Honoring Your Needs… Tune in and Listen
Intuitive Eating (IE) is an experiential attunement process, inviting you to combine the knowledge of the mind with the wisdom of your body.
By encouraging you to consider your relationship to food, body, belonging, and worthiness (and root your efforts in care rather than control), the practice offers ample opportunities for self-discovery and growth.
I once coined IE as “yoga for eating” because of their striking similarities. They both offer a self-care framework and encourage internal investigation by asking you to be present, tune in, and listen, with curiosity, not judgment.
A worthy side note about listening
Once, when asked what she said when she prayed, Mother Teresa replied, “I listen.” Without pause, the apt interviewer asked, “What does God (universe, soul, nature, etc.) say?”
“(S)he listens.”
Self-discovery and Improvement
Often the pace of life and our attempts at self-improvement move at a rapid clip – which is quite paradoxical really.
What would it take for you to slow down and listen?
To quiet the noise in your mind, focus on your breath, and then tune in to the plethora of sensations coming from your body?
What would it be like to synchronize your efforts with the rhythm of your body, your home?
Easier said than done, I know – especially during times of transition, challenge, and growth – and which times aren’t?
But with patience and practice, you may learn a new way of connecting to yourself at your core – an invaluable way that is available to you at any time.
Maybe you will also learn to allow your body to tell you what it needs and then respond without judging or exerting force. Let it tell you. What does it need?
Food, water, rest, movement? Then, be gentle and provide.
Nourish
In closing, I invite you to pause and reflect and consider the questions posed above.
And I offer one more golden nugget related to the word nourish, the very definition of which is “to support in the development of”.
Why then, would you ever choose not to nourish yourself?
Support in the very development of YOU?
Written by Janet Steady, MS RDN LD Intuitive Eating Coach and 200YT, aiming to use her knowledge of food, nutrition, and passion for the human mind & body to aid clients with the journey of self-discovery.
To see more about Janet, visit her at cvwellbeing here
And at Greener Postures Yoga here
Next up – a brief yet informative guide on the fundamentals of sports nutrition – what to eat if you choose to gear up for summer time activities!
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