 Its natural to eat when we are hungry and stop when we feel satisfied. And its not rocket science to know that if we take in more calories than we need each day, we will gain weight. However, we still go against our body's natural signals in the following ways….
1. Many of us have been trained to eat everything on our plates – even if we are full 2. We eat in a hurry so we can get back to work 3. Our internal thermostat, which lets us know we are full, is overridden and eventually gets de-sensitised 4. We stand at the kitchen sink and eat 5. We multi-task when we eat and when we have distractions (tv, internet) we don't notice what we eat, or how much we are eating 6. We have forgotten what “full” feels like. Being full means “I am satisfied – that’s enough food for now”. Our stomach can tell us when we are full and we can respond to its signals. The way to do this is to remove all distractions, clear the table, sit down, slow down and focus on eating our meal. When we are full there is a gentle, clear, satisfied sensation in the solar plexus area. It tells us to stop eating now! You will notice that once you are full, each subsequent bite is a little less enjoyable than the one before. Pay attention and it becomes obvious. This is why conscious slow eating is so important. Slow down. Your solar plexus area gets more and more uncomfortable once you are full - put your food to one side and wait 15-30 minutes. If still you feel hungry then, eat again. Here’s the food scale: 1 I couldn’t fit another thing in 2 Overstuffed 3 Uncomfortable 4 Full 5 Comfortable and contented 6 Neutral 7 Slightly hungry 8 Hungry 9 The hoover 10 I am going to pass out If we listen, the body can tell us what to eat and how much - its natural after all! By paying attention, we can easily recognise when we are full and stop eating. Elayne teaches Weight Loss classes. Her next course on the 6th May Click here.
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We all have to eat, but these days we are not very conscious about the how we eat, or the reasons why we eat.
Let’s face it, food is delicious and there its everywhere! Cafes about with delicious treats, supermarkets abound, magazines and books with yummy recipes, and tv shows with inspiring meals. There is so much information about healthy eating out there… but many people are carrying excess weight. Why? Answer: We don’t eat consciously. Here’s a question for you: Do you eat at times dictated by other people/or timetables when you are not really hungry? Often we eat because everyone else is having a tea break, or we are at the café and cake goes well with coffee. The question is… are you really hungry or are you just eating? Before you eat, check in with yourself – am I really hungry or am I just thirsty? I recently did an experiment with myself and found I was eating between every massage client (every two hours) – I started asking this question and realised that I wasn’t hungry at all! I stopped having the food and found I could easily go 4 hours between meals. Here’s the hunger scale…. 1 I couldn’t fit another thing in 2 Overstuffed 3 Uncomfortable 4 Full 5 Comfortable and contented 6 Neutral 7 Slightly hungry 8 Hungry 9 The hoover 10 Im going to pass out Once you have ascertained that you are really hungry, the next step is to eat more slowly. Why? Because most of the time we over eat because we eat so fast we bypass the mechanism that tells us that we are full. Yes, our bodies do have this mechanism but we need time to listen to it. Slow down. There main reasons why we don’t pay attention to this mechanism is that we hoover our food down and we are not present with our food because we are mult-tasking… watch TV, on the phone, on the computer, reading, writing, playing games, walking or driving. Most of us can relate to this. Food is often a means to an ends and not considered to be an activity to do all by itself. So its no wonder we don’t know what our body wants to eat, when its hungry or when its full. So here is the easy way out…
When you do this two things happen: 1. You will notice when you are starting to feel comfortable and contented and approaching the status of full. When you get to that place ask yourself – do I want this next mouthful or am I full? If you are not sure, clear that table and wait 15-30 mins. If you feel hungry again, go eat! 2. You start really noticing what you are eating - through taste, smell and texture – you will start becoming aware of what your body really wants. You will naturally start selecting foods that your body wants and stop eating foods that you don’t want. Elayne Lane teaches Weight Loss courses. To join her next class click here.  Come and join me on my beginner's massage course.
This two day massage course is for complete beginners. Come on your own or bring a friend. You will learn how to massage in easy steps. Course content: * How to set up your massage area * Questions to ask your client before you start the massage * Draping techniques * Basic massage strokes and how to listen to the body * How to massage the back, legs, arms, neck and shoulders Venue: Nelson Date: Weekend course 29/30 April 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Cost: $300 (discounted to $250 if paid 7 days prior to course start date) Bring: Your lunch and comfortable clothes Bookings essential - 6 people per course click here  Its not what we eat… its why we eat.
