Eating Psychology – What Everyone Should Know

Eating Psychology – What Everyone Should Know

by | Feb 21, 2017 | Eating Psychology, emotional eating, Health & Well Being, Lifestyle Design, psychology

Eating Psychology
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Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to be here. If you don’t already know my name is Macy and I’m the sole coach and owner of Hungryoga. The health and wellness platform that advocates yoga, mindful movement, eating psychology, lifestyle design, and conscious business. ~ Today I’m here to share with you in the realm of Eating Psychology.

I chose Eating Psychology today because I realize it’s a newer term that’s been buzzing around the last couple years. I was blessed enough to be in one of the first coaches from the Institute for Psychology of Eating. I’m super excited to share some nuggets of wisdom with you. My goal is to inform you about what I think Everyone Ought to Know About Eating Psychology.  

Eating Psychology – What You Should Know

WHY I think everyone needs to know this?

  • Some of you may relate to almost being too smart and know almost too much about nutrition. It can end up just making you feel less than. You’re not able to follow all the rules, and eat all the best foods all the time. You get stuck in perfectionism. You look to “experts” to try and “fix” whatever food system you are trying to follow.
  • Maybe you are getting hung up in the fact that you simply don’t have the willpower to stay on a diet. You should be able to do it but you just can’t. If only you could control what goes into your mouth then you would have the body you want and you’d be happy.
  • And I know for certain many of you have negative thoughts about yourself running in the back of your mind 24/7. Thoughts such as, ‘omg I can’t eat that it’s so bad for me (but then 5 seconds later you are eating it with regret)’. OR ‘I’m so lazy, I hate the gym, but I have to workout or else I’ll get even fatter’. OR ‘I want to get seconds but tell yourself you can’t so then you don’t. Then all you’re left with is an intense need to eat more so you binge on cookies or eat out of your pantry standing up.

WHAT I want you to know is that:

  • There are so many amazing tools and resources and experts out there to help inform us about health and nutrition and fitness. BUT the experts don’t know it all. They probably had a transformational experience of their own which made them very passionate about that certain way of being. Just because they had this success doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for you – but maybe it will! It may be for a short while or a long while. The only way to know for certain what works and what doesn’t is to follow your own body wisdom and experiment with different ways of being. Keep this open mind and act as your own scientist in the realm of health and nutrition. This is the key to your own health and happiness. It’s all really just a big experiment, and there’s not ONE right way to eat – everyone is different.
  • Be passionate, research and read different techniques, methods, and hear the ‘experts’ out – I mean they do what they do because they love it – and they have had a very personal transformation from the beliefs they teach – But in order to not get stuck within ‘perfectionism’ and trying to model after someone else – make your own rules – experiment – and tune into your inner body wisdom.

For example: I know that the most common food sensitivities come from wheat, dairy, corn, and soy. I started to notice how I felt after eating these certain foods. I realized I don’t really like to drink cow’s milk anymore, whole kernels of corn make my tummy hurt, and damn it to hell I love pizza but I generally don’t feel the best after consuming it. 

I made my own simple shifts: I love almond milk and coconut milk, canned corn really isn’t worth it anyways but put a cob in front of me and watch me work, and my love for pizza is usually thin crust and I love adding in a side salad so I have a better macronutrient balance.

  • All of those unwanted symptoms. I want you to embrace them. Be grateful that they will lead you to a more fulfilled life. They are a challenge to step up. Evolve into a better version of yourself. One that is embodied. One that knows its boundaries. One that isn’t afraid to make changes in order to feel better. More supported. More grounded.
  • When you struggle with food and body. Maybe emotionally eat, hate your body, not feel comfortable or confident, eat low quality food, overeat, binge drink alcohol, simply feel helpless, out of control…. All these issues are leading you to something deeper. There’s a much bigger lesson behind all of these self-imposed stressors than just telling you to lose weight and be prettier.
  • Those toxic thoughts and beliefs about yourself will hurt you just as much as the toxins that are found in the food that you stress about. The thoughts you think as you eat affect the way you metabolize food. The way you talk to yourself, the way you visualize your body, is the exact reality that you create. You make assumptions about a certain way to eat, instead of tune in and listen to what you really want, how it makes you feel, and being able to enjoy the experience and MOVE ON!

