Awakened Body

02/01/2025

Ever wonder why it’s so hard sticking to your New Year’s Resolution to exercise more and “eat better”? It’s actually not somatically aligned with our bodies in the winter to have the desire to move more and eat “lighter.” Check out my conversation with my colleague and teacher, Galina Denzel, on this very topic!

Join Galina Denzel, SEP and somatic dietitian Shannon Buescher, SEP in this insightful conversation about the role of the nervous system in shaping our rela...

12/12/2024

What an honor and joy to be a guest on The Kindred and Brave Project podcast. I always love talking about how the blend of intuitive eating and somatic work can bring so much healing.
This podcast focuses on grief. I am no stranger to this with losing my dad at 9 and more recently, my brother in law several years ago. I share my journey as a young woman and my struggle with disordered eating and body image and how this related to my unprocessed grief with my dad. My biggest hope is help women release the shame of why they engage the behaviors they do. The body is brilliant at protecting us when we don’t feel safe, especially when we are young. The healing comes when we find the agency inside of us to find capacity and tolerance of those hard feelings we’ve been running from, stuffing down, starving, drowning with alcohol or escaping in a high. I hope you can find some resonance in what I share, or if you know someone who would, please pass along. Women supporting women is one of the best gifts we can give.❤️

Podcast Episode · The Kindred & Brave Project · 12/10/2024 · 1h 1m

10/20/2024

Homecoming for Lucy last night!

03/19/2024

I had the honor to sit down with my teacher and colleague, Galina Ivanova Denzel last month to talk about my transition to a somatic dietitian. Here is what Galina had to say and our conversation:

If you had told me years ago that a somatic dietitian exists, I would be on the first plane to go meet them live and say thank you!

Thank you for putting food and eating behaviors and the body in one room! Thank you for seeing that I am more than how I eat! Thank you for acknowledging that my body is not a problem to be solved, but a solution to be discovered!

Today I share with you Shannon's story!

She is a graduate of my program, a Somatic Experiencing colleague and an exceptional and devoted professional who I am proud to know and love!

Tune in and discover:

* How Shannon integrates somatic healing with being a dietitian and intuitive eating practitioner

* Where trauma, intuitive eating and somatic work intersect

* How being a part of Galina's small group provided profound healing and support and what were the really crucial elements of transformation for Shannon's - both personally and professionally

* Shannon's guidance and words of wisdom for those of you considering somatic healing as a way to resolve your life long struggle with food

You can connect with Shannon at www.awakened-body.com

Thank you dear Shannon, for your generous sharing with our community and all your work in the world!

https://youtu.be/q2vlikD3Mvk

Galina + Shannon

12/12/2023

When you think about your food environments do they allow your body to soften, find ease, and rest? Or do they keep you on edge, hypervigilant and uneasy? There’s a palpable difference.
For many people who struggle with their relationship with food, sitting down to eat can bring a lot of worry and anxiety. For some, it feels like an actual threat. “Is this ok?” “Is this too much?” “What’s in this?” “If I eat this, will this make me gain weight?”
Softness speaks to an ease within. Feeling relaxed, curious, and open. This is what I hope my clients can find. The key is connecting to the body. It’s the noticing. Can you feel the difference between the times you feel softness versus survival? Even outside your food relationship?

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can stop feeling threatened by food, find softness in your body, and curiosity about a new relationship with yourself, check out my online somatic intuitive eating group, starting January 12th. DM me with any questions.

https://awakened-body.com/five-foundations-to-heal-your-relationship-with-food-and-your-body/

12/07/2023

❤️❤️

Today I asked my body what she needed,
Which is a big deal
Considering my journey of
Not Really Asking That Much.

I thought she might need more water.
Or protein.
Or greens.
Or yoga.
Or supplements.
Or movement.

But as I stood in the shower
Reflecting on her stretch marks,
Her roundness where I would like flatness,
Her softness where I would like firmness,
All those conditioned wishes
That form a bundle of
Never-Quite-Right-Ness,
She whispered very gently:

Could you just love me like this?

Author: Hollie Holden

11/20/2023

Thank you Images by Sandra for my new pictures! I can’t wait to get these on my website! Sandy specializes in branding sessions and I love how she captured the softness and warmth I bring into my work and my sessions with clients.
This next chapter has been unfolding for me for a while, but it feels momentous to capture being a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, in addition to an intuitive eating dietitian. There are not many of us out there, and I’m proud to be able to offer a unique skill set to help people heal their relationship with food and their bodies.

