If you’re anything like me and many clients I’ve had through the years, you don’t have to guess when your stress levels have gotten too high.
Your body lets you know...
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With digestion issues, feeling drained, immune system problems, inflammation, skin issues, chronic pain, undesired weight changes or maybe even hair loss.
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And because there’s expectations for us to have it all together (whether by others or our own selves), we don’t want anyone to know when we’re going through a time of hardship.
And feel that we have to isolate our true feelings and inner state from others. So we still show up for all our obligations.
#StressedBookedBusy
Yet, we might be feeling alone and down on the inside and eventually wind up limiting seeing people altogether.
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Dietary fats, sweets or carbs may creep into the mix as a way to self-soothe.
To feel love and sweetness
To provide a form of nurture and companionship that can never judge the state we are in. And when we relate to food like this, satiety cues are often ignored. Because we’re probably trying to satisfy a psychological hunger and not a physical one.
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Intense feelings like loneliness and insecurity can drive us to unconscious habits like eating too many *fill in the blank* at once. You know…to feel better. But then we might have self judgment and shaming thoughts afterwards, because we “know better”. And wind up feeling worse.
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And if you have a regular movement or wellness practice, these kinds of habits and food cravings can undermine all that time and effort you’re putting in. Delaying you from improving your physical conditioning and inner well being.
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Let’s be real.
Right now, you don’t always have the time, desire or energy to cook. I know I don’t.
And you may often find yourself ordering too many take out meals or eating one huge meal super late and going to bed before it's fully digested. Those restaurant bills may really be racking up. But what else can you do?
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Well, I’d first like to acknowledge that you’re under pressure. And are probably doing the best you can.
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Second, I want to acknowledge that regardless of your current situation, you still have desires.
At the end of the day, you want to look, feel and function better
You want better physical conditioning and fitness. You want relief from inflammatory breakouts and flare ups. You want better digestion and less bloating. You may not know the easiest way to get there, but you want these things.
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Well, what I’ve experienced myself and seen in many clients thru my 20 years in wellness coaching is this:
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If your life feels like some version of “stressed, booked and busy”, the actual foods or the way you eat often take an unintentional, undesirable hit.
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And take your healthy digestion, energy levels and physical well being with it.
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Right now, you may be feeling overwhelmed and busy. And not have the time, energy or desire to cook up healthy, delicious food.
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Yet you want to feel more peace, spacious, energetic and physically fit. And you need to get there in ways that are nourishing, enjoyable, sustainable and effective. That can fit nicely into your schedule.
This IS possible and I can help.
Check in with yourself for a moment...
Have you been experiencing any of these for a while now? Inflammatory flare ups or chronic pain. Feeling burnt out or anxious. Dealing with digestive issues or food cravings. Having less than desired physical endurance, strength or body confidence.
If so, it can be hard to lead others or live your best life with these kinds of issues lingering.
Trying to figure out how to resolve these issues can become like another full time job.
Another tiring source of burnout in and of itself.
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There may have been stints of making smoothies. But that was hard to keep up and the fresh produce kept spoiling.
Then the intention to start a new movement practice came and went.
Maybe that “superfood” supplement, probiotic or vitamin you heard about will be the answer. It may have helped a bit, but not enough.
Then perhaps a bit of frustration and shame kicked in. Self Talk: Why aren’t we further along?
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But even if you did have a consistent wellness routine, it didn’t bear the expected fruits.
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And the workout buddy thing wasn’t quite IT either. Ya'll weren't at the same fitness level and it felt too hard. Some days it may seem like regular movement and eating healthy isn't enough. Time, energy and money seems like it's wasting.
Now Self Talk wonders what is missing or what is being done wrong.
Maybe it’s the food. What are the best foods to buy at the grocery store? What foods give you more energy? What foods should I avoid? Eating healthy is boring! And so on and so on.
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And then there’s the whole cooking thing. It may not be a favorite pastime or there just doesn’t seem to be much time to food prep. You can barely get breakfast in before work. Sigh…
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Self Talk: “Do other people have these issues? It seems like it’s either self care vs. taking care of others. I just wanna look, feel and function better. Am I asking for too much? ”
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No, it’s not too much.
And it’s not that any of what you’ve been doing is wrong.
