Mindful Eating Class in Glenview

Do you struggle with your weight and feeling good about your body? Have you wished you could end eating patterns that are self-defeating and don’t serve your highest good? Do you feel exhausted, depressed, or deprived by attempts to “diet” or “control” your appetite? Do you long for a healthy and nurturing relationship with yourself and food? If so, then give yourself the gift of spending six weeks learning to transform the way you see yourself and the way you interact with food.

In this course we will learn and practice techniques for bringing mindful awareness to our food choices, hunger, and eating behavior. By engaging in activities that release the automatic reactions, fears, and attachments we have to food, we will deepen the connection we have to ourselves and learn to draw upon the power of our inner wisdom (not an outside “expert”) to guide us in choosing foods that please, satisfy, and nurture us. Topics to be addressed include:

Balancing Inner and Outer Wisdom
Understanding Hunger
Emotional Eating
Anger, Forgiveness and Food
Fullness, Satiety
Discovering Taste Satisfaction
Making Mindful Food Choices
Mindfulness Meditation and Movement

Yoga and meditation are integral aspects of this course. Loose and comfortable clothing is recommended.

When: Monday Evenings, 6:45-8:15 p.m.
September 13, 20, 27, October 4, 11, and 18.
Where: Be Optimal Holistic Health Center; 1249 Waukegan Road, Glenview
Fee: $200. Space is limited so early registration is recommended.
Due to the progressive nature of this course, participants must register for the entire course. Individual class attendance is not permitted.
Registration/Questions: contact Carol at 847.866.9692 or email her at info@happyhealthywhole.com
Instructor: Carol Friedman, founder of Happy, Healthy and Whole has been a teacher, guide, and workshop leader for over 20 years. She holds a master’s degree from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, is certified in Psycho-Spiritual Integration, and is on the adjunct faculty at the School for New Learning of DePaul University. For more information see: www.happyhealthywhole.com

On October4th, the Chicago Area Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teachers Sangha met to continue discussing the ways they are applying MBSR and other forms of mindfulness and meditation in their work, share recent training experiences and resources, exchange information about upcoming classes they are offering to the public and discuss plans for future endeavors.   There are now approximately 35 people in the Chicago area who have completed training in MBSR or one if it’s variations; Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention, and Mindfulness-based Eating. 

The teachers represent a broad array of professions; physicians, psychologists, social workers and psychotherapists, addiction counselors, nurses, personal coaches,  corporate training and leadership consultants, yoga instructors, fitness trainers, and even an engineer.  The range of  professions represented by the teachers is indicative of the broad appeal and successful application of mindfulness-based practices to a variety of human challenges.  Originally designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD.  at the Stress Reduction Clinic of the  University of Massachusetts Medical Center (www.umassmed.edu  ) to provide relief to individuals with chronic medical conditions, mindfulness-based practices have brought the wisdom of ancient belief systems such as Buddhism into the modern age.  Their wide-spread use is indicative of the healing effect and soothing presence mindfulness provides to the stress and strain of contemporary life and the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dis-eases that result.

I completed my initial professional training in MBSR with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, Ed.D,  Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society three years ago in Mt. Madonna, California and recently returned from Omega Institue where I received additional training in Mindfulness-based eating (MB-Eat) with Jean Kristeller of Indiana State University and Char Wilkins.  A separate blog post provides information about that training. 

Several teachers announced upcoming classes they will be teaching in the Chicago area this fall including Sheila Dixon who will be teaching MBSR in Evanston beginning this month.  For information on her class, contact her at sqdixon@aol.com    The teachers group (Sangha) will continue meeting once a month through June of 2010 prior to taking a summer break.  Details about the meetings, resources, classes and events shared by the teachers will be posted here.  For additional information on MBSR and other mindfulness classes in the Chicago area, or if you are trained and wish to join the group,  leave a comment below or contact me at info@happyhealthywhole.com.