How Your Chakras can Help you Nurture a more Intuitive Relationship with Food
Is it possible that ancient chakra philosophy can help you understand and improve your connection with your food and your body?
Like many, I was first introduced to the concept of the chakras through Yoga, and deepening my understanding of this energy system and how to work with it to enhance self-awareness, health and wellbeing, has been a game-changer for me. In fact, I’ve used the core chakra framework as as the basis for The Gut Reaction Method™, my approach to creating meaningful change in seven dynamics of your relationship with food and your body, and as a basis for the women’s retreat that I co-host in Turkey.
In this blog, I explain what the chakra system is, and how I draw on it as a part of my work.
We EACH have a personal energy map
It is now widely acknowledged that surrounding our physical bodies are energy fields that are created by the collective vibration of our various energy systems. But did you know this philosophy has origins in Indian Vedic scriptures, over 2000 years old?
According to yogic science, the human body has nine major energy systems of which the chakra system is just one. Chakras are spinning wheels of subtle energy where energy meridians (lines) intersect and the body is very open to receiving energy from all sources. Here the chakras create portals connecting the physical self with more subtle energetic bodies. Whilst they can’t be seen by the human eye, they can be sensed with intuition.
The name chakra actually comes from the Sanskrit word for wheel, in reference to the chariot wheels of rulers called cakravartins (the original “cakra” was pronounced with a “ch,” but we usually see it written now as “chakra”).
The seven major chakras run in a line along the central Meridien from the base of a person’s spine to the crown of their head. The flow of energy through and from the circuitry of this system is thought to play a role in physical, psycho-emotional and spiritual wellbeing. And the individual chakras each serve their own set of functions in relation to health and happiness too.
Each chakra is associated with the area of the physical body in which it resides, which it helps to keep healthy by removing stagnant energy and bringing in the new. And each one is also associated with a core life theme or aspect of your total being. For example, specific chakras contribute to sense of belonging and safety, creativity, confidence and motivation, compassion, authenticity, intuition and sense of purpose.
As chakras act as ‘containers’ for energy from all your thoughts, feelings, memories and experiences, including the effects of day-to-day life, societal pressures, past traumas and ancestral patterns, this stored energy is thought to impact your current mindset, emotional state, behaviours, and how the core chakra themes play out for you - in turn influencing the course of your life, relationships and health.
When all seven of our chakras are harmoniously humming along, and the energy (otherwise known as chi or prana) is flowing smoothly and evenly in a spiral fashion between one another and between the outside world, this is thought to allow for a more profound connection to our intuition and bodily signals, as well as the environment around us. We will feel well, inspired by life, in-tune with nature, and content within ourselves.
But when the flow of energy is depleted or gets stuck, we can feel stuck in life. This is because a stagnant, out of balance (overactive or under-active), or closed chakra restricts the flow in the system, leading us to feel disconnected from ourselves and the natural environment. This is also when a range of physical issues have potential to manifest, and we might experience discomfort, pain or even illness in the corresponding area as the body attempts to clear the energy.
Practitioners working with the chakras will say they are many ways you can activate or open chakras, and support the process of releasing old energy, calling in the new and keeping this system healthy and harmonious so it can help you stay healthy and harmonious too. However, there is a Yogic saying ‘Where our attention goes, energy flows,” and simply understanding what each chakra represents and gently starting to identify anything you’d like to ‘let go off’ is a great first step.
Ancient wisdom meets modern science
Whilst the chakra system is rooted in spiritual traditions that came into being well before the scientific and medical understanding of the human body we have today was established, a fascinating connection is that this ancient energy map corresponds with what we now call in modern, western medicine: the pyscho-neuro-endocrine system (PNE).
The PNE system is a science-lead framework which refers to the complex interplay between the mind (psycho), the nervous system (neuro), and the endocrine system (glands that secrete hormones - the chemical messengers that help run your body). This system is said to regulate various bodily functions, including emotions, cognition, stress response, and hormonal balance. And guess what - the placement of the seven chakras overlays the seven major hormonal glands, nerve centres and related physiology.
It was my study with a prolific functional medicine nutritionist called Dr Deanna Minich, who combines modern science with ancient wisdom through her own chakra-based health framework called Food & Spirit, that really opened my eyes to these correlations. Her work gave me a new lens through which to identify the connections between people’s health and how they eat and how they live, as well as new tools to add more depth and dimension to nutritional support.