Some questions you can ask yourself are:
If there was a deeper meaning behind all of my eating challenges, what would it be?
Is this unwanted symptom actually a gift in disguise?
In what ways can I be more kind to myself?
Can I be a better person?
Should I listen to what my body truly desires?

  • Challenge the thoughts that create stress or suffering – because almost always – the opposite is also true. So just because you think it, doesn’t mean it has to be your reality.

For example: You may feel like “Food is my enemy” – and rightfully so if it causes you this much life energy and guilt and shame. But isn’t the opposite of that also true? “Food is my ally” – I mean it was literally the first relationship you ever had in this world, and you can’t live without it.

Can you imagine if you were able to truly listen to your inner wisdom?

You knew through experimentation what food and routine and lifestyle made you the best and truest version of you.

And when unwanted symptoms appeared you didn’t push them away, or ignore them, or feel like a victim. You welcomed them in, became very curious as to why they were there and what was their underlying purpose. This made you compassionate towards yourself and others who are struggling just like you.

AND – when your mind starts to be mean, you question those thoughts, and realize that that’s not completely true, and that the opposite is also true.

I hope you found this helpful. Please comment with any questions or feedback, I would love to hear from you.

Right now I have 4 spots open in my Eating Psychology Coaching Program. If this info really resonated with you, and you want to go deeper – the first step is setting up a Discovery Coaching Call with me. Just this call alone is very powerful and can give you a great sense of relief and clarity. It’s my passion and mission to help anyone struggling with food and body, and to give them a realistic approach that will empower and educate their mind, body, and soul.

All my love to you,

Namaste

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How to be a Confident & Relaxed Bride Instead of Bridezilla

by | Dec 27, 2016 | bride, Eating Psychology, fitness, Health & Well Being, Lifestyle Design, yoga

smile forever
dirty little secret

 The biggest takeaways from my wedding day, and why it felt so perfect.

Sure there was a lot of planning involved, but when it was finally 10.15.16 I didn’t have a worry in the world.

This isn’t the story for all brides. Way too often we hear about bridezillas, being so freaking stressed out the day of they just want it to be over with, or being so rushed they forget to eat and pass out at the alter (this literally happened to a bridesmaid of a previous wedding at the Denver Athletic Club).

And this just wasn’t the case for me. Now I’m not saying that there wasn’t stressful moments in the planning process – for example I messed up some of our RSVP cards and really upset some family members (but they got over it) – but when the big day had finally arrived I felt ready, excited, relaxed, beautiful, and confident. That is the reason why I’m writing this – because if this post helps any future bride feel the way I did on my wedding day then that would bring me so much joy.

Here is what I focused on while planning in order to feel confident and relaxed on wedding day:

1. Start the Planning Process ASAP – The Knot Website & Organizer

As soon as I got home from the surprise engagement in Seattle, I started planning. Now I know everyone’s timeline is different, and for some people they could be engaged for years before deciding to tie the knot, but my advice is to give yourself at least a year to plan the big event (or maybe not so big event). The best engagement gift that I received was The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner & Organizer from my good friend Carey. Ladies if you have a good friend that’s engaged – GET THIS FOR YOUR GIRL!! People that know me best will tell you I have room for improvement in the organization world. This binder really helped me stay on task, prioritize what needs to be done first, brainstorm small details, budget, and so much more!

