Monika Saigal RD & ms nutrition

Home
United States
New York, NY
Monika Saigal RD & ms nutrition

I specialize in dance nutrition & the prevention and treatment of eating disorders/disordered eating.

I'm passionate about building a better dance world and helping individuals develop nourishing and peaceful relationships with food & their body 🩰❤️🌱

09/23/2025

It’s Weight Stigma Awareness Week - Understanding it is the first step to ending it.

Weight stigma refers to weight-based discrimination and stereotyping. It is the result of weight bias –negative beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions related to body weight and size.

Why it matters: Weight stigma is prevalent in our society and in dance and can harm dancers’ health, affect their livelihood, and impact the quality of health care they receive.

Ways weight stigma shows up:

Telling a dancer to reduce food intake and/or exercise more based on their body size (without considering they may be undereating, over-exercising, or might have an eating disorder).

Only flagging dancers with low weights for concerns about under-fueling or disordered eating.

Dismissing concerns about missed periods because a dancer’s weight is “normal.”

Body shaming

Praising weight loss

Using “fat” as a negative descriptor or insult

Want to learn more so you can help end weight stigma? Check out these resources:

➡️WeightStigmaAwarenessWeek.org

➡️allianceforeatingdisorders.com

➡️My book, Nourishing Dance (link in bio)

09/08/2025

✨SF trip highlights✨

🌟Always thankful for opportunities to collaborate with Sasha Gorrell - this time speaking with the staff about Creating a Culture of Mental & Physical Wellness 🧠💪🏻

🌟Had an awesome time presenting a Head to Pointe® Nutrition Workshop to these lovely dancers (+ 2 more great groups that I forgot to take pics with!) 🍏

🌟My first time visiting the beautiful spaces. Thanks for the tour, conversation, and lunch 🌮

🌟A long-awaited in-person SFBS/SFB Wellness meet-up. Loved this hang with & Bridget Whitlow 😊

🌟Tia and sobrina bonding time (adorable sobrino not pictured) 💗

🌟The prize at the end of the hike 😍

09/05/2025

If you don’t have a copy of Nourishing Dance yet, NOW is the perfect time to get your hands on this indispensable resource to help dancers flourish on and off the stage! The publisher Routledge is offering a 🌟25% off discount🌟 through September (use code Nourishingdance25) and it’s also currently on sale on Amazon!

Head to nourishingdance.com (link in bio) for more info and links to purchase 🩰🌎❤️🌱

08/20/2025

What a fab way to kick off this fall season of nutrition & wellness workshops!! I LOVED speaking with this awesome group of dancers yesterday! We covered A LOT in this session including

🥪How to stay well-fueled and hydrated during busy dance days

🕛How to use meal timing to support performance and recovery

🍽️Why under-fueling is so common in dancers (and strategies to prevent it)

💓Building better body image

🤗The part we all play in creating more supportive dance spaces.

Big thanks to for having me and to all the wonderful dancers who attended 🙏🏻I loved your energy, enthusiasm, and great questions. Wishing you the very best semester ✨

08/18/2025

As the fall dance semester/season kicks off, it feels like a good time to share these gentle reminders. We all have a role to play in creating more positive and nurturing dance environments.

Will you take the pledge? 🩰🌎❤️🌱

08/11/2025

Last week I wrapped up a busy summer of nutrition and wellness workshops and am so grateful for all the opportunities I had to do this work that I am so passionate about 💗

I loved working with summer intensive dancers at and over the last few weeks and with dance educators and dance health providers in the Bridging the Gap course with and Mid-Atlantic Dance Educators Summit earlier this summer 🩰🌎❤️🌱

As summer winds down (bring on the fall weather 🍂), I’m thankful I got to squeeze in a bit of rest and recovery this weekend in the beautiful NY Catskills 🌳🌻. Don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s not until I actually stop to take a breath that I realize how badly I needed it. A bit of nature, extra sleep, and clean air helped me recharge (I kept saying “It smells so good here” - words never uttered in the summer in NYC…iykyk 😅).

Now on to prepping for an even busier fall season full of events I’m really excited about…starting next week with a workshop for . See you soon dancers!!

How are you spending your last days of summer?

07/07/2025

This quote from my friend and colleague, the wonderful Josh Spell, opens Chapter 9 in Nourishing Dance (you’ll find Josh’s wisdom sprinkled throughout the book✨). This final chapter of the book covers important aspects of “Whole Dancer Health” including sleep, rest, managing perfectionism, mindset, dance/life balance, and coping tools.

I chose to focus on these particular topics because they affect how dancers nourish and care for themselves; dancers’ relationship with food and their body; and health, well-being, and performance. I also wanted to highlight that nurturing and supporting dancers’ health requires considering the whole dancer—mind, body, and spirit.

