Nutrition & Healthcare

Biography

Biography: Bronwen de Klerk

Abstract

Whilst advancement in nutrition sciences has helped many people to overcome illness and disease, we have more people battling with obesity than ever before on this planet. How can it be that we have more knowledge than ever about food and what it does for us, but more problems with overeating and obesity? We can blame it on sugar, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, fried foods and many other unhealthy food options we now have available, but what it really comes down to is that we have lost touch with ourselves and our bodies. We have forgotten how to tune in and truly listen to what our bodies need. What doesn’t help is that we’re living in a world of distraction. We all know exactly what our bodies need, nutritionally and energetically. The only problem is that we spend most of our lives distracted so that we don’t actually tunein and listen to this guiding voice. From a young age we are becoming distracted by television, social media, gaming and devices. Marketing messages are constantly telling us that we are not good enough, but if we ‘buy this’, ‘eat this’ or ‘do that’ we will be good enough. We are always striving to be somewhere or something we are not; we are no longer present. This is one of core teachings of yoga and mindfulness–awareness of the present moment. Through the various practices of yoga and mindfulness, we will learn how to become present in our bodies. We will also learn how to accept where we are and who we are. Through acceptance and presence, we can become more aware of what our bodies need – when we are hungry, when we are full and what we need to nourish ourselves in terms of food and movement.