People do feel a lot better when they improve their energy, eating habits and physical conditioning.
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We just need to get to the root cause of WHY you don’t feel that way and address that. This might be why what you’ve been doing so far hasn’t worked. Which is so understandable.
It’s not easy to connect all the dots. It’s like what came first, “the chicken or the egg”?
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But with some key shifts, things can get better.
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And you can be on your way to feeling more confidence and vigor in your body
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Feeling like you have more energy to do what lights you up
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Feeling lighter in your body from healthier digestion and less backed up waste
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And having less chronic pain and flare ups so you can better see about your soul’s business
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So here’s the thing…
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Frequent inner states we may find ourselves in (like burnout, ignoring body cues, self criticism, overgiving, overdoing, overthinking and constantly managing our experience and people’s perceptions of us), can eventually lead to us:
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Overeating or undereating
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Eating for reasons other than hunger & physical nourishment
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Eating or drinking in ways stressful to our body and nervous system
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Take for example, rushing through meals (which is lowkey, a stressful way to eat). This had been a habit of mine that started when I was working and going to school. I had limited time to sit down and enjoy a meal.
I know it seems harmless but rushing is a signal our nervous system can interpret as threatening. Which then activates our stress response. And stress halts digestion.
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Not to mention, since I was rushing, I wasn’t chewing all the way. Therefore, I was swallowing bigger chunks of food. And since digestion starts in the mouth, I was limiting that initial dissolving of food before it went down my digestive tract.
The result was poor digestion and increased bloating. But at the time, I hadn’t connected the dots to what was causing these physical symptoms.
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If the underlying energy of your “doing” is stressful OR your inner state is stressful, your healthy efforts and good intentions get tainted and become less effective.
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And while everyone has stressors in their life, I’m talking about the presence of a stressful relationship with food and eating that is constantly fueling some kind of stress response.
This is probably why what you’ve been doing so far hasn’t worked.
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Which is so understandable. It’s not easy to connect these dots. Stress is so insidious and “normal” we all accept it and think this is just how life is. How we are.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. And it can’t stay this way for true wellness and sustainable well being.
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None of us mean to be living like this. We’re not doing this to ourselves on purpose. These are habits, patterns and programs we picked up along the way...
And they’ve created unconscious, automatic cycles that build up stressful emotions and thoughts in us. And these set off our body’s inflammation alarm which then decreases our healthy digestion.
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If you’re in this kind of feedback loop, how can the healthy food you’re eating, your movement practice or overall wellness routine, have the outcome you intend?
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This is the missing link that needs to be addressed.
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Better digestion will improve your energy and physical conditioning. And what has been tearing it down? Stress.
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Stress affects every organ in the body. The fight/flight/freeze stress responses (all part of the sympathetic nervous system) stops digestion and detox and increases bloating, inflammation and food cravings.
So even if you are eating healthy and mindfully, the food you’re eating can’t adequately nourish your energy or physicality if it’s not digested properly.
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The key is:
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to care for yourself in ways that don’t activate your stress response
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down regulate your stress when it arises, so it doesn't stay elevated
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So the way I see it, regulating your stress response is a deep, foundational solution to improving your digestion and therefore your physical conditioning.
Many of us already know how problematic chronic stress is and have heard that we need to find ways to lower it.
Well, to reduce your stress response AND improve your energy and physical conditioning,
I have created the
Better Relationship to Food- 30 Day Challenge
The goal of this 30 day challenge is to improve your relationship with food and eating, in ways that lower your stress response. No rules on what to eat. No cooking required.
It's more about becoming more aware of when, why and how you eat.
It’s about seeing your physical and emotional bodies as sacred and seeing food as medicine & pleasure.
And ultimately, it’s about creating an inner harmonious environment for the food and beverages you consume to better assimilate. So you can improve your health, physical conditioning, energy level and well being.
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JOIN NOW:
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Testimonial
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With this beautiful priestess, I identified a frozen stress response that was at the root of her low energy and digestive issues. This 30 day challenge will allow you to spot hidden sources of stress in you that you may decide to shift.
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JOIN NOW:
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The 4 weeks of this challenge...
will bring forth more harmony between your divine feminine and divine masculine energies. You will have become more masterful at self-understanding, self-compassion and being a calming presence to your own self.
