If you have a history of struggling with your weight, body image and the relationship with food, if you're tired of the endless cycles of dieting, punishing exercise, control and shame...

 

...first, you're not alone. I'm here with you, and so are many others. 

 

...second, there is another way. Grounded in self-compassion, community and real nourishment. 

 

I call it Compassionate Self-Care, and it has literally changed my life. I hope it can change yours too.

 

So what is Compassionate Self-Care?

​

Compassionate Self-Care is a framework designed to support people in developing a peaceful and nurturing relationship with their body, weight, eating and beyond. A relationship grounded in self-compassion and intuitive wisdom, as opposed to blame, punishment and adherence to external arbitrary rules. A relationship that can last a lifetime (as, in fact, it does ;).

​

This framework draws inspiration from my whole journey so far: 

 

- on the professional side, my doctorate in neuroscience, my training in Nonviolent Communication, as well my training with The Body Positive Institute, both of which heavily inspire this work;

 

- but most importantly, my own history of struggles in the relationship with my body and weight, my frustration with the mainstream approaches to navigate such challenges, and eventually my decade long search for a different approach, grounded in self-compassion and community. You can read more about my healing journey here.

 

Compassionate Self-Care is not a quick fix. We're in for the long run. It takes time, practice and effort to develop it, and most importantly, a supportive community that walks alongside us.

 

Whenever we swim against the flow of mainstream narratives, the work we do is tough, but also revolutionary. And it can yield results we wouldn't imagine. At least it did for me.

 

Developing Compassionate Self-Care involves different practices, skills and competences, including:

​

1) Breaking Free from Diet Culture

 

• Taking a closer look at the messages we receive about health, weight and eating, and the impact they have on our behavior and wellbeing;

• Learning about the problematic origins and harmful effects of diet culture;

• Learning about the complex relationship between weight and health (hint: it's much different than what you may think);

• Becoming the expert of your own body by sorting out facts from distorted societal myths, and developing a weight-neutral, health-centered approach to self-care.

 

2) Developing a Needs-Based approach to Self-Care

 

• Understanding the relationship between habitual judgment thinking (right/wrong, should/shouldn't etc), feelings and needs;

• Understanding the difference between our natural, universal human needs and the things we do to meet them;

• Expanding your feeling vocabulary as a way to better connect with our body signals;

• Learning to tap into innate body wisdom (sensations, feelings, needs) to guide daily eating, exercise, and life choices. 

​

3) Cultivating Self-Compassion

 

• Moving from self-criticism to self-compassion as a way to learn and grow;

• Understanding how our critical voices are (tragically) caring for us and attempting to meet needs, and finding different and more sustainable ways to address the same needs;

• Redefining 'success' and 'mistakes';

• Learning a needs-based language for celebration and mourning, to consciously experience all the spectrum of our experience;

• Moving from rigid rules to dynamic needs-based agreements with ourselves..

​

4) Healing Body Image

 

• Defining body image and understanding what influences it

• Expand our imagination to behold authentic beauty in ourselves and others

• Learning skills for embodiment - inhabiting one's body

• Creating boundaries around the kinds of media that we consume

• Learning to nourish and celebrate our bodies

• Redefining beauty and developing body confidence

• Reclaiming our right to pleasure

​

5) Building a Supportive Community

 

• Learning empathic listening skills;

• Creating a network of empathic support to keep learning and practicing together

• Connecting with people through a shared compassionate approach to health, food and weight

• Modeling kindness and respect for our body

• Creating compassionate boundaries with people and conversations that promote body shame and diet culture

​

To learn more about this framework please go to Upcoming Events or contact me to schedule an exploratory chat.