A warm hug and a gentle shout out to anyone sensitive to what's going on in the world and feeling that bubble up in their personal lives, including in their relationship with food and body. I wanted to share a few of the tools I use in my own life to work with the inevitable disheartenment that sometimes arises.

No video this week, my loves. My eyeballs have been leaking too much in the last week to try to get through this topic on camera. What I can do, however, is write it out, or at least try.

My heart is broken for this country. For people dying trying to celebrate a joyous holiday, driving to their mom's house, and just going about their lives. We are so clearly not ok.

Happy New Year, in case I haven't said that already! I'm so excited to announce that the Intuitive Eating for Life Community is launching next Tuesday morning with live events starting that very day. This community will initially be limited to 100 participants and only offered to newsletter subscribers, ie, you! 

Lately I've been contemplating the HOW of Intuitive Eating, as in how does this actually come together? HOW does one DO Intuitive Eating? We know it's not a linear process and that there is significant overlap between the "stages of Intuitive Eating." We know that there are some universal truths we all experience in approaching Intuitive Eating and there are a lot of unique experiences based on our personal histories.

Happy holidays to everyone. This week's video is a bit grainy because I recorded it behind my in-laws' house in Sicily as the sun was going down. In it, I ponder what might change if we could look at our Intuitive Eating practice as just that: a practice. With other practices like meditation and yoga to compare to, Intuitive Eating can be something that we do over and over again, though different physical and emotional states, as a means of "staying with" ourselves.

No video this week, unfortunately. I'm fighting off a cold or flu or false-negative COVID, but wanted to be in touch nevertheless to share some thoughts. 

One of my favorite teachings in Buddhist philosophy is that all experiences can be approached as opportunities to wake up to the nature of reality. Or, alternatively, they can be a route to go further to sleep. I try to remember this teaching whenever I deal with difficulty, big or small.

I’m so excited to invite you to join me for this conversation with Intuitive Eating co-creators and co-authors Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. We discussed the emerging aspects of mindfulness over the course of more than 25 years and four editions!

This week we start talking about the topic of movement. It's a big topic and not unlike fullness, fraught for many. Please send me any thoughts, questions, and challenges you're facing with movement so I can weave them into upcoming videos. And thank you, as always, for being part of this community!

My new book Intuitive Eating for Life: How Mindfulness Can Deepen and Sustain Your Intuitive Eating Practice is officially here!

I'm not a fan of self promotion but I take some solace in the fact that promoting this book - and anything that is anti-diet - helps us all. I so hope that this book is a positive force in your life and that you will stay connected so that we can find more and more community together. More goodness coming in 2023!

This week we're talking about working with things as they are. Sounds easy, right? WRONG!!!! It may be a simple concept but there are so many reasons we fight with reality. I hope you'll take a deep breath, rouse self-compassion, and consider some of these words as we head into the holiday weekend. 

This week we're talking more about the feelings/emotions that arise with fullness. I also share this image, which is how I'm currently thinking about the overall Intuitive Eating process (thanks Lisa for making this!) and might be helpful in supporting yourself to work with fullness.

Also, check out my Insta this week for some thoughts on how to respond to diet talk at Thanksgiving (or whenever)!

This week we're talking more about fullness and satisfaction as we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, specifically how can we support ourselves to feel both comfortably full and satisfied on this once-a-year holiday.

I also introduce a silly idea I got from working with clients that might just complete your Thanksgiving table (or decorate your kitchen table, stuff your Christmas stockings, etc.). Get your 3-pack of table tents here :)

I’ve spent the last couple of years writing a new book called Intuitive Eating for Life: How Mindfulness Can Deepen and Sustain Your Meditation Practice. It's a more secular offering than Eat to Love and draws on more of the science of Intuitive Eating, Polyvagal theory, and trauma-sensitive mindfulness. It is filled with practical mindfulness exercises, vignettes from my work with clients, and new ways of looking at your relationship with food and body that might help move the needle in your own life. And it comes out on December 1, 2022!

This week I share a mindfulness exercise you can start doing today that will help you find and stop at comfortable fullness more consistently. Let me know what you think!

I really hope you'll join me in our fullness group that's starting in just two weeks! Full details below. This deep dive in community is the way to feel more comfortable stopping eating before you feel distressed or even sick, while still enjoying eating!

https://www.jennahollenstein.com/findingfullness

This week we're talking about the relationship between hunger and fullness, for example, what does starting to eat at your "sweet spot" of hunger have to do with being able to recognize and stop at comfortable fullness? A lot, as it turns out. I also introduce an upcoming group you might be interested in!