Body Centered Workshop

Session #1:

Body Centered Somatic Transformation Workshop 
for Weight Loss

If you’ve been struggling to understand how you feel, Body Centered Work just might be the practice you’ve been waiting for!

Enjoy several body-centered processes to tap into your body’s wisdom in order to lessen your frustrating eating patterns through powerful body work.

Body Centered Work can help you reduce patterns of overeating, emotional eating, binging, and food cravings by strengthening the intimate relationship between your body and your thoughts.

If you find yourself experiencing frustrating patterns of late night overeating, food cravings or out-of-control eating episodes, these experiences are happening both in your mind and your body.

Enjoy learning how to feel into your body and explore its natural wisdom.

Understanding Body Centered Somatic Work

Our body experiences our thoughts and we don’t always know or pay attention to this somatic experience inside of our bodies. But what if your body could hold answers and help you understand how you can lose weight easier and faster?

Your body, as we know with hunger and satiation – gives us signals all the time.
 
We’ve been doing a lot of work to THINK DIFFERENTLY which is amazing work AND we can also approach this work in reverse – to FEEL DIFFERENTLY can also releases stress, pain, sadness, and angst.
 
So today I want to guide you through a way to use my ThinWithin Body Centered Somatic work to help support you in using your body to help you slim down.
 
– This is particularly helpful for those of you who have dissociated from your body or who cannot tune into their body easily.
 

Over this course, you’re going to have an opportunity to discover what how to get to know your body more. How to understand it’s needs and how to feel into your body and take frustrations you’re having in life – and how to begin releasing it through your body.

So let’s say you have a frustrating day and you want to eat you are going to learn a tool to see if instead of eating, you can allow this frustration in your body to be felt and moved through, so that you no longer feel frustrated – and not longer eat.
 
Or let’s say you’re feeling lonely – and this loneliness is triggered late at night. Then late at night you feel like stuffing that feeling of loneliness – you will have body centered somatic work to help support you to feel into that loneliness and move it through your body so you can feel happier and healthier.
You will have this recording so you can go through this over and over.

Somatic Work – Working Through Frustration


For TODAY’s somatic work – Think of something that you’re frustrated with about your body – it could be your results, overeating, the pain of seeing your body in the mirror. Just pick one that is really bothering you.
 
STEP 1: Begin by connecting with your breath and body.
 
STEP 2: Plant your feet firmly on the ground, and sit up straight in your chair, and 
 
STEP 3:  Take 3 relaxing breaths in through your nose and out through your breath. Notice your breathing and close your eyes, taking a deep breath in (pause and) and relax. Continue with deepening and calming your breath.
 
With your awareness in this moment, deepen your breath and notice any sensations, pains, holding in, or feelings inside of your body.
 
Tune in to the sensations you have in your body. Notice these sensations without judgment, simply building awareness for the information your body provides.
 
STEP 4: Take a moment and think about this one singular frustration that you’ve been having –
 
1. Allow this situation to BE felt in your body.
2. When you think of this situation, notice where in your body you feel it?
3. Notice if you can use your breath to relax and calm this sensation.
4. If you’re able to – notice if this sensation
a. Has a color
b. Has a shape
c. Is it moving or static
5. When you calm your breath more deeply –
a. do you notice any part of this color changing
b. shape adjusting
c. movement shifts
6. Use your breathe to relax and calm this sensation
7. Allow it
8. Tell that part of your body and that sensation that it’s okay. That it’s safe. That it can release and let go.
9. Good – relax – let it go
10. Allow this feeling to be seen and allow your breath to calm and relax it.
11. What do you notice?

12. When complete – feel free to write out any information your body wants you to know.

Body Centered Focus Work for week 1:

1. NOVICE LEVEL ASSIGNMENT: If this work is new to you, spend some time “being” with emotions in your body. Look at it as play, not serious and hard. 3x a week, think of someone you love. See if you can feel where that love is in your body. You can lovingly touch the area, if that sounds appealing. Describe the feeling as much as you can by giving it a color, location, shape, etc. This experience will help you connect to and stay longer with the feeling and your body.

2. INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ASSIGNMENT: When you feel discomfort this week, notice yourself reaching for food without hunger, or find your Inner Two Year Old having a tantrum, STOP! Move to a different room. Sit down. Close your eyes. Look inward.

Breathe into this desire to eat. Identify and visualize the feeling behind the desire. Use your imagination to get as much data on the location, color, and shape of the feeling as possible. This helps to stay with the feeling and let it know you’re paying attention.

Relax your body. Love and nurture the visualized wound or pain. Allow whatever emotion erupts to exist without judgment. Feel, cry, scream, or throw up. Honor the emotion by accepting it and sending it your compassion and protection. Let it know it is SAFE. Whenever possible, allow the wound to decrease in size or release completely from your body, like a splinter that finally finds its way out of your foot by itself.

Attempt the Body Centered Somatic Process at least three times this week. Tell your Marco Polo group how your journey progresses or set up a Zoom and work through the process together. On Friday post in FB or email Kate to declare how the week went.

3. ADVANCED LEVEL ASSIGNMENT: Complete the intermediate assignments above but standing in the moment without leaving the room. Then reread the notes and listen to today’s class again or find another podcast by Marna to inspire you.

Session #2:

Body Centered Somatic Transformation for Manifesting the Body You Crave

Body Centered Work  – The Vision of the Body You Crave

You have a vision of a body that you crave.

This vision might be stronger, more toned, lighter, healthier, and/or able to do more.

We often know our goals in our mind – but today we are going to practice taking this mental knowing and give our body the opportunity to FEEL into this desire. We’ll move into this awareness and this way of experiencing thinness (or a healthier weight) in a somatic manner.

