Chakra Nutrition Healing
Hello everyone, and welcome to today's episode of The Positively Healthy Mom! I'm your host, Laura Olinger, teen and parent wellbeing coach. Today, I'm thrilled to bring back my wonderful friend, Marquelle Brown, a functional medicine nutritionist and betrayal trauma coach. Marquelle joins us to share exciting new insights on how we, as moms, can nurture ourselves, even when navigating life's toughest challenges.
The Wisdom of the Rainbow: Connecting Nutrition and Energy Centers
Marquelle introduces us to the fascinating concept of energy centers, or chakras, and their corresponding nutritional needs, as taught by Dr. Deanna Minnick. This approach beautifully combines science and spirituality, offering a holistic path to well-being.
Here’s a breakdown of each energy system and its associated color, focus, and nutritional components:
1. Root (Red): This is about anchoring your beliefs, values, and identity, fostering safe communities, and embracing your passions. Nutritionally, focus on protein.
2. Flow (Orange): This system emphasizes water, hydration, healthy fats, and oils, as well as moving through emotions and fostering creativity.
3. Fire (Yellow): Correlated with carbohydrates for quick energy, this center also addresses charged thoughts like automatic negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, and imposter syndrome. It's also linked to gut health, blood sugar dysregulation, and liver function.
4. Heart (Green): Contrary to common thought, the heart center is green. It's where we nourish our whole self with self-care and self-compassion. Incorporate plenty of green leafy foods like lettuces and spring mixes for energy.
5. Truth (Blue/Aquamarine): This system is about speaking your truth, using your voice, and embracing authenticity and vulnerability. Nourishing soups, herbal teas, and broths support this center.
6. Insight/Third Eye (Purple): This relates to intuition, discernment, and brain health, impacting our moods and ability to think clearly. Fuel this with purple foods like blueberries, blackberries, red onions, purple cabbage, and purple potatoes, which are rich in brain-boosting anthocyanins and antioxidants.
7. Spirit/Crown (White): Representing spirituality and connection, this center is associated with white foods like onions and garlic, and often with practices like fasting for spiritual cleansing. The circular nature of this system brings us back to the grounding of the root.
Healing Trauma and Depression: Practical Tools for Mind and Body
Marquelle offers practical advice for those experiencing brain fog, memory issues, or clinical depression, emphasizing that these systems are interconnected.
For trauma recovery, particularly feeling "stuck" or in a "collapse freeze" state, Marquelle recommends:
Regrounding: Reconnecting with who you are, what you're fighting for, or what you're moving towards.
Creativity (Flow System - Orange): Engage in doodle art, painting, writing, sewing, gardening, or even simply plating your food with three to five colors to appeal to your senses and boost your mood.
Wear Orange: The color orange can help energize and encourage movement.
Movement: Start with gentle stretching or walking. Marquelle suggests somatic exercises like Havening (rubbing your hands down your arms with the intention of safety) to bring your nervous system back into a calm state.
Orienting: A simple tool where you look around and name objects in your environment (e.g., "mirror, door, pictures"). This helps redirect the mind and calm the limbic system.
For clinical depression, in addition to similar grounding techniques, Marquelle suggests:
Spices (Fire System - Yellow): Incorporating spices into your food can add a "spark of life" and help boost mood due to their phytonutrients.
Gut Health: Depression is often linked to gut issues (the gut-brain axis). Focus on nutrient-dense, colorful foods.
Healthy Fats (Flow System - Orange): Our brains need healthy fats. If you're craving sugar, reach for avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, fatty fish like salmon, or nut butters. Your brain might be seeking fat and converting sugar into it if it can't find what it needs.
Re-sparking Joy: Think about activities you once loved but no longer do. Intentionally bring back hobbies or passion projects that ignite joy and align with your values.
Small Steps, Big Impact: The Holistic Approach to Well-being
Marquelle highlights a profound shift happening in the medical paradigm, where the focus is moving "from soil to systems" and back to the roots of well-being: identity, purpose, values, and community. She stresses that before addressing nutrition, we often need to confront our thoughts and emotions.
"People are so critical to themselves that they can't… they're their own worst critic," Marquelle explains. We must interrupt negative thought patterns and create new ones. This is where professional guidance can be invaluable, as we often don't realize how self-critical we are.
Start small, Marquelle advises. Begin with talking to yourself better, creating positive identity statements, or adding more colorful fruits and vegetables (especially greens) to just one meal or snack a day. These seemingly small changes, over time, build into habits and routines that lead to profound improvements in your overall health, digestion, immune system, and mood.
Remember your "why" – your motivation for seeking better health and a higher quality of life. This purpose will be your driving force on challenging days. You are a whole being—mind, body, and spirit—and nurturing all these interconnected parts is essential for thriving.
Unlock More Wisdom: Listen to The Positively Healthy Mom Podcast!
Ready to dive deeper into these powerful insights and discover even more ways to nurture your mind, body, and spirit?
Listen to the full episode with Marquelle Brown on The Positively Healthy Mom Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Don't miss this opportunity to gain actionable strategies and holistic wisdom for a healthier, happier family life!
