Trust your body... sounds good, but what about when you crave donuts? Chocolate? Potato chips? Hundreds of diet books tell us, "eat this" and "don't eat that", imposing an external authority onto our bodies. The message is that we cannot trust ourselves.

But it is a false message. The Yoga of Eating explains how to recognize authentic body appetites, to distinguish them from cravings, and ultimately how to liberate ourselves from the regime of willpower. For example, that craving for donuts -- is that a true appetite, or perhaps a substitute for what we really need? Food in our culture serves many needs, whether for nutrition, comfort, excitement, camaraderie, or diversion. Unable to meet the real need at its source, we substitute food. Have you ever found yourself eating when you are not really hungry?

There is a way out. Health and fitness need not be a constant inner battle. And not only health, but joy and even spirituality can come from trusting ourselves more, from listening to our responses to food without dogma or judgment. This book will equip you with concepts and techniques to cultivate sensitivity and trust in the area of food. It may end up changing your diet radically and permanently. Or it may end up empowering your present diet with an inner authority not found in any book. Either way, I'm happy to share the principles and practical methods that many people have found so useful in navigating the confusing and contradictory jungle of dietary advice on the market today.

Also, because our natural appetites reflect our state of being, self-trust brings us to a diet that expresses who we are in the world. Foods, then, have a psychological or spiritual dimension that enables us to better understand who we are. The Yoga of Eating explores diet as a path of self-discovery.

The Table of Contents below will give you a better idea of the scope of this book. I also make it a practice to respond to all reader feedback -- I am interested to know how it works for you -- so feel free to contact me by email.

Table of Contents

• The Fallacy of Willpower (read on-line)
• Body and Soul
• Birth and Nurturance
• Food and Personality
• The Karma of Food
• The Natural Breath
• The Central Practice
• Making it Practical
• Discovering the Right Diet
• Distinguishing Appetites from Cravings
• Loving the Body, Loving the Self (read on-line)
• Fasting
• Dieting and Self-Acceptance
• Fat and the Good
• Meat and the Life of the Flesh
• Sugar's Sweetness
• The Yoga of Drinking
• Supplements
• Processing
• The Yoga of Cooking
• Food is only Food
• Health and the Quest for Wholeness
• Relaxing into Change
• The Illness Seeks the Medicine(read on-line)
• The Ethics of Eating Meat: A Radical View