The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner

2. The Venue can Make or Break Your Stress Levels – Denver Athletic Club

So definitely the most challenging part of the planning process for me was finding the perfect venue. I’m not kidding when I tell you I visited at least 10 different venues in Colorado. When David and I were discussing what was most important to us (venue wise) we came up with The 3 C’s: it needed to be convenient for all our out of town guests, the capacity had to fit at least 200 people (both from Kansas, surprisingly 200 is a small wedding), and it had to be ‘classy as f***’. (Oh, and that last little bit – it had to fit within our Budget). Haha, so after searching high and low we finally found the Denver Athletic Club – the absolute perfect place for us to get married. Besides the criteria mentioned above, it was all-inclusive (WHICH IS HUGE) with catering, bar, clean-up, wedding coordination, and call/email support throughout the whole process. I can’t thank my coordinator, Natalie Cutter, enough for everything she did for us to make our day perfect. The reason why I can say I WASN’T a bridezilla was because Natalie told me so herself, thank goodness.

Denver Athletic Club

3. Get Your Makeup Professionally Done – Alli B Makeup Artist

The thing I was most excited to give my girls, and myself, on wedding day was to get our makeup professionally done. NONE of us had ever got our makeup professionally done so it was such a treat. I was lucky enough that two of my girls, Trinity and Anna, are both amazing hair stylists so I knew I had to do something special for all of us. Besides finding the most perfect cutoff T’s from Spiritual Gangster that say ‘Good Vibe Tribe’ and the always comfy pajama shorts from Old Navy – what else could I do for my loves to make them feel just as beautiful as I? It was really, really important to me that my girl’s didn’t feel like the ugly bridesmaids with the ugly dresses. And this goes for both mother’s too – I wanted us all to feel magical, to forget about our flaws and focus on what we loved about ourselves.

QUE – Alli B Makeup Artist. I found this gem on Instagram @alli_b_makeupartist searching #denvermakeupartist and she stood out right away. For one, she is working her business toward 100% cruelty and vegan free – and though I’m not vegan, I love the concept of no harm done. Just scroll away on her Insta and you will amazed at the beauty she captures in all types of women. Come to find out Alli had heard of Hungryoga before I reached out to her because she lives in the Littleton, CO area. Sold.

4. UP the Self Care X’s 10 – Yoga, Strength Training, Baths, & Absolutely NO DIETING!

I’m not freaking kidding. You need to make time for yourself now more than ever – just not in the punishing and shameful kind of way. My favorite type of movement, well you can probably guess, is yoga! I actually made an executive decision (of my own life haha) during this time to cancel my membership at my yoga studio and focus on my home practice. I did this because time was of the essence, and it was actually causing me more stress to try and make it to a class that took 2 hours out of my day. I realized that without leaving home I could fit in a lovely practice that was less less than an hour long. Some days I craved strength training so I looked to my loves Karena and Katrina over at Tone It Up for creative at-home total body workouts, or took my own strength classes right along with my clients at Ascent Therapy Clinic.

yoga bride

I also UPPED my bath game – my favorite bath salts are from Pacha Soap.  They are all natural and the founder Andrew Vrbas was in my [itty bitty] 21 person high school graduation class. For every bar of soap purchased they help educate kid’s in Peru about proper sanitation. Oh and they also are creating jobs there too, so amazing <3.

The last little bit here was a “strict” rule of mine – NO DIETING! Seriously, as a bride you have enough to worry about, why would you add dieting onto the list? Okay, so this doesn’t mean you can eat all the nachos and all pizza and not feel bloated in your dress – that’s not what I’m getting at. HINTS why no dieting is under ‘UP the Self Care’ – you still should eat foods that make you feel better, not worse. What I’m trying to say is that you should practice mindful eating. Intuitively listening to your cravings. Somedays you will crave salads and quinoa and other days you will need what I like to call more substance, like spaghetti, one of our household staples. I encourage you to get creative with your meals and stay inspired in the kitchen. Try new recipes, give your favorites a healthy makeover (like ground turkey spaghetti with organic marinara sauce and brown rice noodles), and drop the black/white perfectionism around food before your wedding.

cheese and crackers

I’m sure that I’m one of the few brides that ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at her wedding. I know for a fact, that if I don’t eat my normal eating rhythms, that I WILL be a bridezilla or a Hangry Biotch, take your pick.

