Eating with Awareness: Bringing Zen Wisdom & Compassion to Emotional Eating Habits (March/GGF)

Eating with Awareness: Bringing Zen Wisdom & Compassion to Emotional Eating Habits
Sunday, March 11 1pm - 5pm with Liên Shutt and Michelle Cleere Applying Zen Wisdom and Compassion practices to our emotional eating habits for better awareness, understanding, and effective change. It is often said that it take the practices of the “two wings” of Zen to really be able to know the flight of true freedom from our conditioned habits. This workshop will use the wings of Wisdom and Compassion along with psychological approaches as we travel the territory of Emotional Eating. What are the roots of Emotional Eating? How can I bring more awareness to what and how I eat? How is it that I can change my eating habits now when I haven’t been able to before? We will use psychological exercises to learn and understand intellectually and emotionally the impetuses behind our eating habits. With Zen practices, we learn to become more aware of the actual bodily sensations of our thoughts and feelings. What do emotions such as “anxiety,” “shame,” “peace,” or “well-being” really feel like? Zen meditation helps us to know where we are and what we are doing. When we bring awareness practices to our behavior - especially to those unconscious destructive behaviors - not only is it possible for us to become more aware of them in a nonjudgmental manner but it is also possible to be able to see where and how it is that we can place our effort most wisely, for the best result. During this half-day retreat we will use meditation, dharmic teachings, writing exercises, small group discussions, and other tools which support behavior change to better understand and adjust our eating habits for better health and well-being. Pre-registration is required. Related Bio(s):
Keiryu Liên Shutt Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt, LCSW, was ordained in 2005 with Zenkei Blanche Hartman. Born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam, she began her meditation practice in the Insight tradition of Spirit Rock. She is a founding member of the Buddhists of Color, founded in 1998. Her Soto Zen training began at San Francisco Zen Center's monastery at Tassajara where she lived from 2002-2006, after which she practiced monastically for a year in the Soto Zen traditions at Hosshinji in Obama, Japan, and in the Truc Lam/Bamboo Forest Zen tradition in Da Lat, Vietnam. While she has placed her trust and faith in Zen, she continues to enjoy the deep silence of Insight practices, so has completed silent retreats in America and in Thailand.
Dr. Michelle Cleere, PhD Dr. Michelle Cleere, PhD, is a psychotherapist who specializes in breaking emotional patterns that hold people from achieving their physical goals; whether the motivation is to get healthier (weight & exercise), beat the competition (athletes), or maneuver through life’s transitions. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology and an MA in Sports Psychology, Dr. Michelle is one of the leading experts in exercise and sports psychology. She serves on the faculty of JFK University, works with Doctor Oz and has written for Triathlete Magazine and the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Member Discount
Current Zen Center members receive a 10% discount. For more information about membership, visit  the  membership section of our web site  or email  membership@sfzc.org .
Zen Center Resident Discounts
Current San Francisco Zen Center residents attend at a discount.
To inquire, please email the Green Gulch Farm Front Office at  ggfoffice@sfzc.org  or call them at 415.383.3134 during office hours: 9:30am - 12:30pm and 1:30pm - 4:00pm each day.
More Information
For help completing registration, please call 888-743-9362 (toll free) or 415-475-9362
Cancellation Policy
For more information,  please visit the  San Francisco Zen Center web site  or call:
888-743-9362 (toll free) or
415-475-9362 during the hours:
M-F: 8am to 5pm Sat: 9:30am to 3pm Closed for lunch 12:30 to 1:30pm (each day)
Feedback
This Fall, we're adding online registration for many events at Green Gulch Farm. This is an extended trial, and we'd like to hear from you. How well is it working and how we might improve it? Please let us know what you think!  
For comments and suggestions, please email  eventadmin@sfzc.org