By cultivating your curiosity with your body, emotions and habits, you will become more attentive.
You will practice liberating damaging habits and patterns in a balanced healthy way, rather than trying to use willpower to suppress them.
You will also start learning how to work with and manage the impulses that may have led you to consume food and beverages in ways that don’t serve you.
You will walk away with a deeper self knowledge and liberated energy that will allow you to create new choices and actions.
So when you are faced with challenges that would normally set off a stress response, you can spot this, regulate your emotions and progress forward in alignment with your wellness goals.
Tending to your inner state in this way will make it possible for you, as a sensitive leader, to balance the needs of others, and enhance the harmony in your circles of influence.
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JOIN NOW:
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In the Better Relationship to Food- 30 Day Challenge...
I will be tending to the unique needs of emotional eaters, stress eaters and those who don’t cook a lot or want to be confined to a bunch of food rules.
Instead of focusing so much on WHAT you’re eating, we will be getting real curious about and attending to the WHEN, WHY and HOW you eat.
So we can spot any stressful imbalances that drain your energy and prevent the nourishment you consume from digesting properly.
This is how we’ll do it:
Each week you will receive 5 emails with a simple quest for that day. One email each weekday (Monday-Friday).
Each week will have a theme.
Week 1: Habit Liberation- after setting your personal intention for this challenge, you will identify and address 1 habit that stands in the way of realizing your intention.
Week 2: Curious & Attentive- you will be paying close attention to when and why you eat. For instance, do you eat sweets when you’re under pressure? Do you eat in response to physical, mental or visual cues? We’ll be looking to see if any patterns you see are misaligned with your intention for this challenge.
Week 3: Your “come from”- what is your energy like before, during and after you consume meals or beverages? This is where sneaky stressful dynamics like to hide out.
Week 4: Food is Medicine and Pleasure- we’ll be introducing some ways to treat your body as a temple by giving her more optimal nourishment for her needs, physical conditioning and functioning AND pleasure you don’t have to regret later.
At the end of each week, I'll hold an OPTIONAL one-hour Nurture call for those who want to attend. I will answer questions, provide support and bear witness to celebrations or shifts you want to share. Kinda like having office hours.
There will be 4 total calls held on Saturdays at 1p EST- 2p EST. A replay will be sent out to all registrants of this challenge.
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Success Story
A social worker came to me with unwanted weight gain of 15 pounds and a desire to lose inches around her belly. She had enough stress and anxiety to be on prescription meds and was tired a lot.
She often snacked on carbs when she was alone. She had a habit of eating “seconds” of food when she didn’t feel full immediately and sometimes ate on the run.
Her weight gain was primarily to her abdomen, which is common in those with chronically high stress.
I coached her on holistic ways to manage her stress and anxiety. We also addressed some misaligned habits she had on the “way” she would sometimes eat, including using food as a coping mechanism.
She was able to reach her ideal body weight in 4 months.
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JOIN NOW:
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You may be skeptical about...
whether you can really shift your relationship to food.
Especially if some of your habits and patterns have been in your nervous system for years.
But let me reassure you.
Becoming aware of the habits that don’t align with your wellness goals is half the battle!
Because no changes can be made, without being crystal clear on what you’re actually doing (not what you think you’re doing).
The clarity and understanding this challenge will give you is a foundational piece of improving your relationship to food and eating.
Have faith that your intuition guided you to this offer. And will continue to guide you to get the upgrade you need from this challenge.
You need to be aware of the situations that are causing fear and anxiety in your mind and body. The ones that trigger your stress response and affect your eating habits and digestion.
This challenge will help you not to allow these inner disturbances to get the best of you.
But to gently let the old patterns go, liberate the energy from toxic habits and turn them into constructive choices, actions and creations.
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JOIN NOW:
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While nervous system pathways don’t completely disappear, we can create new ones.
And it’s a lot easier to do so when you have a wise, compassionate guide (moi).
I will help you navigate new changes you want to make and be there to help you integrate them.
Life is filled with ups and downs, and this is a cycle that we cannot control. This levels the playing field for all humans because nobody on earth can avoid what is fated.
