Yoga For Mindful Eating

Dieting gives us purpose. It keeps us on the straight and narrow path toward unveiling the beautiful, skinny person that lives inside of us. Myth!

Binges and overeating reinforce just how undisciplined, apathetic and hopeless we really are. Dieting is our consistent way of getting it right. Myth!

We worship the god of love, light and peace through restriction and deprivation. By dieting, we prove how punitive we can be, how long we can live in deprivation, how tough we are. Through diets, we show our strength and find validation of our goodness. Myth!

Life will be perfect when our skinny jeans fit, when the weight that limits our capacity to find love or the perfect job, and that separates our heart, soul and mind falls off our body. We think skinny people have perfect lives and reach out and take what they want — because of their weight! Myth!

Absurd, isn’t it? The story continues…

Restrictive eating is how we obtain perfection by diminishing fat bellies, thighs and hips, banning cellulite, and creating a steadier state of mind. We pack away nagging thoughts and feelings we can’t tolerate and put a pretty bow on top. Myth!

Diets fix us and stop the emotions married to being less than, undesirable, unredeemable—like shame, guilt, and abandonment. Diets fill the empty space and our dissatisfaction with our selves and life fades away. Myth!

It doesn’t work that way.

Diets numb us to reality. Restriction hides the truth. Bingeing conceals our true nature. Overeating covers our soul.

Compulsive eating is a bright red Exit sign when life isn’t what we signed up for. Restricting is a refusal to play that game any longer. We pulse between fullness and emptiness as a control mechanism to mask our unhappiness.

What will you hold onto, what is your purpose, who are you if you don’t diet and obsess all day about how your flabbiness defines you, your rice cakes acknowledge your strength, and salads sans dressing demonstrate your fortitude?

You hold onto the present moment—without judgment. You listen to your breath. You feel your heart beating. You acknowledge you are alive and worthy to be who you are! You discover your purpose is not to punish yourself but to celebrate you, to bring more beauty into the world simply by being you, joyful you.

The truth leaves you vulnerable. That’s scary.

Standing in your truth, you stop stuffing down your essence with cookies and ice cream. You do the work of being present and getting in touch with emotions that no longer define or support you.

I get it, I do understand. It’s easier to continue punishing yourself, to push back and cover up painful feelings with food instead of patiently listening to them. Your obsession with body and food gives you purpose, quiets the ugly roar of life, and occupies you so you don’t have time to really face the music. It robs you of pleasure, joy, and the abundance of bliss that is your birthright.

Diets are an illusion. The rhythm of restriction and binging is not real.

Ultimately, it’s not about the number on the scale or the shape or size of your body. It’s about finding connection, of satisfying your deep internal desire to belong, and of glimpses of the light of your truest essence— to the full revelation of the cadence of your core. The pulsation within the heart of who you really are.

It’s about believing in your own authentic voice.

You’re invited to a 7-week series that begins the journey!

What Do I Really Need?

• Freedom from emotional eating
• Let go of perfection
• Mindful awareness of when I’m hungry and satisfied
• Coping mechanism for stress eating
• Self-acceptance
• Healthy weight awareness
• Supportive relationships
• Be comfortable with me
• To nourish from within!

We’re NOT about tips for losing weight, diets, menu planning, or recipes!

(save these desires for a one-on-one consultation)

Begin your Mindful Eating journey today!

Call me to reserve your spot – 617-678-0607

Our 7-week series is being held at 2 different times & locations for your convenience.

Testimonials from Previous Series

“Thank you for the article on having an open heart, Diana! And thank you for your kindness and generosity of practice and spirit. I really enjoyed Sunday evenings at Majestic Yoga Studio this fall.

Your support and that of the others helped me make some important shifts that have been life affirming even if a little hard. I appreciate the article you shared by email and in kind want to share how it affected me. When I just read it, and thought about my heart with care and compassion, I drifted into a short, sweet meditation where I imagined that my gentle full breaths were causing my lungs to caress my heart from behind so it could shine brighter from the front. How lovely! ”

~Karen

“When I took Part 1 a couple years ago, I knew I wasn’t ready to change. Over this past year, I really started to change how I was eating and started exercising more consistently (and enjoying it!) and lost weight. So when I signed up for Part 2, I felt “all set” and would just take the class for the hell of it.

“Over the past couple of months of the series, my attitude towards food has been so, so healthy, I’ve become calmer, more in touch with my spiritual side and way more into yoga – all such amazing blessings! I went into Part 2 thinking, well, it would be great if I stop eating peanut butter out of the jar! And I have, but I feel like I’ve gotten so much more than that, and I just wanted to thank you for all your guidance and inspiration – you are amazing.”

~DD

“This group, guided by our lovely facilitator/teacher/friend has provided the compassionate environment I needed to begin to face some burdens that I have caused suffering for almost 40 years. For that I am forever grateful.

This is a very powerful group of individuals and I and honored that each of you all trusted enough to continue to share your experiences, it has given me comfort in knowing that I am not alone and strength take a deep and hard look at my entire being and how I fit into this crazy life.”

~CAF

“I was in your Yoga for Mindful Eating class last year. I recently had my A1C (editor note: a marker of blood sugar control over the last 3 months) checked and it went from 7.6 two months ago to 6.4 and I am off insulin. I have not lost weight but just taking better care and walking more. Just thought I’d share.”

