Intuitive Eating

Katherine Leander
Aug 4
2 min read

Updated: Aug 13

There’s a moment — just before the first bite — when the body whispers. Not in calories or macros, but in sensation. A flutter in the belly. A longing for warmth. A memory of peaches in summer.

This is where intuitive eating begins.

Not with rules, but with reverence.

In my upcoming workshop, we discuss how not to fix our eating habits, but to relearn the language of the body. Begin with a grounding practice — feet bare, breath slow — inviting participants to feel into their hunger not as a problem, but as a messenger. Hunger as a pulse. Embodiment & Somatic Check-in Somatic Check-Ins: Pause and ask yourself, Where do I feel hunger? Is it in my throat, my belly, my heart? Hunger can show up as tension, fatigue, even restlessness — and that naming it brings clarity.

Sensory Mapping: Using guided imagery, explore textures, temperatures, and emotional tones of different foods. For example, craving can be “something warm and grounding, like roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon,” or longing can be “something crisp and alive, like cucumber with lemon.”
Reframing the Inner Critic: Name the voices that hijack our eating — the nutritionist, the rebel, the perfectionist — offer them compassion. Through journaling and movement, we can practice replacing judgment with curiosity: What am I truly hungry for?
Pleasure as Information: Invited pleasure back to the table. Not as indulgence, but as a compass. It's about slowing down — chewing with presence, savoring with breath — transformed even simple meals into rituals of care.
Embodied Eating Ritual: (Preferably with a family member, furry friend or real one) share a mindful bite together. Eyes closed. Breath steady. One bite, held with reverence. A moment of communion with the body’s wisdom.