Food can be a pretty all-consuming aspect of our worlds—being preoccupied with food and eating is a safe place to hang out. It’s familiar and predictable, and it never challenges us to be uncomfortable in other ways. At least when we eat, we can control the discomfort, right? And you can’t tell me eating a whole box of cookies isn’t uncomfortable (hello buffet pants!)! Are there ways other than food we can use to control discomfort? For example, when we put ourselves out there or take a risk, it’s new territory—new and UNCOMFORTABLE territory. It takes us out of that insular and isolating world of our eating disorder and makes us reflect on how we want to show up in the world. If there’s one skill that emotional eating (and yoga) has taught me, it’s how to recognize and tolerate discomfort.Read More »
In any given moment we can choose to align more closely with our truth or disregard it. The choice to disregard is so tempting, especially when it usually involves consuming some kind of yummy food to override the yucky feelings we are having. It can be such an automatic reaction to discomfort that some folks might not even feel like they are making a choice at all. The brain’s protective instinct picks up on the discomfort and the hand dives into the popcorn bowl; the reaction time is so quick that the choice to do otherwise seems non-existent. Once that track is set into motion, the autopilot turns on and it feels almost impossible to shift ourselves out of it.
BeReal Yoga 