5. Find Creative Ways to Save – Dolla Dolla Bills

Jinkies I totally understand why some people decide got straight to the courthouse to save money and start their lives together. We were lucky enough to have help from both sides of our families, and whipped out our own checkbooks too. I’m sure many people can agree that this is the most stressful part of the wedding. I found it really helpful to have a budget in mind from the very beginning, and to STICK WITH IT! When I was reading up I came across a statistic that said most couples go at least 30% over their budget – that’s INSANE!!

Now everyone has different priorities about what is the most important to them and where to allocate the most money. For us it was (of course) food and booze (we like to party), but really that just translates to we wanted to take care of our people. So some little places that we saved money; our officiant (believe it or not his slogan was ‘the bargain minister’ and he did a phenomenal job.) We ordered Save the Dates and Invitations off of Vistaprint – such much cheaper then the fancy ones. We felt like we didn’t need to print ceremony programs so I made a pretty mirror sign instead. DIY projects were so much fun and saved a lot in the big picture. I made a ‘Welcome to the Wedding Sign’, mom made dried flower and grass bouquets to accompany us down the aisle and also cute little succulents for the centerpieces. All of us girls were together two nights before the wedding and homemade all of the extra desserts for the dessert table (Graham Cracker Toffee, Dark Chocolate Snickers, and Peanut Butter Balls). Other bargains were getting our wedding cake from King Soopers (it was absolutely gorgeous, half the price, and I only ate the ONE bite), buying centerpiece mirrors for 50% on hobbylobby.com,  IKEA for candle votives, and picking a venue that needed NO extra decorating.

So what if you were able to create your dream wedding too! One where stress and overwhelm didn’t take over your day, and you were simply there bask in all the amazingness around you. Well, hopefully this post gave you some insights on how to make your own dream, a reality.

With Light & Love,

Macy

Criticism: why it doesn’t work & what to do instead

Criticism: why it doesn’t work & what to do instead

by | Aug 2, 2016 | byron katie, Health & Well Being, Lifestyle Design, psychology

3 Simple Inquiries to shift criticism into acceptance 

Do you notice what happens when we (society) allow criticism into our lives?

  • Negative thoughts (about them, the others, and you) swirl around in your head.
  • Someone (somewhere) is being rejected, not allowed, or boycotted.
  • Stories are made up depending on how the situation was perceived.
  • And what results is suffering, anxiety, sadness, anger, resentment, and hatred.

Is this the experience that you want to have? Do you want to feel those feelings or are you stuck in the pattern of criticism?

Now I want you to see what happens when we bring acceptance into our lives…

  • Positive thoughts (about them, the other, and you), aspiration, inspiration, and creativity live abundantly in your head space.
  • Someone (somewhere) loves you, cares about you and your highest values.
  • Stories are being created in the moment, and shared with others to spread joy.
  • And what results is love, gratitude, relaxation, happiness, and freedom.

So here is what you can do to rewire our reaction towards acceptance instead of criticism.

acceptance

1. Speak from the heart, not from the head. Remember when your mom used to say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all”? I’m considering the same concept, but worded as, “Tell the truth, but always (always) stem from a place of love.”

NOONE IS GOING TO TAKE, GROW, EXPAND, EVOLVE FROM YOUR CRITICISM IF YOU ARE COMING FROM A PLACE OF JUDGEMENT, RIDICULE, OR LACK.

On the flip side,

EVERYONE IS GOING TO TAKE, GROW, EXPAND, EVOLVE FROM YOUR CITICISM IF YOU ARE COMING FROM A PLACE OF LOVE, CARING, COMMITMENT, AND TRANSFORMATION.

For example,

A mother notices (duh they freaking notice everything) that her 20 year old daughter is struggling with weight and body image. She tells her daughter to go on this particular diet because she needs to lose weight, and that she will help her keep track of weekly weigh-ins, measure her BMI, measure food portions, and scold her if she misses a workout.

(Note a few keywords: diet, track, measure, scold, and miss.)

