Hello and welcome.
My name is Lisa Schlossberg and I will be your guide for today.
When it comes to emotional eating,
Maybe you already know that it is brain science that we turn to food to bring our mood up or to bring our stress down.
So you might already know that there is nothing wrong with you.
It's not your fault.
You are not broken and you are not the problem.
So once we've moved through that and released any of those narratives or stories we maybe were holding on to,
Sometimes the question becomes,
Well,
What do I do in the moment?
And so that's what this practice is here to support you with.
When you are in it,
When you are finding yourself in the moment,
Wanting to turn to food,
Having that craving,
That urge,
The compulsion to use food and eating to get out of your inner experience,
That's what this is for.
So the first thing that I want to do is explain it to you before we practice it together.
Because if you're anything like me,
It can feel potentially safer to engage with something when you know how it works and why it works.
So first I will start by saying that when it comes to cravings,
Many of us are familiar with the approach that is trying to white knuckle our way through it,
To kind of power through it or ignore it or distract ourselves from it,
Try to get rid of it and ultimately just trying to control it.
And the reason that that doesn't work,
Or at least it doesn't work sustainably in our lifelong relationship with food,
Is because it just adds ultimately more inner conflict.
Now there's a part of you that wants to turn to food and it has to fight against the part of you that is also trying to control it.
And so it's conflict.
It's more physiologically,
It's more contraction,
It's more tension.
And that's where you feel like you're kind of waging war against yourself.
And that's why it feels that way.
Because in a lot of ways,
That's what's happening.
The other thing that a lot of us are used to is judging and shaming the urge or the craving.
So if you find yourself wanting to turn to food and you're aware of that in real time,
The other way that we try to fight that is to judge it and come up with the story that now we're doing something wrong,
Or that we shouldn't want food,
Or that we shouldn't be emotional and turning to eating as a way of coping.
And that,
Again,
Is another way that we add more tension,
More stress,
And more contraction to the system,
Which is also why it doesn't work very well.
So instead of trying to get rid of it,
Change it,
Or control it,
What we are going to practice is allowing it and accepting it.
Because it is really only once you can practice radically accepting your experience as it is that it starts to change.
So now that you know what doesn't work,
Let's try on something that does.
And this is all always an experiment.
So you're not going into this with a specific agenda or any specific expectation,
But really just an opportunity to practice trying something different to see how it goes.
So having said all of that,
I want to jump in and just invite you to come back into your body for a moment.
You can close your eyes or drop your gaze if that's helpful.
And maybe just take a deep breath and sigh it out and feel that breath move through your body a few times,
Filling yourself up and then feeling the vibration of your breath on the way out.
And then I want you to,
If this is happening for you in real time,
Just paying attention to what is present in your body.
And if you want to bring in a memory of a time recently where you turned to food.
So whether it was in the past or it's in the present right now,
Bringing your awareness to the part of you that wants to eat to cope.
And first,
Just gently allowing yourself to turn toward it rather than away from it.
And this might be a radically new experience for you to try on.
Turning toward rather than away from the craving and the compulsion.
And so right now for a moment,
Just notice what happens as you turn toward it.
And just practice acknowledging that it's here.
That right here,
Right now in this moment,
What you want to do is use food to cope.
And without acting on it or judging it,
Allowing it to be here.
And notice what happens in your body as you experience this.
Where does that part of you live?
Can you locate the energy of that compulsion of that craving in your body somewhere?
And just notice what it feels like.
Very often,
This is where people will find that they feel the energy of fight.
Of a lot of tension or contraction and wanting to fight.
Either fight the feeling,
Fight themselves,
Fight the craving.
And just notice that.
It doesn't need to go anywhere and it doesn't need to be any different.
You might also notice the energy associated with wanting to flee.
To run away,
To escape,
To get out.
And again,
Just notice that.
That also doesn't need to go anywhere and it doesn't need to be different.
You may also experiencing yourself in freeze,
Collapse,
Shut down,
Or wanting to be.
And just notice that too.
So however you're reacting,
Just allow it to be here.
And however the urge or the craving to turn to food shows up,
Breathe into it.
So rather than trying to overpower it or white knuckle your way through it or ignore it.
Allow yourself to actually feel it.
And maybe you can just label it.
I feel like I want to run away.
Part of me feels like it wants to shut down.
I feel like I want to fight.
Just label it,
Name it,
Notice it.
And breathe into it,
Allow it to be here.
And with the same energy of opening the door and inviting it in.
Notice that it is safe for this urge,
This craving to be here right now.
And we can also acknowledge that you may not like it.
And you may not feel comfortable.
And you likely don't want it.
That's okay.
What you're practicing is tolerating it.
What you're practicing is just not resisting it.
This is the embodiment of acceptance.
It's okay that you are here.
It's okay that you have a craving.
And instead of trying to control it,
Can you ride it like a wave?
Can you ride it out and stay with your body as it feels like you're surfing?
Your own emotional experience.
Sometimes the waters are rocky.
Sometimes it's challenging.
That's okay.
You can do it.
You are doing it.
So coming back to your breath if you've lost it.
And just noticing you are breathing,
You are surviving.
And if you are still here listening to this,
Practicing this,
It means that you have felt the urge without acting on it.
And this practice is not designed for you to stop the behavior.
This practice is designed for you to behave from a place of choice and freedom and power.
If you want to use food as a way to cope with these emotions,
You can.
You have all the permission and all the freedom to do that.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
What this is for is allowing you to be in a position of choice.
So you're not acting out of alignment with yourself.
Breathe.
And you can always come back to this.
You can always return to this practice anytime you need it.
But for now,
Bringing yourself back into your body,
Bringing yourself back to your breath.
And allowing yourself a moment to really realize that you have survived.
You have survived the craving without acting on it.
You have allowed yourself to experience what it feels like to want to turn to food without immediately turning to food.
And allow that to just land and settle in your system.
And whenever you feel ready,
You can always take your time here.
Stay with yourself as long as you need.
And when you feel ready,
You can start to just very gently,
Slowly start to blink your eyes open.
Look around your room a little bit.
Just reorient to your environment.
And then as always,
If anything is sticking with you,
Anything you want to make a note of or come back to.
Maybe taking something and just feeling free to write or journal.
Make any notes,
Color,
Anything that feels really present for you right now.
And any other ways that you can support yourself,
Knowing that you just did a really hard thing.
And that this is a practice.
So maybe this time it didn't feel comfortable or totally accessible to stay present for this.
That's okay.
Especially if this is the first time you're doing it,
It's like anything else.
You might need to come back a few times before it feels safe and comfortable.
To practice tolerating the icky emotions and the cravings that you want to stop.
So give yourself grace and keep practicing.
