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hConscious Eating
SPECIAL - 4 HOUR BASIC MINDFULNESS PHONE RETREAT
Saturday, JULY 12
8am-12noon (PST)
11am-3pm (EST)
led by
Stephanie Nash
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Guided Meditation with Techniques & Strategies for turning Eating into a more Pleasurable & Satisfying (and less potentially destructive or unconscious) Experience.
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Utilizing the "5 Ways" of SHINZEN YOUNG
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TO REGISTER
Anyone who has studied with Steph or participated in mindful eating classes is welcome to sign up
(unlike other "Basic Mindfulness" retreats which require having taken prerequisite retreats.)
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NOTE FROM STEPH:
"Having led many mindful eating workshops & retreats over the past 5 years,
(and a few of these "Basic Mindfulness" home retreats),
I have structured this Conscious Eating workshop
in a way that I believe has the most potential to be effective for people on both coasts
(in terms of coinciding with meals, hunger & appetite as well as fitting into
the over-all Basic Mindfulness weekend program.)
We will explore many facets of the process of eating to help establish
a healthier & more satisfying relationship to this every day experience.
I have led 4 hour Mindful Eating workshops before - but doing it over the phone
offers specific challenges - and advantages. The challenges include not having the physical
presence & visual support of participants & teacher, but a potentially great ADVANTAGE
is to bring the mindful process & relationship with food INTO THE HOME,
where the unconscious habits most frequently arise.
I look forward to exploring this 4 hour format for supporting mindfulness (& reducing suffering
while increasing satisfaction) with this complex experience (that we often take for granted)
and I invite you to join us for this maiden voyage by 'Basic Mindfulness'
into the Wonderful World of Conscious Eating."
Below I outline the schedule/game-plan, as well as some thoughts
for PREPARATION for this particular retreat.
If interested in continued support AFTER the retreat, please email Steph.
(STEPH BIO)
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PREPARATION:
Find a place where you are COMFORTABLE and will NOT be INTERRUPTED. Chances are you will be in your kitchen, dining room, living room, or somewhere near the kitchen. There is a LOT of COMPLEXITY to the eating process - especially in our home environment - so the fewer avoidable distractions the better (like people coming in & out, music, tv, computer in view, etc.) This will allow more attention to all the senses we will be utilizing.
I highly recommend "SETTING the STAGE" and creating a special place for this meditation just as you would for formal practice, except this will probably be sitting at a table. I encourage place settings and readily available silverware/utensils and napkins - and salt/pepper, or other seasoning as is appropriate.
It's helpful if you do not have to get up to retrieve things, (although at some point/later in this process, that can be an interesting aspect of the experience to explore. For now, however, and in the limited time we have, I recommend having everything you need before we begin.)
It is okay to (and you probably will) have HOT or REFRIGERATED food - and if you need to quickly microwave food, for example, you can do it before the guided meditation, but it's best to NOT do that during if possible. I suggest using another plate or pan lid (or any cover) to keep food warm for the 20-25 minutes before we get to it. (A big part of this exploration is tuning into 'what is' and there is the possibility that we'll need to 'let go' of having everything at the 'perfect temperature' for the sake of uninterrupted mindfulness - and you may very well discover satisfaction at other temperatures, but use this period as it works best for you.)
I recommend having:
1. A GLASS of WATER.
2. (OPTIONAL) Any other beverage you may want - in addition to the Glass of Water.
3. At least 3 DIFFERENT FOODS (already prepared). These can add up to a meal or be just a few exploratory bites of each food. I recommend the following:
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A) (OPTIONAL) A small portion of a "TRIGGER" FOOD. (Any food that is an issue for you - whether you eat too much of it, or just think about it all the time. For some people this can be 'too hot' of an issue, and working with this in an "in person" session may be much more managable, so if you suspect this is too difficult for now in the home environment, please feel free to skip this step. One way of working with it is to only have a very small portion of that particular food present in the home at all. But please do what is appropriate for you. - Trust me, this will be a valuable experience whether or not you work with a trigger food.)
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B) a FAVORITE HEALTHY FOOD. (This could be any fresh or cooked food that is good for your body and that you happen to like alot.)
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C) Any other food that CONTRASTS the first two in COLOR, TEXTURE or TASTE. This could be a food you like or a 'neutral' food that you normally don't think much about but thought might be interesting to explore.
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D) (OPTIONAL) - especially if you did not opt to use a Trigger food, you might want to explore OTHER HEALTHY FOODS. I recommend that at least one food contain vegetable or fruit. You will find a totally different experience with baked goods, for example, than with fresh foods, so if this is your first time exploring conscious eating, I recommend that you bring in the foods that you address in the course of your day-to-day life and/or the foods that you would like to explore your relationship with (- or develop a new relationship with.)
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SCHEDULE/GAME PLAN:
(these times are APPROXIMATE and SUBJECT to CHANGE as is appropriate for the group)
8:00 am to 9:15 pm PDT / 11:00 am to 12:15 pm EDT
GUIDED MEDITATION
(Eating portion of meditation will probably not begin till about 20-25 minutes into the meditation)
9:15 am to 10:00 am PDT / 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm EDT
COMMENTS/FEEDBACK
Suggestions/Strategies
10:00 pm to11:00 pm PDT / 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EDT
BREAK
(You can continue a meditation technique, take a break, do the dishes,
or call in to Steph with private questions during this time.
There is a possibility that the break will only be 45 minutes.)
11:00 pm to12:00 pm PDT / 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm EDT
(Possible short) Q&A/FEEDBACK / SUGGESTIONS & STRATEGIES
GUIDED MEDITATION
(including FOCUS on POSITIVE)
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