The same forces that govern the changing of the seasons, or the rising and setting of the sun is also impacting us. Where it lands is as random as chance - you may find yourself at either the top or bottom, but remember that no matter what the outcome, it may not last for very long, for the wheel of Life always turns.
Throughout this challenge, we will be getting more in the flow with our bodies and Life in general.
Anchoring in a more harmonious inner state of being for the food and beverages you consume to better assimilate.
This can, in turn, improve your health, physical conditioning, energy level and well being.
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JOIN NOW:
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In the Better Relationship to Food- 30 Day Challenge...
I will be tending to the unique needs of emotional eaters, stress eaters and those who don’t cook a lot or want to be confined to a bunch of food rules.
Instead of focusing so much on WHAT you’re eating, we will be getting real curious about and attending to the WHEN, WHY and HOW you eat.
So we can spot any stressful imbalances that drain your energy and prevent the nourishment you consume from digesting properly.
This is how we’ll do it:
Each week you will receive 5 emails with a simple quest for that day. One email each weekday (Monday-Friday).
Each week will have a theme.
Week 1: Habit Liberation- after setting your personal intention for this challenge, you will identify and address 1 habit that stands in the way of realizing your intention.
Week 2: Curious & Attentive- you will be paying close attention to when and why you eat. For instance, do you eat sweets when you’re under pressure? Do you eat in response to physical, mental or visual cues? We’ll be looking to see if any patterns you see are misaligned with your intention for this challenge.
Week 3: Your “come from”- what is your energy like before, during and after you consume meals or beverages? This is where sneaky stressful dynamics like to hide out.
Week 4: Food is Medicine and Pleasure- we’ll be introducing some ways to treat your body as a temple by giving her more optimal nourishment for her needs, physical conditioning and functioning AND pleasure you don’t have to regret later.
At the end of each week, I'll hold an OPTIONAL one-hour Nurture call for those who want to attend. I will answer questions, provide support and bear witness to celebrations or shifts you want to share. Kinda like having office hours.
There will be 4 total calls held on Saturdays at 1p EST- 2p EST. A replay will be sent out to all registrants of this challenge.
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JOIN NOW:
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My story
A while back I got burnt out, seemingly out of nowhere. Suddenly, I was constantly lightheaded, had stomach issues, heart palpitations and headaches. Couldn’t work out or even walk a few blocks. If I tried, I felt like I would pass out.
I saw doctors, had a bunch of tests done, drank more water, increased salt intake and the symptoms just lingered and lingered. While every medical test came back normal.
Eventually, I realized a stressful relationship with food and eating was at the root. Although I was eating healthy, rushing through meals (and life in general) wreaked havoc on my inner well being and ultimately digestion.
I realized I could no longer ignore my body’s blatant cues for rest, regeneration, relaxation, slowing down and a felt sense of safety in my nervous system. Once I consistently shifted my "come from" and inner state, my troublesome symptoms subsided.
Who this challenge is for
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Leaders, creatives or wayshowers who feel busy or overwhelmed. You either don’t have much time to cook, don't like to cook or don't wanna cook. You find it hard to make time for meal prep. You may struggle to get enough calories or meals in.
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Emotional or stress eaters (this includes people who don’t eat enough when stressed)
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Those who may be eating healthy but something's not quite right with nutrition and eating habits. You aren’t sure why desired health or fitness results aren't there even though your diet is healthy and mindful.
Who this challenge is NOT for
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Those not open to a holistic wellness approach that seeks to address wellness and fitness issues at the root.
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Those not open to looking within and doing some inner work to gently release misaligned patterns and try new things.
Life is all about relationships. Let's make the one you have with food better.
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JOIN NOW:
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Why I created this challenge
To help leaders or creatives have a better relationship with food so it digests better and their bodies are nourished better. This will contribute to better physical conditioning and improved energy levels. So you can have more radiant health to carry out your soul’s business.
This challenge format is designed to be easy, enjoyable and effective.
My holistic approach can identify the weak link in your relationship to food.
Why am I so concerned with leaders and creatives having radiant health?
My bigger mission in this lifetime is to support my fellow leaders and creatives, who are fulfilling their soul’s mission with heart, to have the radiant health, body confidence and high voltage to co-create New Earth.