Another mother notices that her 20 year old daughter is struggling with her weight and body image. She talks to her daughter about life in general to see if she notices any self-sabotage. She asks, “you’re not acting like yourself, what’s going on? Are you struggling with anything in particular right now? I’m here for you and have probably gone through something similar in my life. Lets talk.”

The first mother is not accepting who her daughter is in this moment and all her actions are an attempt for her daughter to change. The second mother is full of acceptance and compassion for the struggles that her daughter is going through.

criticism

2. Reflect on your judgements of others and turn it around onto yourself. What we perceive as flaws or criticize others for is the exact thing that we see as our own flaws.

Oh my, look at the girl’s ass, it is huge!

Well…. what do you think of your own ass?

Whenever you catch yourself being the mean girl, turn that thought or statement around to yourself and see what comes up for you. Nuff said.

3. Acceptance of what is will give you freedom in the present moment. We have to accept reality, what is true. Even if it’s not where we want to be, it’s where we are supposed to be. The more we can honor that place the less self-imposed suffering we will have. Byron Katie is the queen of this idea, and for that I’m going to leave you with a few of her quotes.

“I am a lover of what is, not because I’m a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality.”
― Byron Katie, Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

“Placing the blame or judgment on someone else leaves you powerless to change your experience; taking responsibility for your beliefs and judgments gives you the power to change them”
― Byron Katie

“Our parents, our children, our spouses, and our friends will continue to press every button we have, until we realize what it is that we don’t want to know about ourselves, yet. They will point us to our freedom every time.”
― Byron Katie, Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

criticism

So what if you are able to shift away from criticism and towards acceptance every time you notice that you are judging yourself or someone else? When you give criticism it is actually more like feedback, coming from the heart instead of the head. And whatever advice you give someone else, you reflect that same statement onto yourself in order to enhance your experience and evolution. Then, in the end, you were full of acceptance. Accepting what is, and at the same time creating your own reality through inquiry of thoughts.

 

Insights from Telluride Yoga Festival 2016

Insights from Telluride Yoga Festival 2016

by | Jul 25, 2016 | festival, Health & Well Being, psychology, yoga

How lucky was I to attend the Telluride Yoga Festival this past weekend with my best friend and hundreds of other yogis.

Priest Lake - South of Telluride Yoga Festival

We rode the gondola and braved camping at 10,000 feet elevation. We ate shrimp tacos and chocolate birthday cake. Everyone was so nice. We had numerous invitations to stay at condos, come by if we needed a shower, or meet up later to take a yoga class. I stopped being surprised when I remembered where I was, and if you are grumpy in Telluride then something definitely needs to shift.

Mountain Girls - Telluride Yoga Festival

And that was my biggest takeaway from this weekend at Telluride Yoga Festival (TYF)….

You have the power to shift your thinking thoughts that cause you to suffer – towards thinking thoughts that provide you relief.

I volunteered my time to help with the Telluride Yoga Festival. I attended Sacred Dub Flow with Anton Mackey/Kiyoshi/MetaPhysics. I walked the river with Karl Straub. Then, took a Journey to the Heart with Roger & Albina Rippy. Later I learned even more about Yoga Psychology with Alanna Kaivalya (my favorite class). Finally, I  surfed Wave Rider: the six qualities of consciousness with Coby Kozlowski (close second).

View from the Gondola - Telluride Yoga Festival

 I loved Alanna and Coby’s classes because they weren’t asana (or the physical practice of yoga) at all. They were both a deep dive into the psychology of yoga and living yoga on and off the mat. They both spoke about letting go of old stories but also writing new ones. Alanna’s class brought many (including myself) to tears of relief and self-acceptance after a very simple yet powerful meditation. Coby learned every single student’s name in her class, and remembered them. She didn’t just see you, but she saw into your soul. 

It is common to first come to yoga because you are searching for stress relief, physical pain relief, or because someone else said it is good for you and you should just do it. The definition of “yoga” is different for everyone. Some think of yoga studios and stretchy pants. Others think of gurus sitting on top of a mountain in Nepal meditating for days. But once you keep practicing and learning about yoga, you realize that your everyday life is yoga. If you allow it to be.