Did you know that when we have an emotion we don’t want to feel, if we eat food it can make this feeling temporarily go away? Two things happen when we feel lonely, trapped, overwhelmed, ashamed, resentful or bored. 1. We feel these uncomfortable feelings in our solar plexus area which is right beside our stomach. When we overeat the stomach expands and puts pressure on this area – temporarily blocking these feelings. 2. When hoover our food up (eat a lot of food fast) we get a chemical “high” which makes us feel better. Unfortunately this chemical high doesn’t last long so we need to eat more to keep the uncomfortable feeling away. The good news is that there are lots of amazing techniques for uncovering those difficult to be with feelings and changing them into a motivating force in your life. One of those techniques comes from Paul McKenna’s book “I can make you Thin” and it's called The 5 Questions. Im going to quote from his book: "I am sitting in a café and a bus stops outside. The engine keeps running and it’s loud. I feel annoyed. I ask the five questions: 1. What is the trigger? The emotion is a response to the noise. 2. What is the belief or judgement? I believe the noise is unpleasant. 3. What is my need? I have a need for a level of quietness to concentrate on my writing. 4. What is the positive intention behind this emotion? The positive intention of the annoyance is to re-establish the level of quietness I desire. 5. What is the first practical action I can take? I can move to another café – or I could ask the bus driver to turn off his engine." Through the five questions you can unfold what the emotion is trying to tell you and find some solutions that bring you back to a place of equilibrium again. To learn how to work with your feelings so that they don't control your eating - why not come to my Weight Loss Course on the 6th May? Click here. I am aiming to travel overseas at the end of this year, so if you have any outstanding massage vouchers please book in by the end of April. There are lots of courses on offer this year - something for everyone - so please read this email right to the end.
Beginner's Massage Courses: I am offering two separate weekends for this course - 1/2 April or 29/30 April for full details click here. Advanced Massage Course: Once you have completed the beginners course you might want to learn some deeper massage techniques. The Advanced Massage Course is on the 13/14 May. Click here for information. Crystal Healing Course: This one day course on the 27th May is for complete beginners or people wishing to develop their intuitive/healing skills and work with crystals. Click here. Massage for Couples: If you wish to deepen intimacy between you and your partner through massage - this weekend is for you. I teach basic massage but there is also the opportunity to learn aspects of sensual massage, communication and skills around creating a deeper connection. Click here. Weightloss without a Diet Course: I have had lots of requests for my Weightloss without a Diet class so I am running it again, starting straight after Easter. The course runs for 8 weeks either Tuesday nights or Thursday mornings. For more details click here. Chi Kung Classes restarting in May: Tao Basic: Stretch and Smile - Tuesday mornings for 8 weeks Tao Basic: Breathe - Thursday nights for 8 weeks Tao of Healing Love weekend 30 June (evening) 1/2 July For more details click here My New Address: Massage in Nelson has moved to 55 Tasman Street, The Wood, Nelson. I have two late nights - one on Monday and the other on Wednesday. The first session is $70 and if you rebook within 30 days the next session is $55 for a one hour massage. It gets busy at this time of the year, so book a week ahead to avoid disappointment or send me a txt for a time. Gift vouchers are available too.  Last night I read these words:
"I touched my chapped and peeling lips carefully with my fingers and winced… “Your body is trying to tell you something,” Ani said as she held up the mirror to so I could see my face. I was shocked to notice that my lips were swollen bright red. They were even cracked and bleeding from when I had tried to widen them into a smile. “Oh, Ani, they are so sore.” “Why have you not tended to them?” Ani asked. “I was busy with other things, I guess.” I looked at her sheepishly. “When you refuse to learn a lesson in this life, because you’re too busy, or because you’re afraid, or because you don’t know how to stop doing a certain activity, the body takes over and begins to teach you.” “What does that have to do with chapped lips?” ”Chapped lips, colds, fevers, accidents – whatever you ask for, your body gives you"." Abridged except from Chapter 8, Windhorse Woman by Lynn V. Andrews I was touched by the wisdom of these words. How often have I not listened to my own inner voice (don’t eat bread today), not tended to my own needs (staying up too late), let myself get too busy (pushing myself too hard), and obstinately continuing on with habits that were not good for me. It really is like going against my inner guidance and the natural flow of life. I wonder how much of that impacts on the greater picture of life. For example: If I want something but my focus (emotional energy) is on something else then I am probably not going to get what I want. So a question popped into my mind: am I affirming life (my natural wisdom) and what I really want or am I going against it? It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? Let us say you wake up in the morning with 10 units of energy to spend through the day. You decide you want to use the energy to make up a website. Here’s how you spend your units:
Now here is a different scenario….
It’s the same with good health and vitality, isn’t it? Elayne Lane is a life coach and can give sessions on motivation and how to clear those blocks that get in the way! Click here to book a session. Massage special offer $55 for one hour! Book here New treatment: Essence of Light Touch Treatment find out more  New Essence of Light Touch Treatment: if you want a deeply relaxing session with feather light touch, then this treatment is for you! In a warm cosy room, I will drop essential oils onto your back, and with a feather-light touch, I apply the oils to your skin with long strokes. Drop by drop, layer upon layer of oils, soft touch, gentle music all take you into a deep sense of relaxation. I finish with pressure points on your feet to balance your energy and ground you. I then leave you to relax for 10 minutes. Cost $55.