This is a collective effort… We need all hands on deck, sharing their gifts with the world. With radiant health, we can better play our roles to anchor in this expansive timeline of life-giving relating with ourselves, other humans, animals and the planet.
Life is all about relationships. Let's make the one you have with food better. Will you join me?
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Who is responsible for what?
MY PART- Email 20 quests designed to teach lessons, show steps and reveal insights to help improve your relationship to food and eating. Hold 4 supportive weekly calls. Communicate strategy, problem solving, affirming and celebrating in a responsible, non-judgmental way during weekly calls. Email call recordings to registrants each week.
YOUR PART- Honestly declare my true desires/intention of what I want to get from this challenge. Have an open-minded, curious energy towards each day's quest. If I have questions, trouble or issues, ask for help, coaching, encouragement, etc. in a timely fashion. Take full responsibility to reach out so I can be supported.
There are no refunds for this service offering. Please only buy if you feel called and you're fully committed to doing YOUR part. I'd love to serve you in this container!
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JOIN NOW:
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In the Better Relationship to Food- 30 Day Challenge...
I will be tending to the unique needs of emotional eaters, stress eaters and those who don’t cook a lot or want to be confined to a bunch of food rules.
Instead of focusing so much on WHAT you’re eating, we will be getting real curious about and attending to the WHEN, WHY and HOW you eat.
So we can spot any stressful imbalances that drain your energy and prevent the nourishment you consume from digesting properly.
This is how we’ll do it:
Each week you will receive 5 emails with a simple quest for that day. One email each weekday (Monday-Friday).
Each week will have a theme.
Week 1: Habit Liberation- after setting your personal intention for this challenge, you will identify and address 1 habit that stands in the way of realizing your intention.
Week 2: Curious & Attentive- you will be paying close attention to when and why you eat. For instance, do you eat sweets when you’re under pressure? Do you eat in response to physical, mental or visual cues? We’ll be looking to see if any patterns you see are misaligned with your intention for this challenge.
Week 3: Your “come from”- what is your energy like before, during and after you consume meals or beverages? This is where sneaky stressful dynamics like to hide out.
Week 4: Food is Medicine and Pleasure- we’ll be introducing some ways to treat your body as a temple by giving her more optimal nourishment for her needs, physical conditioning and functioning AND pleasure you don’t have to regret later.
At the end of each week, I'll hold an OPTIONAL one-hour Nurture call for those who want to attend. I will answer questions, provide support and bear witness to celebrations or shifts you want to share. Kinda like having office hours.
There will be 4 total calls held on Saturdays at 1p EST- 2p EST. A replay will be sent out to all registrants of this challenge.
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JOIN NOW:
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One more thing
This is an email challenge over 30 days. If you’re concerned about keeping up with the group for 30-days straight, fret not. You will have all of the emails so if you prefer to go at your own pace, that’s totally fine.
And feel free to customize this challenge so it’s just right for you. There’s no way to do this challenge wrong or fail at it! Try out the quests and practice the ones that resonate and support you the most.
Special Bonus
As a special bonus, anyone who registers for this challenge gets free entry into my upcoming live Somatic Session:
“The Love & Sweetness Edition”
Normally access to these sessions is by donation. But you’ll get to attend free and receive the replay.
It takes place on February 12th at 7p EST- 7:30p EST. Here’s the deets!
Rather than eat the sweets, I invite you to shower yourSELF with sweet energy and loving touch that resources.
Tending to our beautiful heart chakras, we'll be cultivating a felt-sense of pleasure, self care and warmth by savoring embodied messages that feel good
WHY- the felt sense of safety we'll be cultivating helps balance energy levels and can lower digestive issues, food cravings, inflammation, anxiety and muscle tension
HOW- with sensual, embodied practices and movements.
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Hi, I’m Leah, the creator of the Better Relationship to Food 30- Day Challenge.
I help Divine Feminine leaders and creatives have the physical conditioning, energy and body confidence they want with a holistic wellness system I've honed for 20 years, called BodyLove. My nutrition and fitness programs honor their energy, work with their unique schedule and resources their nervous system. My intention is to help guide them to a place where having a loving relationship with their bodies is 2nd nature. If you have any questions, please write to me on my website, where you can also read my full backstory on the About page. You can also find me @eat2play on Instagram.
