I was sitting in the garden here at Ham Green House, enjoying listening to the birds as they heralded the arrival of Spring with their song. As I sat with the sun on my face, listening to the fountain splashing as a backdrop to the chorus from the birds, I could feel the stress melting away. Not just in the metaphorical sense of the word, but in a real physical way. My shoulders relaxed and my breathing calmed.

Key to this feeling of relaxation was the fact that I’d just finished my lunch. While I didn’t have time for a full meditation, that brief moment of sunshine and birdsong was enough to begin the transition of my nervous system back into restorative mode, allowing my body time and space to begin the process of digestion.  

Clients often report that they ‘don’t have time’. No time for a proper lunch break. No time to meditate. No time to relax. While life is indeed busy and seems to only be getting more and more harried, the birdsong in the garden was a useful reminder of the benefits of giving ourselves the time to allow the parasympathetic nervous system to support that crucial process of digestion.  

The link between nutrition and health is clear. What is often forgotten is the link between eating and being in the right physical and mental state to fully digest a meal. We discuss the need to understand both the foods we eat and our eating habits in more depth as part of the Nutrition model in our master’s Level 7 Diploma in Integrative Medicine. Head here to find out more about the Diploma: Diploma in Integrative Healthcare – NCIM – National Centre for Integrative Medicine