Eating Mindfully is a six-week program utilizing the process of mindful awareness to help people break the habits of eating when stressed, bored, or unhappy. If you are interested in participating in a future program, please contact Beth Shoyer .  Eating Mindfully is covered by the pre-paid student health fee.

Winter 2006 - We will be offering a special 6-week program for students. The program meets Tuesday's for 6-weeks starting February 14 from 3:30-5:00.  Email Beth Shoyer to enroll and reserve your spot.

Mindful awareness is a process of paying attention to the present moment on purpose, without judgment and with openness. So much of our lives are spent thinking about the past or planning for the future that we miss what is happening in the here-and-now. We live our lives on automatic pilot—not really being aware of what we are thinking, feeling, or doing. When we are not aware, we wind up reacting automatically to stress. This reactivity leaves us vulnerable to acting in ways that might help in the short-run, but end up being harmful in the long-run. For a lot of people, reacting automatically leads to problematic eating.

This program will involve learning mind-body practices such as meditation and yoga that can help us stay present and aware of what we put in our bodies and how it makes us feel. These practices can counteract the habitual urges to eat that can so easily arise. Program goals include becoming aware of the triggers and conditions that lead to problematic eating, developing alternatives for coping with uncomfortable feelings and situations, distinguishing physical and emotional hunger, and increasing appetite awareness.

There is an aspect of time and energy commitment to this program. We will be asking people to do some practice exercises and readings between sessions. Also, to obtain optimal benefit from this program, attendance at all six meetings is encouraged. We are asking people to allow themselves to engage in these mind/body practices over time so that they can see for themselves the effect these practices can promote.

This program will include information about healthy eating, experiential exercises for eating more mindfully, and opportunities for talking to other people who face similar challenges.