Take a moment and in one to two sentences write out what you’d like to accomplish for your health, weight, and body?
 
1. Now, allow this desire to BE felt inside of your body. Let’s give this feeling inside of your body a number from 1-10, 1 ~ it’s not feeling very possible and 10 ~ it’s going to happen and the body feels 100% in alignment, excited to create this version of your body.
 
2. Notice what number you would give this…
 
3. Just breathe this desire – this way of being – into your cells.
 
4. Allow this desire to circulate through your body and find a home inside of your body.
 
5. Now, notice where your desire to find this desire ends up finding a home.
 
6. Just notice and allow this desire to be felt inside of your body.
 
a. Does it feel comfortable?
-If it’s comfortable, wonderful, just keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth allowing and feeling this decision to reside and find a beautiful home inside of your body.
-If it doesn’t feel comfortable – allow your body to experience this discomfort and continue to deepen your breath sending healing and loving energy into any area of discomfort.
 
 
b. You may notice yourself having an unexpected emotional response to how this feels in your body and that’s just perfect. Allow whatever feelings to be expressed and honored.
 
c. Notice how it feels inside your body to be the person who has achieved your desired outcome –
  • Does it have a color?
  • Does it have a particular shape?
  • Is it moving or static?
d. Beautiful – just notice what your body is doing as it feels and connects to your vision for a lighter, thinner, healthier you.
 
7. Now I’d like for you to decide to be this person. This person who has accomplished this goal – who has created this ability to be lighter, leaner, healthier and proud of who you are.
a. Notice what happens when you bring in decision
 
b. Feel what’s going on inside of your body and allow whatever is happen to occur.
 
c. Notice any part of this color changing or shape adjusting
 
d. If deciding feels wonderful, great – continue. If it doesn’t feel so good – then allow your heart to send this discomfort into this part of your body that feels slight discomfort with this.
 
8. Tell any part of this experience for your body that it’s going to be okay. That it’s safe.
 
9. That it can release and let go.
 
10. Good – relax – let it go.
 
11. Now connect back to the feeling of accomplishing the body and goals that you desire and notice how it feels one last time.
 
12. What do you notice?
 
13. When complete – feel free to write out any information your body wants you to know.
 
 

Body Centered Focus Work for week 2:

 

The goal this week is to activate who you want to be in your body at least 3 times with this process. If you need help, listen to the audio to guide you through. 
 
An easier approach is described in the class if this is new to you. Daily practice is the stretch goal.

Session #3:

Body Centered Somatic Transformation for Relaxing and Reducing Food Cravings

Body Centered Somatic Work and Cravings

Today we are talking about cravings.

Before today’s session, grab some food items that you crave or even pull up a picture of it on the internet. We are going to work through these cravings by relaxing and calming your body.

THE PROCESS:
 
STEP 1: First, name the intensity of your craving from a 1-10.
 
STEP 2: Relax your breath and all 3 dominant senses.
– Kinesthetically relaxing your body
– Visually moving the food item to black and white, far away and make it blurry
– Auditory – relaxing the words from I have to/must/need/want to I’m powerful/beautiful/I’ve got this/I’m safe
 
STEP 3: Run through this crave diminishing process a few times when you sit down to practice it.
 
Each time you should notice the intensity reduce.
 
Practice this a few times without a true craving and then of course, practice this when you are in the throws of having a real food craving. 
 
It’s obviously easier to do this alone vs. with other people around at first.
 
By actively engaging in this amazing work you will gain a powerful skill to reduce your cravings!

Homework

 

Notice your cravings or desires to eat without hunger and send them away in the bold, powerful way described in class. 
 
The minimum goal is to do this at least three times this week when you are not stressed or overly triggered to proactively get in front of you cravings. Of course, daily practice will strengthen your muscle more.

Session #4

Body Centered Somatic Transformation to Create Naturally Thin Evenings

Transforming Your Evenings with Somatic Work

I know that many of you are still struggling with the evenings, because – 

  • Your energy is often lower
  • You’ve had a full day
  • Tired
  • Need to relax and rest
Let’s incorporate your real desires with your real life frustrations around evening eating. 
 
Today, sense into your body and create what you want to feel in the evening. 
 
Take a moment and think about your evenings. Notice in your mind’s eye where you’d like to make adjustments. Take a moment to write them down.
 
Areas that you might want to make adjustments in is one of the following:
  • Coming home from work/picking up the kids
  • Making Dinner
  • After dinner
  • Late at night
Decide which area you’d like to focus your mind today on.
 

THE PROCESS:

1. Now, allow this situation to BE felt in your body.
2. When you think of this situation, notice where in your body you feel it?
3. Notice if you can use your breath to relax and calm this sensation.
 
4. If you’re able to – notice if this sensation
a. has a color?
b. has a shape?
c. is it moving or static?
 
5. When you calm your breath more deeply –
a. do you notice any part of this color changing?
b. any shape adjusting?
c. any movement shifts?
 
6. Use your breathe to relax and calm this sensation
7. Allow it
8. Tell that part of your body and that sensation that it’s okay. That it’s safe. That it can release and let go.
9. Good – relax – let it go
 
10. Allow this feeling to be seen and allow your breath to calm and relax it.
11. What do you notice?
12. When complete – feel free to write out any information your body wants you to know
 
 

Homework

Listen to a training from one of these past weeks and practice this somatic work.
 
Connect in 3 times this week with the one of the week’s topics, or mix it up. 
 
You can use the recording or do it yourself in silence or with music you choose. 
 
Sit and sense inside. Allow your body to relax, guide, and nurture you in the way that you’re craving. Let your body be there for you, support you, give you any tools or information to help you create the body and habits you desire.
By actively engaging with your body you can move stuck energy and gain wisdom for this journey to a healthier you!

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