Classically in the Yoga Sutras (ancient yogic text of Patanjali) yoga is defined as, ‘the sensations of the fluctuations of the mind’ or ‘the state of union with the divine’.

Yoga is not who we want to be, but who we are, and the promise of yoga is freedom of suffering. 

So how can yoga promise freedom of suffering? There is so much suffering in this world how is that possible?

In my next blog post I will go more in depth with Yoga Psychology, and introduce the 4 Steps to Freedom that Alanna Kaivalya went over in her class. Similar(ish) to Byron Katie’s “The Work” – only with a yogic twist.

partner yoga - Telluride Yoga Festival

I hope this blog post gave you some inspiration to attend a yoga festival of your own! If you want to say YES to the  Telluride Yoga Festival in 2017, purchase now for the best price.

Light & Love,

Macy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overcome Binge Eating Faster: 4 Effective & Intuitive Ways To Do It

Overcome Binge Eating Faster: 4 Effective & Intuitive Ways To Do It

by | May 19, 2016 | Eating Psychology, Health & Well Being, Yoga Philosophy

One day, all of a sudden, you found yourself binge eating, turning to food for comfort. It was so weird and strange because it had never happened before, but now it felt like the habit had completely taken over your life. Who knew a damn cookie could have so much power behind it!

Hi, I’m Macy, and this used to be my story.

In college I would come home from track practice, a late night party, or even when I first woke up in the morning, and some “thing” (a demon I thought at the time) would literally hijack my body and mind, and make me stuff my face.

“Oh you have no willpower. Push through. Just stop eating,” I would tell myself.

But those comments just made things WORSE!

How was I ever going to get my eating under control and get my happy go lucky life back?

After years of self-study, Yoga & Meditation, Eating Psychology Coaching, Lifestyle Design and LOTS of change…. As my mentor Kris Ward would say, “I’M BACK!” That happy go lucky me emerged once again, and I’m so so SO excited to share my secrets to success with you.

I believe my Dharma, my entire existence leading up to this point in life, is to help specifically young women who binge eat, overeat, and/or have negative body image.

WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS BODY MY FRIENDS.

So here are 4 Effective & Intuitive Ways to Overcome Binge Eating Faster than you would have figuring it out on your own (Trust me, help is a good thing).

1. Slow Down & Breathe ~ It’s basically IMPOSSIBLE to binge eat when you are in a relaxed state. Think about all the times you have binged or overate… Were you ever eating slowly? Did you ever take a breath in between bites? I highly doubt it.

Next time you feel a lot of anxiety and stress being built up to a binge, I want you to consciously be a witness to yourself. Notice what comes up for you. Take note of the time of day, where you are at, what you just finished doing, the last time you took a break, etc. As you are doing this take deep Ujjayi or “victorious” breaths to calm your nervous system and promote prana (life energy) to flow freely.

If you don’t know how to do an Ujjayi breath, watch this video.

2. Enhance your Awareness & Presence ~ A big drive behind binge eating is to numb out to what’s really going on. There is an intense emotion of shame and guilt that causes you to act out with food, when really that’s not what the binge is about.

Maybe those feelings of shame and guilt stem from negative body image, not trusting yourself, or just feeling insignificant in life. Binge eating is actually a wonderful coping mechanism that our subconscious leans toward when life gets tough.

So in order to enhance your awareness and presence I suggest that you find other ways to cope with tough feelings other than food. Whether that’s going for a walk, taking a bath, reading a book, beginning calligraphy, going to a class, meditation, etc. Self-Care will always help you find balance and instead of numbing out, you will be turned on, inspired, and connected with your highest self.

REMEMBER I’ve been where you are now, and my guess is that you’re thinking,
“What do I do if I can’t stop myself and I start to eat anyways?”

