Whipped into Shape
Because food is language and emotion, memory and culture, love and comfort, is it not? How do we let go of that?
Last Saturday I whispered this sentence to myself under my breath: I'm not going to eat sugar or flour… just for today.
Tomorrow I'm going to eat pasta and a cake and a loaf of bread and a hot fudge sundae, BUT NOT TODAY, SATAN! The next morning I woke up and said the same thing again just like the Dread Pirate Roberts did with Westley in The Princess Bride, except I’m talking about donuts instead of execution. And miracle of miracles it hasn’t been that hard.
I even committed the unholy sacrilege of throwing out half a Ukrops black and white bar cake, an act akin to child murder just a few days ago.
Yes, this is me talking. As far as I know, I haven’t been switched out by a body double in my sleep.
I don't think it's a coincidence that quitting sugar coincides with titrating off this particular med, one doctors say "may” cause weight gain but just watch what you eat and exercise a little more! What the actual HELL. But that’s definitely not all this is.
Because food is language and emotion, memory and culture, love and comfort, is it not? How do we let go of that?
Last week it occurred to me— for the first time— that I may have an eating disorder. I've known about disordered eating for years but it’s always seemed different from an eating disorder, as if reversing the order of the words changes their meaning entirely.
I don’t have anorexia or bulimia but I do have dysmorphia, obsession, and the feeling that if I don’t eat what I want I will die. Food is so deeply melded into my emotional landscape that I have no idea how to separate the two. Maybe it’s just semantics but the taste of eating disorder on my tongue makes me weepy. And it also makes me feel more compassion for myself.
Because an eating disorder is not something you choose while disordered eating sounds like something you should maybe whip into shape. Is this a relief? Big time. Because it makes me think of myself as someone to hug rather than someone to whip.
“Unsolicited advice is criticism,” ancient Alanon proverb
You don’t have to think you’re a writer for writing to change your life.
IT’S ON. Join me this winter and spring for: Writing Rituals, True Stories, Deep Dives, Writing for Therapists, and the Healing Narrative!
Reiki 1 Certification with Valley Haggard
Saturday, Feb. 24
9:30 am - 5:30 pm
Price: $270
Do you feel called to ground, connect, and deepen? Would you like to learn a powerful, intuitive method for healing yourself and others? A Japanese form of energy work meaning Universal Life Energy, Reiki infuses our mind, body, and spirit with a life force in ways that can empower every aspect of our lives.
In this Reiki 1 workshop, we will learn primarily through hands-on experience how to give ourselves and others Reiki treatments, how to protect our energy fields, traditional and intuitive hand placement, and more.
Each participant will receive a Reiki 1 attunement and Reiki 1 certification by the end of the workshop day.
No previous experience necessary.
Reiki 2 Certification with Valley Haggard
Sat, Mar 23, 2024
10 am – 5:00 pm
Price: $270
Early bird before February 14! $245
If you have earned your Reiki Level 1 attunement and certification, you are ready for Level 2! This special one-day workshop will help us fine-tune and increase our vibrational healing energy to balance and increase energy flow in our mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. During our workshop, we will focus on use of the Reiki symbols, learning the mantras, and practicing distance healing. You will receive an intro to chakra balancing and accessing your Reiki guides.
You will receive a Level 2 attunement and certification by the end of the day.
The Healing Narrative: a 4-Day Transformational Retreat
March 14 - 17, 2024 (one space left!)
OR
April 11- 14, 2024 (one space left!)
The Porches, 56 Pine Hill Ln, Norwood, VA,
Writing about our past empowers us to identify old patterns so that we can write new futures, transforming old wounds into new stories.
On this intimate 4-day retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we will write our origin stories, chart our timelines, discover our archetypes, and identify the path of our own particular hero's journey. Combining guided meditation, visualization, and energy work within our small group writing circles, we will unearth our most potent and pervasive themes in order to imagine new plotlines for our lives moving forward. As we find our voices, we take back our power, becoming the hero, the most important character, in our own lives.
Each writer will have their own gorgeous bedroom in the beautiful farmhouse of Porches Writing Retreat in Nelson County, a short walk away from the James River. Our schedule will include small circle writing, free time, energy work, writing at the river, half a day at Yogaville ( a 15-minute drive from Porches), and all course materials.
Our small group will be limited to 4 participants
Writing to Heal for Therapists
Sat, Mar 30, 2024
10 AM – 4 PM EDT
Valley's Writing Studio, Richmond, VA
$245
In this special one-day workshop, we will learn journaling techniques and prompts especially designed for therapists to promote healing and wholeness for themselves and their clients. Starting with the scientific psychological, emotional, and biological benefits of writing and reframing our narratives, we will explore a range of practices from simple free-writing techniques to identifying our archetypes on the hero's journey.
Come away with a practical and powerful toolkit of resources for supporting yourself and your clients on the healing journey. All materials provided.
Max: 8 participants
I loved this piece. Because associations with food hold such immense power, the question of “ how do I give that up?” Is huge!