What Are The Variables in Human Design? Digestion/Strongest Sense Edition
Why this variable matters when you're overwhelmed and how it can help bring you back into alignment
STORY TIME
Have I told you about the time I tried every fad diet in one year? Like Keto. (I was eating so much bacon, I could have grown a curly cue tail if I thought about it hard enough.)
And Intermittent Fasting.
And Whole 30.
And…ahem… the Sweet Potato Diet. 🤣
I was obsessed with nutrition protocols for the longest time. Even got my certification to be a Transformational Nutrition Coach through ITN. Only recently did I realize that trying out all these diets was my subconscious looking for something to adhere to.
But instead of sticking with butter coffee or sweet potato smoothies for the long haul, I kept changing the plan in efforts to optimize my health. Aka trying to get as many different types of food in my system as possible, when in reality, all I needed was to meal prep meals I love on repeat.
(PS Should people be drinking butter coffee every day?! Idk what I was thinking. 😅)
And my personal Digestion Variable in Human Design validates this! I need regularity over everything else.
Some of us just don’t require variety. In fact, it can be overwhelming to have too many variables in our meals, even when it comes to timing! Other people are the exact opposite though. Some people will feel suffocated by a routine.
Wellness culture loves to tell us there is a “plan” that will fit everyone and it’s just not true. One of the best things you can do for more clarity, comfort and ease in your life is align your digestion method to your design.
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We’re about to go deep into one of the lesser-known pieces of the chart: The Variables.
What are the variables?
The variables are the four arrows at the top of your chart. These are known as the “transformations” because they are all related to how we evolve over time. We can use these variables to “optimize” our inner and outer being.
What do the arrows mean?
The arrows relate to different parts of our cognition and how we experience the world around us.
What do the arrows facing left mean?
Left, in the most general terms, indicates activeness. Activeness looks different for each arrow. ⬅️
What do the arrows facing right mean?
Right, in the most general terms, indicates passiveness. Passiveness looks different for each arrow. ➡️
How complex do these arrows get?
Very! “Underneath” each arrow, so to speak, is a wealth of information about how you optimally operate and your unique differentiators.
Are the variables the starting point in Human Design?
Nooooope. Well, maybe. It just depends on who you are and what chapter of life you’re in. The variables are fascinating and can be very helpful when used in the context of your Human Design energy type, strategy, authority, profile, etc.
The variables are extremely sensitive to the exact time we were born, and they are incredibly complex. They aren’t usually the starting point for living by Design because when most of us are feeling out of sorts, it’s probably not a variable problem. It’s that we’re not using our authority or strategy correctly. So we’re exhausted by life and people, all day every day.
However, the variables can show you some incredibly unique parts of how you experience the world at large. And since I’m years into the Human Design journey, when I’m feeling like Ross Gellar, about to get divorced for the third time or I can’t figure out what the Universe is trying to tell me, I love the variables. They reinvigorate my life and I’m happier than Ross on New Year’s Day.
In this post, we’re going to look at the Top Left Arrow = Digestion / Strongest Sense
But we’re going to focus solely on digestion.
Digestion
When life feels utterly confusing, ask yourself: Am I processing life and life’s fuel (food) properly?
Am I spiraling with too much information?
Does my tummy hurt all the time?
Do I feel off when I eat?
Does life seem overwhelming?
Am I flustered, annoyed, or disinterested in food?
Am I overeating or under-eating?
If you said yes to any of these question, looking into your Digestion variable might help! And this matters far beyond food.
Digestion is all about how we are meant to literally and metaphorically digest or “take in” life. This relates to eating food, consuming information, and how we process our own thoughts.
When life gets to be too much, it’s imperative we slow down and take stock in how we are meant to process everything going on. The Digestion variable can help.
When you’re trying to leave a job, make a relationship decision, or navigate a major life transition, your digestion is often the first thing to go offline. You stop eating regularly or you overconsume, doomscrolling becomes your go-to functional freeze MO, food is unappealing or you find a way to use it to numb the overwhelm.
When you feel directionless it’s easy to stamp your foot and declare “I am just exhausted and have no willpower.” But none of this is about motivation or discipline. It’s about how you best process the world around you.
Getting back on track to find clarity won’t come from forcing discipline. It will come from giving your body a way to safely take life in again.
If your Digestion arrow is facing right (Passive Digestion)
We call this passive digestion.
This means you might feel better without overly structuring your meals. Fasting might feel natural some days. Other days you may feel the need to eat every few hours. The key is that you trust what your body is telling you.
Eat when you’re hungry — not on someone else’s clock.
This fluidity will bring you more clarity and comfort than a set routine.
When you eat in alignment with your digestion, you gain more than a nourished belly. Your mental clarity gets stronger and so does your brain’s ability to “take in” information.