Know that that’s okay too. The best way to take the power away from a binge and into your own hands is to ACCEPT that in this moment, you are going to eat whatever it is that you desperately want, and you are going to ENJOY doing it. Get rid of guilt. Get rid of shame. Allow the pleasure of the ‘bad’ food (more on this next time) to fill you and that desire UP. Make the binge a ritual by using your favorite bowl, listening to music or sitting on your porch. The more aware and present you can be, so no other distractions, the better your chance of reducing the binge.

3. Embody through Movement ~ I love the idea of Movement vs. Exercise. When you hear the word Exercise, what words come to mind? I think push, prod, can’t breathe, feels bad, and can’t wait till this is over! Now, when you hear the word Movement, what words come to mind? I think walk, gentle, flow, ease, effort, energy, and wow I feel amazing during and after!

My favorite way to move is with yoga. This doesn’t mean that yoga will be your beacon of hope, but I want to encourage you away from high-level stress and into relaxation. See, when the body is performing from the parasympathetic nervous system, or the relaxation response, it’s literally IMPOSSIBLE to binge.

How many of you have gone to the gym and worked your ass off for two hours, pushing, burning calories, etc. to find yourself self-sabotaging later standing in the kitchen with a pint of ice cream (Weird)? If this sounds similar to a scenario of yours, I want you to try this instead: Go to a restorative or yin yoga class, go on a long walk or hike, or try a class or sport that you truly love and enjoy. Then, let me know how the rest of your night goes ; )

4. Redesign your Lifestyle – I didn’t see any changes in my binge eating until I decided to take small steps toward becoming a better person, living a more fulfilled life, following my passions, and changing my physical environment. Binge eating is a symbolic substitute for other pieces of our lives that are missing or not quite right. In my upcoming audio I will break down the 8 Dynamic Lifestyle Dimensions, how they play a role in your binge eating, and some easy shifts that can improve your life right away.

I hope this blog post resonated with you, and will help you begin a healing journey towards positive relationship with food and body. I know it might seem impossible now, but I’m living proof that you CAN overcome binge eating and take charge of life again!

If you’re ready to dive deeper… to invest in a higher quality life and stop Binge Eating right in its moose tracks!

Be sure to follow @hungryoga on Facebook and Instagram for more.

If you live in the Denver Metro we offer LIVE Strength, Stretch, Pilates & Yoga classes in Littleton, CO.

With Light & Love,
Macy

Pain Free 15-Minute Guided Meditation

Pain Free 15-Minute Guided Meditation

by | Feb 21, 2015 | Health & Well Being, Yoga Philosophy

Do any of you find yourself desperately wanting to be pain free?

Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.

This world can cause us to hold onto a lot of trauma, which manifests pain into the body.

There are several techniques to become pain free. Physical therapy, massage therapy, yoga, chiropractic, pain medications, etc. A combination of these modalities can be great, but we can’t forget about the thoughts we think. Do you believe that negative thoughts can cause tension and stress in the body?

I do.

Which is why I created this 15 Minute Guided Pain Free Meditation. This is a beautiful option to release any subconscious blockages, and to drop your body into the parasympathetic nervous system (aka the relaxation response).

For beginner meditation my favorite yoga posture is Viparita Karani or “legs up the wall” pose. Once you get the hang of it you can sit cross legged like the monks, or lay flat on the ground in savasana (as long as you don’t fall asleep).

It’s common to have feelings of frustration, sleepiness, lack of concentration, or boredom when you first begin your journey towards pain free in meditation. Stick with it. When I catch my mind begin to wander I say, “Inhale” to myself as I breathe in and “Exhale” to myself as I breath out. This really helps keep you in the present moment. The more even you can keep your breath the better. You can think 4 seconds inhale, 4 seconds exhale.

When I made this meditation I kept being pain free in script for a reason. I have suffered from low back pain for several years now. If I don’t take care of myself with proper nutrition, stretching, mindful movement, and meditation it starts to flare up again. I hate to see my clients on several different pain medications or going through an unnecessary back surgery.

My hope is that this meditation will give you instant relief, all on your own. Your awareness, breath, and dedication to your pain free meditation practice will also set you free.

Light & Love,
Macy

Pain-Free 15 Minute Guided Meditation❤