this doesn’t have any type of scientific backing for like weight loss, but it helps people feel that constant goodness all day from eating.}
Our bodies were not meant to eat all day long. Our bodies are meant to eat, digest the food we just ate and go along with this entire process within our bodies that has to take place while we are NOT EATING. Then we wait for those hunger cues, that my brain is saying okay, you are ready to eat now, long AFTER it has already become satisfied. Just understanding those hunger cues, allowing yourself to feel satisfied with that meal and ENJOY every single bite, will help to take food out of the picture as that temporary comfort. But you have to make sure you stop worrying about whether the foods are good or bad!
To get to this, we have to FEEL GROUNDED within ourselves and when I say grounded, I mean to feel a sense of home within yourself. This sense of grounding comes from our Root Chakra which is the Chakra of stability, security and our basic needs.
● Do you feel centered, safe in your own skin’
● When you wake up do you feel a sense of inner peace’
● Do you feel comfortable in your own skin and body’
When you become all of the above then it will take your mindset and make it more flexible! Yes! See, it all goes together!! Better mindset, more flexibility! When you are open to this life, you’re going to be flowing, kinder, and friendlier when you feel centered and grounded. You then show up as the best version of yourself!!
But when you are not mindful and grounded, you are going at life fearfully, worried about what can happen, sizing people up, become US VS THEM. And you feel like you are not on the same team as other people!
So, tell me, which would you rather be’ Grounded and centered or being on the defense all day every day’ Below is a great example..
“Outside is a reflection of what’s happening on the inside.” If you were to walk out into the world, and just think everyone you meet is super rude and crazy, you’re going to meet every rude and crazy person, because they’re there!!! But if you walk out and you’re like, oh shoot! Everyone is so nice here, then you’re going to meet the friendliest people because that’s what you’re placing your attention on!
So that’s part of the inner work of shifting your mindset, shifting your belief systems. And that starts with doing different meditative practices, doing different mindfulness practices, and you can actually use the way that you eat to initiate that.
1. Stop eating on the go; SLOW down and really see your food and connect with it. You WANT to feel that satisfaction and you WANT to feel full.
2. Don’t worry just about how much protein or calories are on your plate. These things are so insignificant right now when we talk about food.
3. Show up to your meals and be aware of what you are eating!
4. Connect with it. EAT while you are EATING with little to no distractions.
5. Our bodies do not communicate fullness for about 20 minutes, so if you are woofing down food in 5 minutes, chances are you are still going to continue to feel hungry, and then you are going to feel heavy!
6. Try and relax and not eat when you are stressed. Try and lower your stress levels as much as possible because it affects your body negatively no matter how healthy the food is you are eating. It stresses out your nervous system and changes are, those good foods don’t even really “get in”.
“Yes, you might be eating the right macronutrients, you might be eating all the right “great foods”, but if you are stressed as fuck and you are not sleeping, it doesn’t matter!!”
Our bodies are always trying to communicate with us. Whether in different emotions that show up during the day, or thought processes, or acid reflux, or gas and bloating, aches and pains, headaches, sciatica. Whenever it shows up, those are the subtle messages from the body saying, “Hey, what we are doing is not exactly working and we need to reset.” And instead of throwing a band aid on it and trying to cover it up with some Advil, we have to stop and get to the root. When you get to the root that’s how you become grounded and if you’re grounded, you will be healthy.
● Stop putting so much pressure on ourselves.
● SLOW down and stop multitasking. (you would be surprised at what more you can accomplish when you actually stop and do one thing at a time)
● Pick 3 things a day that you want to do and do them! Doesn’t have to be big things, can be small. But write them down and knock them off your list and you will feel freaking amazing and you got that shit done!
● We will always have a “TO DO List” but be sure to give yourself some REST!
○ Work
○ Play
○ Action
○ REST
○ And find a balance between them!
You are probably wondering, what does this have to do with FITNESS!’
Girl, how you do ANYTHING is how you do EVERYTHING!! In order for us to feel healthy, move forward and feel happy, it asks us to look at the way we do everything. And the food is JUST ONE of the pathways to get you there.
After I started this business and talked to more and more people, I realized that it wasn’t just me telling my clients about bicep curls. It was looking at their whole lives and helping them realize how I can help them to make time for themselves.
It is that holistic perspective. It’s looking at someone as wholeness for all that you are. And when we only look at someone doing bicep curls, and we’re only looking at how much protein they had, or how many calories they have, and putting it in a spreadsheet… We are completely missing who they are as a dynamic being! And that’s why all those different processes don’t lead to healing and thriving because they’re just small little snippets in the bigger picture! It has to be about living this lifestyle, and It’s about welcoming a newness into your life all the time.
Let’s talk chakras!!
Chakras are energy centers in your body that are behind your biology or physical being. There are 7 main ones that go up through the spinal cord to the crown of our head and each one is associated with a different organ and system. Each one of these 7 energy centers have a different vibration, and they each impact different parts of our bodies. In order for us to have coherence or health inside our body, it’s about finding balance within these energy systems, that then makes our physiology balance or our physical body healthy.
Teri specializes in chakras and how we use foods to help bolster some of the chakras where they need it. When you take in certain foods that have particular qualities, it helps to nurture the mindset, not just the physical aspect of you. And she talks about this all in her book, The Hidden Messages in Food which goes much deeper into foods and Chakras, what foods will do for which Chakra and how to tell when they are out of balance and the foods that will help re-align it.
As my followers know, each episode on my podcast, I ask my guest, “What makes you feel magical.” and Teri’s response gave me all the feels! “What makes me feel magical is when I feel completely connected to the universe. When I feel synchronicities in life, when I feel aligned with life, the feeling of love and openness, and when things effortlessly unfold for me. Life is all about energy and the less calculating you do on the physical essence; the more surprises and goodness can come to you.”
“When we place ourselves in a space of that openness, all of that is drawn to us and yeah, it’s sounds a little woo, but it makes me feel connected to my soul, which just makes me show up as my best version of myself.”
-Teri Mosey
If you want to learn more about Teri and think that this is in alignment with you and how you are feeling, be sure to check out her book. Or you can check out her 8-week Heal and Thrive Program, to work more extensively with her. You can also find Teri over on her website and on social through Facebook and LinkedIn .
(these are all linked above, but here they are again)
Website link – https://www.terimosey.com/
Link to book – https://www.terimosey.com/the-hidden-messages-in-food-book
Link to course – https://www.terimosey.com/heal-and-thrive-program
Link to socials – https://www.facebook.com/Teri-Mosey-Holistic-Health-and-Wellness-1573651989586202/
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I loved our conversation!