If your Digestion arrow is facing left (Active Digestion)
We call this active digestion.
This means you might feel better having routines or eating rituals. You most likely will feel better with predictability in how and when you eat. Your mind will experience more clarity and less chaos when it knows exactly how, when, and where it will be fueled.
Eat in a consistent manner — not just when you remember to.
I repeat: When you eat in alignment with your digestion, you gain more than a nourished belly. Your mental clarity gets stronger and so does your brain’s ability to “take in” information.
Want to have your Human Design chart read? Or do you just need 60-mins to get direction and clarity on something overwhelming you right now? I’d be honored to support you!
Things that might feel good for Active Digestion
(Top Left Arrow, Left-Facing)
Eating meals at roughly the same time most days
Having “my usual” meals that your body recognizes (and loves)
Creating a little ritual around food (always use the same mug, watch a Youtube series, keep the cute salt dish nearby)
Letting your nervous system relax because it knows fuel is coming at a specific time
Repetition that you can easily spice up (same ground beef base, but adding different sauces)
Predictability that frees up mental space for bigger things
Things that might feel good for Passive Digestion
(Top Left Arrow, Right-Facing)
Eating when hunger taps you on the shoulder instead of following your girlfriend’s schedule 😬
Letting different days, different seasons change your eating style
Trusting that your body knows what it’s doing, even if it’s “inconsistent”
Snacking some days, fasting the other, full meals when it feels right
Eating intuitively without needing to explain
Fewer food rules, more listening to your cues
Letting nourishment be responsive to your vibe, mood, environment, instead of planned
What to do when active digestion falls in love with a passive digestion 😬
One of the greatest parts of being a human is eating food. I know to be objectively true because when my boyfriend cooks for me, I am in literal euphoria. It’s one of his most powerful expressions of love and you can taste that fact. I also know this because when my bestie medium channels souls on the other side, many of them have referenced missing food. My own angel mother mentioned bagels. OUT OF ALL THE FOODS… she misses bagels the most. 😂
For us humans, eating is so much more than nourishment. Yes, it’s fuel, it’s medicine, it’s health. But it’s also enrichment, entertainment, expression, and excitement! And above all, it’s meant to be a shared experience. It should be the centerpiece of community more often than holidays. There are hundreds of studies that show the link between communal meals and our mental health. This is especially true for children’s overall wellness and development.
One study I read about in Shawn Stevenson’s Eat Smarter called out that children who share three or more meals with their family per week are more likely to be a healthy weight, have better eating patterns and are far less likely to develop disordered eating than kids who had less than 3 meals with their family.
Sooo… Friday Night Dinners, anyone??
Another study in the Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal showed that having a meal together helped working parents alleviate their own stress. If they weren’t stuck in traffic, or pulling the late shift and could actually be home and sit with their family for post-labor meals, employee morale was in the safe zone.
Eating (and cooking) with people you love is one of the most underrated forms of stress relief. It was one of my non-negotiable when I was looking for my person: must be excited to have meals together. 😌 (Wish granted!!)
All of this is to encourage you too look up your Digestion Variable AND your partner’s.
If you are both active, wow, just think of the endless possibilities of meal prep bonding you can do! Reaching for the same Tupperware marked “Wednesday,” at the exact same time (because you’re both hungry at the exact same moment) how steamy.
Or what if you are both passive, wow. I see you dancing in the refrigerator light because someone thought they were hungry, but wasn’t, so the door was left open… and you both bond over your love to graze, making everyday charcuterie… how CUTE-rie.
Now if one of you is active and the other is passive… I see you living life in an ebbing and flowing rhythm.
A great example of how people can be so different yet so perfect for each other is Luke and Lorelai. My guess is that Lorelai is passive digestion and Luke is active.
Lorelai followed her whims and Luke made sure he was always available for her whimsy-eating needs. Whether she demanded pancakes or black coffee, he had it. If she needed late night donuts or early morning coffee in a vat, he provided. Whether or not Lorelai had a nutritious diet is an entirely separate issue. My point is that Luke had to be ok with this whirlwind of a woman following her intuition over his more rigid lifestyle. And that’s ok!
So if one of you is passive and the other active, maybe there is meal prep for two meals everyday… but dinner is the wildcard. The active person might request that dinner be the meal shared together so the other two meals can be more regimented. If the passive person isn’t hungry at the same time every night maybe the compromise is active person always as an amuse-bouche but vows to eat again later when the passive person gets their wave of hunger.
There’s all kinds of ways to work together. It comes down to love, respect, and communication. And what a beautiful thing, to have someone in your life who wants to talk to you about nourishment and enjoy one of life’s greatest gifts together.