One of the reasons why I decided to write this blog is that I’ve realized and experienced for myself the difficulties that people encounter in their daily life when it comes to eating habits. Nowadays it’s difficult to maintain a healthy attitude towards food, primarily because it’s hard to define what “healthy” actually stands for. On the one hand, there are a lot of “healthy food” trends, and on the other hand, we experience the consequences of the fast-paced lifestyle in which primary needs like food are sometimes neglected.
Food is a man’s primary need, something he could not live without. At the same time, food has been associated with culture and lifestyle since the very beginning, while eating habits very well outline the value system of each society.
We live in the information age. Nowadays, one of the causes of problems that come with eating habits is the inability to cope with the amount of information we encounter daily, making it harder to hear ourselves and our bodies. Modernization is making our everyday life easier but also causes stress due to the intensity and speed with which everything takes place. The modern way of life has given us accessibility and ease in preparation of food adapted to our fast lifestyle. It has made it possible for us to have our primary need, food, always met. However, due to the excessive amount of information dictating us what to eat and how to live our lives, we must turn inward and develop the attitude towards food primarily by listening to our bodies.
Some of us simply show no interest in food. We neglect our health, prioritize our careers, and disrupt our relationship with food and ourselves. We are often completely focused on the outside world, adapting to rapid technological changes at work or in everyday life, dedicating time to our family and loved ones, which leaves us less time, energy, and motivation to prepare healthy and nourishing meals. Sometimes we don’t let ourselves eat until we “get the job done”. We might have successfully completed all tasks in our stressful routine, but we have neglected our primary need – food.
Maybe we chose to eat fast food because we are overstressed and don’t have time to think about another obligation. Although we are aware that it negatively affects our health, it seems that our awareness is being overpowered by the advertising food industry, promoting exactly that type of product. In addition to eating fast food off our feet, we often skip meals, don’t eat enough, and then overeat when the time for us finally comes.
We are all subject to an instant culture that greatly affects our daily lives. Most people buy without thinking, providing excellent material to various companies that can entice people with their products. Faster food production requires more intensive marketing advertising. Such advertising is especially prominent in the trend of “fast” and processed foods popular around the world, precisely because of the accelerated lifestyle.
Thanks to the good knowledge of human psychology and consumer behavior, large corporations and media start to influence our preferences. We are all drawn to the messages that touch our primary needs, especially food, which often serves us as a comfort in our stressful everyday life. Combined with stress at work, we unconsciously put our health in the hands of the food industry.
However, not everything should be blamed on the marketing industry. We should consider the life priorities of a modern man who often puts his career ahead of his health, and sometimes unknowingly puts himself in a state of malnutrition.
On the other hand, some of us go to various extremes and experiments following “healthy” food trends – various diets, “detox” etc, which are not really about proper nutrition and can often create an imbalance in the body, mind or emotions. We become too obsessive when it comes to food and this affects other aspects of our lives.
In both cases mentioned above, we may develop an unhealthy attitude towards diet and towards our body which can negatively affect the quality of our lives.
Following the social conditions of a modern life with which we have identified with (e.g., career or a particular dietary trend), we begin to lose contact with ourselves and live detached from our cyclical nature. Under the pressure of the generally accepted belief of today’s society that people’s success is valued based on career or beauty, we fully dedicate ourselves to work, physical appearance or a certain trend and neglect a regular and balanced diet according to our nature, climate and seasons, which is the foundation of health.
We might recognize ourselves in the text and feel that we have reached some of the extremes mentioned, and we want to change something. From where to start?
Firstly, by not blaming ourselves, because just by being aware of the extreme we’ve found ourselves in, we will learn how to find the way to our own, unique balance.
Sometimes it’s enough to start with simplicity – being aware of what, how, and when we eat. A simple awareness of the impact of the modern way of life on our relationship with food can suddenly wake us up. Then the fire in us starts to awaken – we start being more present with ourselves, regardless of the hectic everyday life. We realize that we actually have the power and ability to choose, but because of the social conditioning, we often forget it’s on us. By focusing on that awareness, we awaken love, patience, and understanding towards ourselves, which is always welcome and necessary. Understanding our relationship with food and its impact on the body, mind, and feelings can motivate us to focus more on ourselves and our health, which can affect people around us and inspire future generations who will be faced with even more information and challenges of modern life.
Mayurveda Yoga 