Has it ever occurred to you to STOP when you have a food craving, take a moment and ASK yourself, "If I wasn't going to fill this craving with food what else might I need right now?"

There was a time in my life when it wouldn't even occur to me to stop and ask. I was on automatic. All I could remember were three moments:

1. Darshana leaving work
2. Walking in the house and spotting Mr. Cereal on top of the fridge.
3. Sitting at my kitchen table with an empty box of Mr. Cereal.

What happened in between? Good question.

Vaguely I remember the feelings of joy as I would walk home from the subway. I was soon to be in the embrace of Mr. Cereal. Mr. Cereal was dependable and always there fore me. What an awesome relationship!

But then the screen would go blank. It was only AFTER Mr. Cereal was empty that I would "wake up".

It was confusing. I was eating a well-balanced whole foods diet, had a career that I loved and had many friends but Mr. Cereal and I were going steady and I couldn't figure out why.

There were two distinctions I had to learn:
Primary Food & The Inquiry.

The first distinction:
Know the difference between primary food and the food you eat.

Food you eat provides nutrients for the body. Like gas in the car.
Primary foods are the nutrients that we receive from relationships, exercise, spirituality, career and much more.

The second distinction:
Establish the ability to be in THE QUESTION or as I like to put it WHAT'S THE INQUIRY?

When working with clients I find that many of them are looking for the solution.
I say start with the question. The answers will come when you know the question(s) to ask. And the other cool thing is that the answer might not be what you expected.

So the first thing I did was realize that I was using Mr. Cereal to fill my need for primary food. (The primary partnership that had just ended). Now that might seem logical. Many of us KNOW that we are eating because other things in our lives might not be the way we want them but we don't know HOW to go to the next step.

My process, come up with a question.

The first one I came up with was, Why am I doing this?
Honestly, that got me no where.
Then I dug a bit deeper. What was I looking for?

That question struck a deeper cord. I would stand in my kitchen right before I reached the cereal and ask the question. Now instead of eating the entire box of cereal I would stop ½ way through the box. I remember the first time I stopped ½ way. I was sitting at my kitchen table in Brooklyn and I saw the box of cereal and the bowl still full. I was actually in shock. Were me and Mr. Cereal starting to get "real" with each other? I called my friend Alice and exclaimed, I just stopped eating Mr. Cereal ½ way through the box! I cried on the phone with her.

The next day a new question came to me.
What was Mr. Cereal providing me?

WHAT WAS MR. CEREAL PROVIDING?

I don't know about you but even as I write this article I feel the impulse to pull away. I don't really want to look at that question. It makes me uncomfortable. It's somehow easier to just spend time with Mr. Cereal and numb out then actually sit in the presence of feelings.

Mr. Cereal was the primary relationship in my life. We were close, we were intimate, we spent all our time together after work. We were committed to each other and it was a relationship that wasn't working. I was gaining weight, isolating myself and actually pretty unhappy.
It was time to break up.

Believe me it wasn't easy. I cried a lot and retracted back into my patterns of needing to be with him after work even though I knew it was not a healthy place to be.

I knew that I needed to continue to eat a well balanced diet. Eating well supported me. When I chose to reach for a food that didn't serve me I knew there was a question that wanted to be asked.

Sometimes I knew the question and sometimes I didn't. So I cried, reached out for support, or did something other than go home after work and spend time with Mr. Cereal. Magic: when I did that, a new question appeared.

Each question brought me deeper into my wants, desires, interests and joy.

It's funny each time I see a box of cereal I get excited. I remember the fond memories of our times together. But now I know that there are better, healthier relationships that feed me in more ways that I could have imagined. As long as I know the difference between the food I eat and primary food and keep asking the questions rather than look for the answers, I know my life, my body and my health are great!

What's your next question?

These events are not on the calendar on the website yet but I wanted to let you know about them.

Seasonal Fall 7 day Cleanse
September 22 nd and September 29 th, 2007 at Yoga Tree in San Francisco. This cleanse can be done virtually as well.

Women and Wellness: Treat PMS Naturally
September 30, 2007 at Yoga Tree in San Francisco.

FAM WORKSHOP:Fertility Awareness Method workshop
Date: TBA ( Fall 2007)

Yoga for Body Image
November 10, 2007 at Yoga Tree in San Francisco

Sugar can be medicine
November 11, 2007 at Yoga Tree in San Francisco

Stay tuned for new workshops in the Santa Cruz area.
If you would like Darshana to come to your town or city and teach contact her at darshana@fruitionhealth.com

In the meantime why not check out ….

THE FWH LOCAL, LONG DISTANCE AND GROUP PROGRAMS

Do you know "what" to do to become healthy but don't know "how" to make it happen?

If that's the case, no worries! Go to http://www.fruitionhealth.com/contactus.html or call us at 415 552 8344 to schedule your free health consultation. During the session we will review your health history in detail and discuss your goals. Then we will work together to design a program that focuses on your specific health concerns.

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