11/18/2023

These last three years I’ve been gathering information. Formulating how I can share the somatic work I’ve been experiencing and learning, in conjunction with intuitive eating outside the walls of my office. I can’t begin to tell you how much the somatic work, the listening to the body and connecting what the body has experienced and how it shows up with food and exercise behaviors, has changed how I work.
This winter, I am offering an online group that will teach you somatic tools, while using intuitive eating to help you find a more peaceful relationship with food and your body.
This group will run for four months. Each month I will cover one or two of the five foundations for healing your relationship with food and body that I created. The five foundations are: witnessing the wounds of diet culture (the physical, psychological, and emotional trauma of dieting), reconnect to your signals (hunger, fullness, satiation), the gift of permission (allowing yourself to eat what you want with intention), feel your emotions (emotional eating), and finding forgiveness (softening and repairing your relationship with self).
You do not have to commit to all four months, but I can share that these all intertwine together. If you have any questions or want to find out if this would be a good fit for you, my contact information is listed below!
If you’re done with setting the New Years resolution to lose weight, and want to really explore your relationship with food and why you keep doing what you do, this IS your group!

11/14/2023

The holiday season is here! For anyone who struggles with food, these next six weeks may bring more than just tidings and cheer. They may bring anxiety and fear.
I wrote this little guide to the holidays several years ago. If Thanksgiving food makes you anxious, this week, practice “The gift of permission.” This is one of the foundations of healing your relationship with food.
The Thanksgiving table may be full of some heavy hitters that you may be fearful of. Can you pick one item that has the least amount of “charge” and make it this week/weekend? Practice eating it in a calm environment. No screens, no distractions, just you and your food. Really take time to taste and notice the flavors and texture. Notice how your body feels before you eat it and as you’re eating it. Take time to pause, maybe bring a hand to your heart, to your stomach. Feel your feet on the floor, your seat and back on the chair.
Part of this work is to help you be IN your body as you eat the food. When you have a food you deprive yourself of and then allow it without being in your body, you’ll likely go into f*ck it mode. You’re totally disconnected from your body and eat to a point where you are so full, that you spiral into shame.
Practicing before the big day can be helpful as you may be around people who trigger you, or feel overwhelmed. Know that all of this is a process. Even if you do overeat or eat in a way that you wish was different on the day, it’s okay. The food relationship is so multi-layered. And you may be looking at some of the faces at your Thanksgiving Day table that had a hand in that. Stay kind with yourself. 🧡

https://f2q2f3.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/An-Intuitive-Eaters-Guide-to-the-Holidays.pdf

What food makes you the most anxious at Thanksgiving?

10/31/2023

👇

10/26/2023

Yesterday was a big day! I completed my last Somatic Experiencing Practitioner training. AND graduated!! I’m officially a SEP!
It’s been a long three years of trauma school. I have had the honor to walk alongside some of the most amazing people, growing and healing together.
I could not have done any of these long weekends without the support of my amazing husband. Having to juggle four kids solo on two Father’s Days, a birthday, Halloween, sickness, sports lot! I am so much stronger leaning into the support I have, and I’m lucky my number one is him.
And I’m excited to be a part of a group of practitioners that look at things through a different lens. I am hands down the best dietitian I have ever been with looking at things through the lens of the central nervous system. Combining intuitive eating and somatic experiencing allows me to help my clients find the ‘why’ behind the behaviors they are doing with food, dieting, exercise, and all the varying degrees that can fall into these. It’s been a game changer and I’m excited to see where it will lead me!!

10/17/2023

I am so grateful to Robin Miller Brecker and Karen Loenser for the opportunity to talk about my work as a Somatic Intuitive Eating Dietitian on their podcast, Seeking Center.
My work is unique in that I am helping people heal from diet culture and foster a healthy relationship with food and body with the tools of Intuitive Eating and Somatic Experiencing. In this episode, you’ll get to hear how I combine these two modalities, and why the somatic piece has been the game changer in my practice.
I also want to add a heartfelt thank you to Galina Denzel. You have been instrumental in helping me connect somatic experiencing and food together. I am so fortunate to have you as a teacher and colleague. I am a more healed human and better practitioner because of the gifts that you have shared with me. ❤️

To listen:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__seeking.buzzsprout.com_1245392_13790660-2Da-2Dlife-2Dchanging-2Dconversation-2Dfood-2Dbody-2Dimage-2Dthe-2Dimpact-2Dof-2Dtrauma-2Ddiet-2Dculture-2Depisode-2D84&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=osQuy7Lnud55neKwVEpbpwxRA27kdk363M2aiI7rBDw&m=XFVeWNKQAN_lLfq9cWN4PH20KX_GF9tLexhCZGsJnF4ouxEtYNWrlbjKVBwap6HM&s=pJqOWSx9tpQVBEkp1nYk-FbJOdvwjhG_NysxBuB_dfc&e=

Or

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__podcasts.apple.com_us_podcast_seeking-2Dcenter-2Dthe-2Dpodcast_id1526022844-3Fi-3D1000631554305&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=osQuy7Lnud55neKwVEpbpwxRA27kdk363M2aiI7rBDw&m=XFVeWNKQAN_lLfq9cWN4PH20KX_GF9tLexhCZGsJnF4ouxEtYNWrlbjKVBwap6HM&s=3Toc7nzOyua19l9rtek8aiU6SqT1NF_rQonRydNuS0k&e=