Hello and welcome.
This practice is for post-binge or post-over-eating experience when you find yourself in the aftermath of using food as a way to cope with stress,
Emotion,
Life and just being a human being.
And so you might be finding yourself in that moment right now and I just want to acknowledge whatever it is that brings you here to this practice today,
Whatever it is that happened before this that made you try this on or come back to this,
Just taking a moment to acknowledge that and giving yourself the opportunity to witness you seeking out the support that you need to feel a little bit less alone.
I give you credit for that and I honor you for showing up here.
So first I want to invite you to get comfortable,
Whatever that looks like for you right now,
Maybe that's sitting or lying down and then gently closing your eyes whenever you get there and giving yourself a moment to just transition into stillness and into this practice.
So taking a few deep breaths and just noticing you are here,
You have arrived and you are not alone.
And you may already feel some emotion coming up and that's okay,
Let it,
Let it.
Whatever is here now is here now and none of it needs to go anywhere.
And so that will be the first part of this practice is just being mindful of what's here.
How do you feel right now?
Emotionally,
Physically,
What do you notice?
And with no judgment and no agenda,
No such thing as good and bad or right or wrong,
Just start identifying how do you feel right now?
Maybe you feel completely numb.
Maybe the only thing you can feel is your body being really full.
Maybe you feel a sense of shame or fear,
Insecurity,
Inadequacy,
Embarrassment,
Failure,
Whatever else might be here,
Let it be here.
And so you don't need to get rid of it,
You don't need to push it away or stuff it down.
If you don't feel great right now,
That's okay.
That's part of it.
That's why you're here.
And just taking a few deep breaths and just noticing whatever sensations or whatever energy might be alive in your body.
If there's any tension or tightness,
Clenching,
Just noticing that.
And then filling yourself up with an inhale.
Just feeling that fresh air coming in and then on your exhale,
Send your exhale to that sensation in your body wherever it is.
Just connecting with it,
Allowing it to be here.
And doing that another couple of times,
Just breathing in fresh air,
Fill up.
And then on your exhale,
Connecting with the emotions that are here right now.
Creating some space for what is already present.
If there is shame and fear and judgment,
Sadness,
Disappointment,
Whatever it might be,
Welcome it.
You are creating space for what is already here.
You're already feeling it.
You don't need to fight it.
And if this brings up some tenderness,
Allow that.
If there are tears,
That's okay.
You don't have to feel good right now.
You don't have to feel good all the time.
And this might be a moment where you don't.
That's okay.
This is all part of being human.
So before we do anything else,
We're really just taking a moment to allow all the parts of you that are here to be here.
And supporting you and staying present with that because you do not need to run away from this.
You do not need to get out of this.
You are safe to be here.
You may not be comfortable here.
I know that.
But that's okay.
You are safe here.
And you are not alone here.
So giving yourself a moment to settle in and notice any of the discomfort,
Any of the feelings and also notice the safety.
Notice that you are okay.
There is no life threatening predator here.
These are just big feelings and some discomfort.
And you're doing great.
You can pause this if you need a little bit more time just to breathe.
And then once you're feeling a bit more grounded,
I want to invite you to remember that using food as a way to cope is normal,
Human,
Valid,
And appropriate.
There is nothing wrong with you that you used food,
That you binged on food,
That you overate food.
There is nothing wrong with you.
You are not broken.
And this is not your fault.
You didn't choose or design the mind-body system that sees food as a source of safety.
It's not your fault.
That happy chemicals are released in the brain when you eat it.
You didn't choose for food to be your primary source of comfort.
This is not a reflection of you.
This is not something that you have done wrong.
This is the brilliance of your mind-body system knowing how to keep you feeling safe.
So I know that you may not be comfortable right now and you may not like this feeling very much and that's okay.
And do not make meaning about you from this experience.
You are broken.
You are not the problem.
You are a human being.
You are doing your very best to manage.
You are a spiritual being having a physical experience with an animal brain in a social context,
Surviving on food.
It can be a lot sometimes.
And sometimes we use food to manage all of it.
That's okay.
That's not you.
And so again just letting that land,
Taking a breath in and on the exhale just feeling that move through your system.
And doing that again.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Receiving that truth.
You are not broken.
This is not your fault.
You didn't do anything wrong.
And you are not alone here.
And then from this place just inviting in some compassion and kindness.
Maybe placing a hand or both hands on your heart.
Feeling your own presence here.
Or maybe placing your hands on your cheeks and just cradling your face.
And again feeling yourself here.
And breathing into the connection of you supporting you.
Because moments like this are not easy.
Moments like this are not comfortable.
And you did not run away.
You did not abandon yourself.
You are here.
And then I invite you to look at yourself as you are right now from the observer perspective.
So zooming out and just seeing yourself from a distance with kind loving eyes.
Seeing the human that you are.
The human doing your best.
The human using the coping mechanisms that you have at your disposal right now.
Seeing yourself the way you would a friend or a loved one.
And all of your humanity and all of your wholeness.
Seeing that you are so much more than your behaviors.
You are so much more than your body.
You are lovable.
You are loved.
You are worthy of connection and safety.
And here you are receiving it.
And again,
Just being with your breath,
Feeling that move through your body.
Noticing that you are safe.
You are still.
And even if you're still uncomfortable,
You are here.
You are here.
And you are not alone.
Taking as long as you need in this space.
Coming back to this whenever you need it.
And giving yourself acknowledgement and gratitude for showing up here today.
Thank you for practicing.