“Mindfully eating student”

“I love the Yoga for Mindful Eating series. The yoga practice, meditation and discussion have been enormously revealing and healing for me. It is wonderful to see it bringing up so much for me and the other women in the group — it is powerful stuff. The opportunities for reflection and journaling at home help carry the spirit of the time we are together into my daily life. I highly recommend this series to anyone who eats!”

~LF

“The Yoga for Mindful Eating class was one of the most powerful and life-changing experiences I have ever experienced. Diana taught me the importance of loving my own body and allowing my emotions to be expressed in ways that do not relate to food. I continue to use the meditations and other resources I gathered in this class as I continue my life-long journey of self-acceptance and peace. Diana is incredibly patient, kind, non-judgmental, thoughtful, and wise. I can’t recommend this class enough!!”

~J.F.W.

“This program was totally amazing. It wasn’t about fat, skinny, at times both or neither or in-between, but about health and life, and seeing beyond what we thought were our limitations. Our minds were the limiting factors, not our bodies, but I say that without judgment, just understanding how things are — and were.

“I loved the other participants, lectures, and yoga postures—every second of it. It was so life changing. I appreciate the classes more than you know. At first, I was hesitant to take this course because I thought it might be about recipes, menus and nutritional advice like other weight management courses. Wow! How wrong I was!”

~MMW

“Before Yoga for Mindful Eating, I was always on the newest ‘diet.’ I exercised according to the latest media outcry that changed relentlessly. Still, I was always trying to lose that last 10 pounds. I would lose it only to regain it, and it was a constant cycle for several years. I was so tired of it! If you’re still trying to lose the same 10 lbs for that long, there is something else going on. I learned this from your class. At the end of the series, I realized my worth each day isn’t measured by any scale, and I believe it.

“I listen to my body now, and nourish it when it’s hungry with what it craves. No more rules or restrictions or guilt. If it’s a beautiful afternoon and my kids want an ice cream and I’m hungry and crave one too, we’re all going to get ice cream and enjoy that beautiful moment in time together. I’m not going to feel guilty about it or order the sugar-free, low-fat, low-calorie kind loaded with chemicals that doesn’t taste the same, and then steal bites from my kids’ cones (because they have the real thing). I’m going to order what I want and love every bite and eat until I’m comfortable. End of story. If it fills me up and I’m still full at dinnertime, maybe I’ll just have tea at dinner that night.

“It’s that simple. Why would I eat if I’m not hungry? But, that’s the hardest part. Am I eating because it’s ‘dinnertime’ and I ‘should’ eat dinner?’ Who says? The greatest authority we have is our body, I am learning to listen to mine. The hard part is asking if I’m not eating for hunger, then why am I eating. You have to be ready to go there. It’s hard, but so liberating and freeing and worth it if you do.

“Another great lesson learned from the Mindful Eating series was answering the question ‘Is my constant dieting an excuse for really living my life?’ If I wasn’t so consumed with the latest diet plans, routines, goals and — in essence — living for tomorrow (when I have the ‘ideal’ body), what would I do with my time? How would I live my life? Yikes! This is scary stuff! Again, you have to be ready to go there. But for me, it opened up a world of possibility to figure it all out. If I didn’t have to worry about my weight, not only what would I do, but what could I do? If I didn’t eat at ‘dinnertime’ tonight because I had that dreamy ice cream cone with my kids this afternoon and Ijust wasn’t hungry yet, what would I do with that time instead? Hmmmmm…it’s exciting, too.

“I also discovered a lot from my classmates. We all had different issues with food, and I learned much from them as we shared and struggled with our own issues and grew together. When one of us was triumphant, I felt like we all were. There is a camaraderie that develops in the class which is really beautiful.

“This was far more than a class on having a healthier relationship with food. It has changed my life. I can’t ever go back! (And for those who care only about weight, though I don’t weigh myself anymore, I can now wear my ‘skinny’ clothes which I couldn’t before this series. Though they are a bit snug yet, I know I’ve lost weight to be able to wear them at all. But rather as the be-all, end-all goal, now to be able to wear my skinny clothes is just an ‘added bonus.’) I can’t thank you enough.”

~Kristin

“As a two-time participant in Yoga for Mindful Eating, I like the second series even better than the first. I enjoyed the attention to structure and setting ground rules up front was effective in creating adhesion within the group.

“I have continued to have many ‘ah-ha’ moments in this class. The combination of the teachings, the yoga and the meditations seem to really ‘turn the light on’ for me. It’s a class I look forward to each week and am hoping that they’ll be another one in the fall that I can participate in again. It’s a wonderful, enlightening experience.”

~Jenn

“Your stories and the comments from others are so helpful in allowing me to see a variety of perspectives. It is like beautiful prisms of light. We are all providing different colors of light that create a kaleidoscope of clarity.”

~Lori

“The Yoga for Mindful Eating series has been a fabulous process… I’m amazed I’ve never considered this…timing is everything! So great to shift from restrictions & the old tape of not good enough’s to mindfully loving myself… and witnessing my patterns, barriers & triggers in relation to food & exercise”

~L.M.

“Oh, you’re great! I’m pouring over the material you recommended as I sit overlooking the beautiful ocean. I’m on this assignment and excited. Thank you for holding this space for me to shift my relationship with food and my body!”

~Christine