Engage in Compassionate Inquiry

In an age of overwhelm, many of us are trying to feed hungers we have never learned to name. We turn to food for comfort, pleasure, reward, relief, stimulation, or a break from relentless responsibility—and then blame ourselves for lacking discipline. But what if emotional eating is not a failure of self-control? What if it is an intelligent, imperfect attempt to care for ourselves?

Join author, registered dietitian, and meditation teacher Jenna Hollenstein for a compassionate inquiry into what your hunger may be asking for. You may be hungry for food—and also for rest, reassurance, belonging, solitude, pleasure, freedom, sensuality, completion, creativity, justice, or a greater sense of aliveness. Some hungers can be fed. Some require sustained tending. Others ask to be acknowledged and grieved because what we long for cannot be completely recovered, repaired, or received.

Through mindfulness practice, embodied inquiry, individual reflection, paired exploration, and supportive group conversation, you will:

• Understand emotional eating as meaningful communication rather than personal failure.
• Explore how food restriction, inadequate or unsatisfying meals, and good-or-bad thinking can intensify hunger and food preoccupation.
• Identify the physical, emotional, relational, sensual, creative, and spiritual hungers active in your life.
• Discover what eating provides in particular moments without making food the enemy.
• Work compassionately with conflicting needs, such as connection and solitude, excitement and peace, or freedom and security.
• Explore what it means to feed what is available, tend what takes time, and grieve what cannot be fully restored.

Return home with a more compassionate understanding of emotional eating, a clearer sense of what you are truly hungry for, and a grounded practice for responding with greater precision, permission, and care.

NOTE: No previous experience with meditation or intuitive eating is required.

NOTE: This educational program is not a substitute for individualized medical, nutritional, or psychiatric care. If you have an active eating disorder, significant trauma symptoms, or other concerns, please consult an appropriate healthcare provider before registering.