Why nephesh?

Nephesh is a Hebrew word that means “living vitality”.  It refers to both the body and the soul.  There is no word (to my knowledge) in the English language that means both body and soul.

As humans, we are not created as simply a body without a soul or a soul without a body; we have both; we are both.

And, the stories of our bodies tell the stories of our souls.  I’ll never forget when my body told me I needed to make a big change.

I was doubled over in my office in Denver, CO.  The fetal position was the only shape that allowed my body to experience some temporary relief.  I had horrendous pain in my lower belly that wouldn’t go away.  I had been dealing with some digestive issues for much of my life, but this was worse than it had ever been.  A couple weeks later, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and began the journey of managing my digestive stress through  lifestyle and dietary changes.

Yes, there were specific foods that were causing digestive stress.  And, I started experimenting with elimination and reduction to identify them.  Today, I have much greater awareness of the foods that support me in being well.

In addition to the irritating foods, and probably more debilitating, I was dealing with a lot of external stress–in my work and in my personal life.  As I began to explore this area of my life, I realized how connected my digestive stress is to the other stress in my life.  What a novel concept, I know!

It’s funny how we lose sight of this mind-body-soul connection.  I say “lose” because I believe we are born with it.  When we were a baby we wailed and kicked; we were peaceful when our bodies were well-fed and we had sufficient rest.  Yet, over time, this connection can easily fade as we listen to voices other than our body.  I remember listening to the voice that told me to “keep pushing through” the pain in my leg when I had a femoral stress fracture.  Or the time I actually thought that fat-free cinnamon graham crackers were somehow healthy.

I can laugh at those things now because I’ve learned to listen to my body; to allow my body to slow me down or speed me up.  And, my soul is a lot happier because of it.