Ideal Collection of Practices for Women Journey to Yourself
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“SLIMNESS BEGINS NOT IN THE KITCHEN, BUT IN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS”
In this article, I want to share not only scientific insights but also practices that have helped my clients permanently transform their eating habits!
My name is Inna Wald. I am the creator of the “Dandelion Path” program, a practicing psychological counselor, metacognitive programming coach, nutritionist, NLP practitioner, and mentor coach. The core focus of my work lies in engaging with the subconscious mind, which enables more sustainable and long-lasting changes.
As I mentioned above, the subconscious is a powerful tool that governs your habits, emotions, and reactions. Over the years of working with clients, I have identified three periods or factors when beliefs about food can become “encoded” or reinforced in the subconscious.
The First Period: The oldest habits and behaviors are often formed in early childhood.
They become automatic when a child repeatedly hears phrases like, “Finish everything on your plate.” To please adults, the child eats even when no longer hungry.
“Don’t throw away food,” “Don’t leave anything behind,” “If you don’t eat well, you’ll get sick” – these are just a few examples.
What phrases did you hear in your childhood?
The Second Period begins in adolescence, when food-related programs, such as those tied to rewards or comfort, start to form: “Passed your exam? Here’s some pizza,” “Don’t cry, have something sweet instead,” “Sweets are food for the nerves.”
Some of these programs may also emerge in early childhood.
Additionally, beliefs like “Thin is beautiful,” “Food is a social ritual,” “Food as rebellion,” or “Food is the enemy” can take root.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into the food-related program “Food is the enemy.”
Imagine a teenager going on their first diet to “fit into standards.” Perhaps they faced mockery about their weight or criticism from parents: “Stop eating, you’ll get fat!” or were influenced by the culture of the “perfect body” on social media (imitating influencers). But the teenager struggles, falls off the diet, and at that moment, a cycle begins: “diet-failure-guilt-new diet…” A fear of certain foods emerges, like “Carbs are evil,” and gradually, food becomes the enemy.
Sound familiar?
The Third Period: Crisis moments. Divorce, job loss, burnout, stress, existential crises, abuse, serious illness, betrayal, or the loss of a loved one can shape (sometimes radically) new eating behaviors, where food often becomes that “sweet pill” whose effect is short-lived, leading to a desire to consume it more and more frequently.
What can be done about all this?
There are various practices that can help change your habits.
Below, I’ll share three simple exercises you can do on your own, without a specialist.
Practice 1: I call it the “Insight Journal”
In this journal, you will shift your focus from food to emotions and their triggers.
1) Take a notebook and divide a page into three columns.
Label the first column “What I Ate” (brief description), the second “What I Felt Before,” and the third “What Happened Before.”
2) ATTENTION! In the third column, describe ONLY the facts – what you saw and heard. Your feelings, meanings, and interpretations can be noted in a separate notebook.
Example: “Ate half a cup of wasabi nuts. Before that, I felt irritated, wanting to munch on something. Before that, I had a heated conversation with my husband.”
3) Fill out this journal for one week, and after a week, look for patterns. For example: 80% of overeating or emotional eating occurred after conversations with my husband.
By working with this journal, you’ll notice that within two weeks, episodes of overeating may reduce by up to 40%.
Practice 2: Dialogue with Your Inner Child (working with childhood beliefs)
1) Choose one triggering situation (the Insight Journal, see above, can help).
For example: craving sweets in the evening.
2) Find a quiet space, lie down or sit comfortably, close your eyes, and breathe deeply into your belly. Take 3—5 deep inhales and slow exhales.
3) Next, think about the situation you want to change. Imagine yourself at the age when this habit or behavior might have formed.
4) Look closely at yourself in that situation, as if from the outside, and ask your other self the following questions: “What are you trying to tell me with this craving for food?”
“How can I support you in another way, without using food?”
5) Listen to all the answers and, using this information, make a new promise to yourself. For example: “Now I’m an adult and will ensure our safety.”
6) After this, take a few deep breaths, exhale, and open your eyes.
Practice 3: “The First Bite Rule”
I highly recommend incorporating this into your daily routine!
The essence: Eat the “forbidden” food, but mindfully!
1) Take a piece of a “forbidden,” perhaps favorite, food. For example, chocolate.
2) Place it on your tongue and close your eyes.
3) Savor and chew the piece for about 30 seconds, focusing on the taste.
4) Afterward, decide whether you want to swallow the piece or gently spit it out into a napkin.
You can use this practice with any meal, and soon you’ll notice that your brain stops perceiving food as a reward.
You’ll begin to enjoy food more, feel satisfied faster, and understand what you truly like and don’t like. This will automatically adjust your eating habits, leading you to your desired results.
Why might these practices work better than any diet?
Changing habits through the subconscious is not magic – it’s science.
These three exercises are a starting point for those tired of fighting themselves.