INSPIRATION FOR THE GUT REACTION METHOD™
Working with my clients at Gut Reaction through challenges such as chronic dieting and weight cycling, emotional eating and disordered eating, I started to observe correlations between the core chakra themes and potential blocks impeding people’s ability to enjoy a peaceful, intuitive relationship with food and their bodies.
Consequently, a chakra-inspired framework forms the basis of The Gut Reaction Method™ providing an enlightening lens that has potential to bring deeper insights around the possible barriers in the way of people responding more intuitively to their bodies and nourishing their ‘whole-selves’. I call this The 7 Dynamics of a Healthy Relationship with Food & Your Body.
ACTIVATING your intuition around food
As already mentioned, the chakras are thought to play a role in the integration of our intuition.
Intuition is often described as our inner wisdom or “gut feeling” - a sense of knowing that doesn’t rely only on conscious reasoning. From a physiological perspective, this isn’t just a metaphor: the gut and brain are closely connected through the gut-brain axis, sometimes referred to as the “second brain,” which influences mood, decision-making, and even how safe or unsettled we feel. Psychology also recognises intuition as a form of fast, unconscious processing that draws on experience and subtle cues the mind has absorbed. In many holistic traditions, including those that work with the chakra system, intuition is understood as a deeper guidance that integrates body, mind, and spirit.
When our chakras are humming along harmoniously and our energy flows freely, this may help enable us to more deeply connect with our innate bodily wisdom and make food choices in intuitive ways that are more aligned with our being. And when we eat in ways that feel aligned with our bodies, minds and spirits, we positively influence the health of our chakras too. Conversely, if chakras are disrupted or blocked this could impair our intuition, compromising our ability to make those aligned food choices and potentially affecting our sense of wellbeing and physical health too.
In Intuitive Eating Counselling, which is a modality I draw on heavily to help support my clients at Gut Reaction, I define intuition as listening to your body’s signals in the present moment, while also drawing on past experiences and gentle nutrition knowledge. It’s an integration of body, mind, and awareness that helps you make food choices with trust and flexibility. This definition is framed without the more spiritual or energy-related aspects I’ve just mentioned - and is effectively a skillset that can be learned.
Nonetheless, I believe that a healthy relationship with food is, at its heart, an intuitive one. Whether we think of intuition through science, psychology, or energy systems, developing intuition around food means tuning into the signals our body gives us and trusting them as part of our decision-making. In my work, reacquainting people with this innate intuition is a key part of helping them rebuild confidence and self-trust around food for the long run.
NOURISHING THe RAINBOW INSIDE OF YOU
My Food & Spirit teacher, Dr Minich, is also a pioneer in the growing studies exploring and evidencing the connections between polyphenols, the thousands of colourful pigments in whole foods and their roles in supporting seven major aspects of human physiology - effectively validating the concept of ‘eating a rainbow’ for health.
In various holistic healing systems and traditions, including some branches of Ayurveda and energy medicine, there is a belief that different foods possess energetic properties, including colour and vibration. Consuming foods of specific colours is thought to enhance the chakras of corresponding colours, and consuming higher-vibrational foods is thought to positively impact our energy field and overall wellbeing.
Whilst these concepts are unproven, not universally accepted, and off-tangent to the education around nutrition that I provide at Gut Reaction, I still choose to approach them with an open mind. Could it be that modern science is yet to catch-up with these philosophies?
MY CONCLUSIONS
Whilst it is not a prerequisite of my work for my clients to connect with the chakras in any way, and nor does this determine the success of our work, I believe a lot of wisdom is held within ancient systems of health and healing such as the chakras, that even in the modern day can be harnessed to help us to make better sense of our health and habits and improve our intuitive connections with our bodies and with food.
If we are receptive to these holistic perspectives, they have potential to help us recognise that what we choose to eat may have symbolic and energetic significance beyond nutritional and functional dimensions alone. And how we relate to food can be approached with far greater sensitivity, not only towards our physical health, but our emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing too.
Take a nourishing step forward today
Are worries about food, weight, or overeating draining your time, energy, and peace of mind? Are you struggling with low mood, food cravings, gut health, or digestion challenges?
Old mindsets and habits can be hard to shift on your own. If you are looking to reset your eating patterns, make peace with your body, and reclaim your energy, I can help you.
Please check out my private programmes here, or book an exploratory chat to find out more.
Does the concept of the chakras resonate with you? Ready to reclaim your energy and revitalise your self-care habits? Then check-out our Revive & Thrive Retreat held in beautiful Turkiye.