Please note this is not a massage for sore muscles! The treatment is not suitable if you are pregnant, have sensitive skin, or are allergic to the smell of the essential oils.  Eating is a learnt behaviour. As children we were expected to eat everything we were given, even if we didn’t like it. We were rewarded with “treats”. We felt special on our birthdays with food and presents. Food was also used to celebrate events and we learnt that eating came with feeling good. We were conditioned that food is a way to feel special, to get a lift – and this is why we head for the kitchen when we feel bad.
So when we have had a busy or stressful day at work, we treat ourselves to a snack or a glass of wine when we get home to relax and unwind. Or we feel lonely or bored, so we use food to give us something to do, for company and also to give us a little chemical high which temporarily makes the feelings go away. Often we find ourselves eating food we don’t want or need, for reasons we don’t understand. Food does help us cope with overwhelming and difficult times. It’s very grounding! It helps us control difficult feelings. However these feelings don’t go away and over time we need more and more food to give us comfort. Eventually we get in a habit of eating too much or eating the unhealthy foods for a quick fix. Then we feel bad about being overweight so we use food to suppress those feelings too. Eating becomes mindless. Some people eat for any powerful feeling they have, whether it is happy or sad, excited, disappointed or bored. All of this happens so fast, we are not even aware of it. The good news is that all this behaviour is learnt, and if it is learnt, it can be unlearnt too. The first step to change is to slow down and become mindful about what we are doing and why. When we slow down we can check:
When we eat slowly, we get to taste the food and notice how our body responds to it. We notice if it’s what the body really wants. We notice when we are full and when to stop eating. Its very different than being on auto pilot – rushing home, having a snack as fast as possible, throwing dinner together, eating fast in front of TV totally unaware of what we have eaten. If you would like to learn more about Weight Loss and Emotional Intelligence I am running a 12 week course starting 4th August. Click here for further information.  Self doubt comes to us when we have a conflict about something we wish to do. Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D in Psychology Today says there are two common reasons people do not do what they would like to do: “I’m not good enough” and “I can’t succeed” (or “will fail”). To release this fear we can look at our indecision on a practical, logical level. So here are some suggestions for you. Start with yourself first - get yourself in balance so that you have a clear head before you commit to the project. Self doubt starts when we have an inner conflict around our values and beliefs: At times we find ourselves divided between several contradictory propositions. Here is a simple technique to help you solve the conflict: 1. Find the part of you that doesn't want you to go ahead with the project and imagine it is in your left hand 2. Find the part of you that does want to go ahead with the project and imagine it is in your right hand 3. Look at your left hand - the part of you that doesn't want you to go ahead - and ask "what is your purpose?". When you have an answer ask "what is more important than that" and ask again... until you get to your highest positive intention
Looking in the right places can give us a clear answer as to whether we are well prepared and able to effectively do what we want to do. Take your time and find out where to look, what to look for and then see if it all stacks up. If you decide not to go ahead with your project, this could be a good preparation and confidence building for an even better one.
Now you are ready to go ahead with your project you might want to apply a method called "Scaffolding" to help you whilst you start out. It is a system where you create for yourself support (scaffold) you while you are learning to be in a new space/new project. After all, if you were learning to ride a bike you might first have trainer wheels until you get used to the feel of it, and then someone might run beside you and hold you while you find your balance. Finally, after a wobbly start, you get to ride it for yourself. On a business level you might have the following people as part of your team: a) An accountant to advise you on financial matters and who can help you with your bank b) A business mentor who is familiar with the area you are working in c) A positive friend and cheerleader who is also in a business. This kind of scaffolding holds you up with all the challenges that goes with something new, but is also something you can take down when you no longer need it. What's Coming Up: Clairvoyant, Crystal Healing, Pilates, Deep Sound Meditation, Mindfulness Classes24/6/2016 Crystal Healing Course with Elayne Lane 30th July click here for details
Diana Whittaker - Clairvoyant Medium at The Riverside Community Hall, Lower Moutere on Sunday 26 June. Soup is served at 6 30 and the show starts at 7pm. This is a fund raising event to help Sue Waters have an operation in America (she cannot have it in NZ) Tickets are $35 each ($20 goes to Sue Water's givealittle page and $15 to Diana). Tickets available at Whitwells Menswear Motueka,or Sue Waters 0278102377, or Tina 0211305051 Chi Kung classes with Lyndy Wilkinson Friday afternoons at 1.30. Contact Lyndy here Pilate classes with Gabrielle Huygens Friday at 9.30 and Thursday 5.30. Contact Gabrielle here Deep Sound Meditation with Tibetan Bowls with Franceska Francina Wednesday 22nd June at 8. Contact Franceska here Mindfulness classes and retreats with Jamila Knopp. Contact Jamilahere |
AuthorElayne Lane is an instructor of the Universal Healing Tao. She has been teaching and doing bodywork in excess of 14 years. Make an appointment Subscribe to our Healing NewsletterCategories
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Elayne Lane is a qualified Aromatherapist, bodyworker, healer, reiki practitioner and trained teacher. She is training as a hypnotherapist.
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Elayne Lane
17 Fifeshire Crescent Stepneyville Nelson New Zealand Cellphone: 0212211949 Sign up for Elayne's Healing Newsletter or contact Elayne. |