Our Philosophy: A Holistic Approach to Nutrition & Wellness
At the Institute for The Psychology of Eating, our philosophy begins with holistic nutrition. We teach that what we eat is only half the story of good nutrition. The other half of the story is who we are as eaters. That is, our nutritional metabolism is profoundly affected by our thoughts, feelings and beliefs. It’s directly impacted by our level of stress or relaxation during meals. It’s elevated by the amount of pleasure we receive with eating. It’s energized when we have compassion for our fears about weight and body image. And finally, our metabolism is enlivened when we experience a healthy relationship with the Earth, and with our inner spiritual life.
Food and Nutrition as Doorway
Most of us have been taught that good nutrition is about getting the right vitamins and minerals, enough protein, and the right amounts of fat and carbohydrates. Some foods are bad for you, while others are clearly the “good guys.” And all this is certainly true, yet is woefully inadequate in describing the fullness of our nutritional reality. It’s not always enough to tell someone what to eat or how much to exercise and expect instant and magical results. We are much more complex, more interesting, and more deep.
At the Institute, we see food and nutrition as a doorway into our personal world. We recognize that our challenges with food, weight, body image and health are not merely about faulty chemistry, but are linked to concerns around career, money, family, relationships, sexuality, our personal history, as well as our hopes, dreams and fears.
Uniting the Psychology of Eating with the Science of Nutrition
And this is what makes the Institute so unique: our focus is on the rich and ever-changing relationship that each person has with food and body – what we call Dynamic Eating Psychology. And, instead of teaching traditional food science, we have pioneered an understanding of the missing dimension of eating and metabolism that we call Mind Body Nutrition.
The skills that you’ll learn in these new fields deliver results, and will enable you to help inspire others to a new level of health, energy, and freedom.
Simply put, our mission is to re-unite the Psychology of Eating with the Science of Nutrition. We believe in the powerful connection between our inner world and our nutritional health. The Institute is eclectic and inclusive. We present the best tools and techniques in the fields of psychology and personal growth that are most relevant and produce results. These include coaching and counseling models, cognitive approaches, body centered practices, spiritual psychology, archetypal psychology and others. At the same time, The Institute is firmly grounded in the best of clinical and scientific nutrition, complimentary and alternative medicine, and the mind-body sciences. And underlying all of our work, the Institute calls upon and draws inspiration from timeless wisdom teachings such as Buddhism, Yoga, mythology and shamanic traditions.
