Mind over matter
Before and after: Dean Crabb.
TO control weight, people need to control their minds, according to Helensburgh meditation practitioner Dean Crabb.
Mr Crabb, also known by his Buddhist name Jagaro, will hold a workshop on Saturday, February 25, to teach people how to observe their behaviours, quell their cravings and create a new reality where food is regarded by its proper function: fuel for the body.
“We will slowly be deconstructing people’s reality,” he said. “And, as people let go, the weight will go as well.”
Mr Crabb, who lost 15kg in a year using his mindfulness approach, said it was important to note how we respond to desires.
“It’s easy to reach out for a biscuit if it’s there – it’s a quick desire that’s easily fulfilled,” he said. “But we need to ask ‘do we really need it’ and notice the things that drive us.
“We need to notice the reactions, both bodily and emotionally, as often we’re looking to replace something we think is missing or fill a void.”
Mr Crabb said he had stopped exercising and was “snacking and drinking too much” when he started gaining weight. He had to reprogram his thinking, which included sitting with the feeling of hunger.
“We act like we’re going to die without eating so I would allow myself to stay hungry for an hour and have days of fasting,” he said.
“You notice the conditioning you create in the body when you have a big meal – you feel hungrier the next time and it perpetuates the cycle.
“Meditation allows you to develop tools to sustain new habits and break down unhealthy conditioning.
“If you train the mind like this, the body will follow.”
Bookings for the February 25 workshop, which will be held from 9am to noon, are essential. Visit www.jagaro.net/2012/01/meditation-for-weight-loss-half-day-workshop