Want to learn more? Order your copy of Nourishing Dance! Links in bio 🩰🌎❤️🌱

06/25/2025

I cannot believe it has been one whole year since Nourishing Dance came out! Writing this book is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my professional life and is one of my proudest accomplishments.

If you know me, you know how passionate I am about making the dance world a healthier and safer place for dancers, and I’ve been working on this mission for many years. My goal in writing Nourishing Dance was to create a resource that is an expansion of and complement to the work I’ve been doing in dance and to get the information out to a much wider audience in an accessible way. I really do believe that together, we can create a better dance world.

One of my greatest joys in the past year has been seeing pictures you’ve shared of my book out in the world and hearing feedback from readers. Help me wish Nourishing Dance a Happy 1st Birthday by posting a pic of you with your copy or sharing your thoughts about the book. And if you don’t have a copy yet, order one today! Links in bio 🩰🌎❤️🌱

06/24/2025

Dance and diet culture can make it challenging to have a positive or even neutral body image as a dancer. There’s lots I’d like to see change (and am working hard to change) in the dance world to better support dancers in having a healthy relationship with their body. And I also think it’s important to help dancers in their current reality.

There are several research-based practices that can help dancers feel better in and about their body (and surprise!, they don’t include dieting or weight loss). I love framing these as “practices” because, like any important relationship, building a healthy relationship with your body takes work and practice (especially given all the messages and forces that contribute to a fraught relationship with your body).

Want to learn more? Ch. 8 in Nourishing Dance is dedicated to “Nourishing Balanced and Resilient Body Image in Dancers” Link in bio to learn more and order your copy 🩰🌎❤️🌱

06/13/2025

Dance educator and dance medicine friends - This workshop is happening tomorrow (10am-1pm ET) ❗We still have a few spots left. Hope you'll join us for this interactive virtual session packed with essential info to help you better support the health and well-being of dancers 🩰🌎❤️🌱 Can't attend live? The recording will be available for 2 weeks after the session. More info and link to register in comments.

06/03/2025

Yesterday, June 2nd, was World Eating Disorders Action Day - a day dedicated to increasing awareness and inspiring change (which fittingly, given the focus of my career, is also my birthday 😊). I’m a day late in this post, but as far as I’m concerned, every day should be eating disorders action day.

Eating disorders remain much too common among dancers. These complex, life-threatening illnesses can impact every organ system in the body and every aspect of a dancer’s life. Eating disorders are not a choice, but they are preventable and treatable. Sadly, MOST individuals with eating disorders do not get the help they need, but TOGETHER, we can change this.

Lack of understanding about these conditions as well as stereotypes, myths, biases, and stigma are significant barriers to early recognition and timely treatment. Not everyone has to be a specialist in treating eating disorders, but EVERYONE who trains and cares for dancers has a responsibility to:

✅Be able to recognize warning signs & symptoms

✅Refer to specialists when needed

✅Evaluate and shift your language & practices to help create a more protective & supportive environment

Here are some action steps you can take today to learn more about these serious conditions & be a part of creating positive change (links in bio):

💻Register for my virtual course on June 14th with Bridging the Gap: Essential Education and Strategies to Support Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery

📖Order, read, share my book Nourishing Dance: An Essential Guide on Nutrition, Body Image, and Eating Disorders (Hint: My resource list with recommended books, websites, organizations, & tools is available as part of the “Read Sample” feature on Amazon)

🍏Book a Head to Pointe® Workshop for your dancers, teachers, staff, and/or parents

✨Check out, and if you have the means consider donating to, organizations doing great work like

05/29/2025

For my 📗 Nourishing Dance, I interviewed several dancers from different dance genres and at different stages in their professional careers. This quote is from a female modern dancer in response to my questions:

What would you tell the younger you about body image? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

🌟The value of body acceptance and celebrating your own unique qualities🌟 was a theme present in most of the dancers' responses.

Let me know in the comments 👇🏻what you would tell the younger you? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

And if you want to learn more about helping dancers build more balanced and resilient body image, check out Nourishing Dance (Ch. 8 is dedicated to this topic) 🩰🌎❤️🌱

Address

39 West 32nd Street
New York, NY
10001

Telephone

+19175664699

Website

https://nourishingdance.com/, https://msnutrition.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Monika Saigal RD & ms nutrition posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Monika Saigal RD & ms nutrition:

Shortcuts

Featured

Magnus Wellness
16 E 40th Street, Fl 4

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in New York?

About Us

Monika Saigal, MS, RD, CEDRD-S, CDN is the founder of ms nutrition, PC, a New York City based nutrition counseling and consulting practice that specializes in: eating disorders/disordered eating, nutrition for dancers & performing artists, and a non-diet approach to health and wellness. We love helping clients Learn to Nourish so you can Live to Flourish!