Traditional discourse on obesity did not speak adequately to the depth or the intention with which I engaged in my own process of healing my relationship with my body. I did notjust go on a diet and adhere to externally imposed rules to acquire an externally ascertained body weight. My experience was deeply contemplative and in my terms sacred; as I learned about my chaotic relationship with my body, food, and weight, I also learned more about myself, my life, and my connection with all life.

While seeds were planted years before in the context of psychotherapy, I experienced the thrust of...

It is important to acknowledge the power of embodied writing and thinking to communicate experience in research. This section focuses on the value of body-based language, thought, and research to convey meaning and foster transformation.

In developing this dissertation I strive toward a writing style I call “embodied writing,” in which I utilize my whole being to discern the language most congruent with my experience of conducting and relating this research. Embodied writing is a creative process of opening to a stream of language that includes but is not limited to the...

Raw data for this project was organized into 10 components: (a) answers to the questions about process in the initial co-researcher application; (b) answers to pre-retreat survey questions (“What’s been most/least helpful?”); (c) individual stories told at the retreat (Tahoe stories); (d) notes from group brainstorming session (content and processes); (e) the group reflections on each women’s individual story (teaching sessions); (f) individual stories told to the group one year after the original stories (one- year follow-ups); (g) responses during one-year...

Most/Least Helpful Resources Survey Results

Based on the pre-retreat survey (Appendix F), the following tables summarize the resources women listed as being most and least helpful in their process of healing obesity. Table 2 consists of those items the co-researchers and researcher cited as most helpful to their healing process. Table 3 reports the least helpful resources in the co- researchers’ healing process. Both tables include the following information: (a) resource category, (b) the name of each resource (book, program, philosophy, author, etc.), (c) the number of women citing...

Least Helpful Resources Survey Results

Based on the pre-retreat survey (Appendix F), the following tables summarize the resources women listed as being most and least helpful in their process of healing obesity. Table 2 (previous post) consists of those items the co-researchers and researcher cited as most helpful to their healing process. Table 3 (below) reports the least helpful resources in the co- researchers’ healing process. Both tables include the following information: (a) resource category, (b) the name of each resource (book, program, philosophy, author, etc.), (c) the...

Group Brainstorming Results - Content and Processes

The results of our group brainstorming session during our Tahoe retreat are reported below in two parts: 25 content statements from our discussion, and 12 processes we identified as useful for further exploration. Both of these lists may offer productive focal points for future research. The content and processes results appear below in the order in which they arose in our discussions.

List of Content Statements

1. We’re a subset. We speak only for ourselves based on our experiences as well- educated, middle-class, Euro-American...

As introduced in Chapter 3: Method, for the one-year follow-up meeting I chose one process from our Tahoe brainstorming list to do together. In preparation for the follow- up meeting the co-researchers, the researcher, and the assistant, Sharon, were all asked to answer the following question in writing and to bring their written response to the meeting. Their responses, lightly edited, appear below. Sharon’s response is included here to offer a reflection from a woman outside the exemplar group for comparison to the group’s responses. We took a few moments of silence and then,...

Definition

This magnet attracts the women’s inner urge to act. It points to the impetus toward the pursuit of a goal or change in circumstances. The motivation magnet answers the questions, “Why? Why act? Why change?” Maslow’s concepts of deficiency and growth motivation inform my inquiry into this magnet. Another facet of this inquiry addresses commitment: What is this woman committed to with regard to her body? Does a sacred chord or golden thread appear to be guiding her on to new awareness? What’s catalyzing the movement, action, or change? Is the...

Definition

This magnet began with a mysterious but potent sense of sureness that “wisdom of space” was critical to the study. I knew taking up space physically was an issue, but it was more than that. At first I was only able to articulate the feeling of spaciousness in my body. When I held the magnet to the material I discovered that the pieces that attracted to my inner sense of space were about embodying the feminine - making space for oneself as a woman. The deeper I got into the material the more clear it became that this magnet was about making space for the sacred...

Definition

This magnet attracts the ways in which the women express their epistemology - how they know what they know. Intuitions, emotions, and rational and non-rational ways of knowing are all included. I hold the five definitions of women’s ways of knowing (Belenky et al., 1986) in mind as I work with the data, and I remain open to new, more transpersonal perspectives on knowing. As I sense into the ways women discern what is best for them, I find that as they grow in their confidence of their ability to know, they portray greater degrees of self-trust. The images that come to...