My practice shows that 89% of clients who apply these methods maintain their results for over two years.
Are you ready to start?
Then choose the first practice, dedicate 10 minutes a day to it, and track changes over a month.
During this period, add the second and third exercises to expand your new experience and accelerate the process.
Despite any past unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, remember: your past does not define your future!
You can always take a different path and try something new. Be patient and persistent on this journey, and seek support where you feel “stuck.”
May your journey to yourself be gentle. Don’t chase “quick” – choose “forever”!
Remember: your body is not the enemy. It’s a loyal ally that has followed your brain’s flawed instructions for years. It’s time to give it new rules.
“The most amazing thing: when your mindset changes, the weight comes off on its own” – this is the main secret of this chapter.
And your biggest step is already taken: you’ve read this chapter. Now just try a different approach!
With respect and love, Inna Wald
Nadia Semenova
IT’S WITHIN YOUR POWER
I am Nadia Semenova. I am a psychologist, hypnotherapist, author, and facilitator of transformative educational programs.
My core value is to help you find inner strength.
To teach you to think clearly, act with a focus on the future, relying not on fear or external pressure, but on your inner potential.
I have been working as a clinical psychologist for over 15 years.
And I know how painful it can be to repeatedly fall into the same patterns:
– toxic relationships again,
– loss of meaning again,
– emptiness inside again…
In such moments, it’s important not to blame yourself but to gently return to yourself.
My approach combines deep psychotherapy, hypnosis (regression and progression), systemic constellations, symbol drama, psychodrama, and my original methods.
This is not a magic pill. It’s honest, transformative work with deep respect for your story.
I don’t impose solutions – I help you hear them within yourself.
In my space, you can be yourself. Without “shoulds,” “musts,” or “be convenient.”
This chapter is an invitation to deep self-discovery and returning to yourself. It explains how to learn to hear and listen to your intuition, how to connect with your Higher Self, and how to become your own reliable support – the very “lifeline” we so often seek in the outside world. In moments of fatigue, anxiety, or inner overwhelm, it’s especially important to pause and ask yourself two simple but powerful questions: What is happening with me right now? and What do I want in the next moment? Through breathing practices, energy techniques, relaxing imagery, and meditations, you will gain tools to restore your strength, activate inner support, and reclaim a sense of aliveness – here and now. This chapter carries a therapeutic effect and opens the path to trust, acceptance, and true self-love.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to adapt to the frantic pace of modern life, to endless stresses and their unfortunate consequences. It’s no surprise that there comes a moment when each of us feels the need to change our life. This chapter and this book will help you feel not only like a part of the vast Universe, experience the harmony of all living things, and rediscover the joy of returning to an active and creative life, but also realize that truly knowing yourself is no easy task. Our lives are overloaded with stereotypes of thinking and behavior that prevent us from accurately assessing situations and drawing appropriate conclusions. In many ways, we are the ones responsible for our own troubles. A person suffers not from what happens but from how they understand and react to what happens.
Perhaps lately, something has been troubling you? Or do you feel exhausted from the multitude of responsibilities at home and work? Does it seem like even the closest people don’t understand you? Or are you overwhelmed by despair that time is passing, and you still haven’t achieved anything meaningful that you once dreamed of… (do you recognize yourself?)
Those who want to achieve positive inner changes must learn to ask themselves two simple but truly magical questions. By answering them, it will be easier to understand yourself, find inner strength, and feel present in the “here” and “now.”
The first magical question: What is happening with me right now? Specifically: What am I doing? What am I feeling? What am I thinking? How am I breathing?
The second magical question: What would I like in the next moment? That is, do I want to continue doing, thinking, feeling, and breathing the same way? Or do I want to change something?
Many significant changes can be felt simply by becoming aware of what’s happening, without any social effort on your part. Answer these questions as if you were observing yourself from the outside, like another person, and can objectively assess everything happening with them. Additionally, don’t forget to pay attention to your breathing.
One of the most important psychotherapeutic principles states: inner changes happen when a person becomes themselves, not when they try to be like others. Neither the decision to “be better,” nor the effort to change, nor the demands of a boss, nor the requests or persuasions of significant others will bring about change. Paradoxically, inner changes occur only when a person stops chasing who they want (or should) become and simply accepts – and fully realizes – who they truly are.
Having practiced hypnosis and self-hypnosis for many years, I’ve come to this conclusion: we are a reflection of ourselves, like in a mirror. What we imagine, project, or fantasize becomes reality. That’s how our subconscious works. It is straightforward and carries out exactly what we project onto it.
I’d like to offer you a few truly unique techniques to help you find yourself, befriend yourself, and believe in your inner possibilities and strengths.
The images that seem to spontaneously appear in your mind are, in fact, within your control. Let’s try to demonstrate this.
Relaxation Exercise: This exercise will help you focus on your body and relax.
Take a comfortable position, straighten your back. Close your eyes.
Focus on your breathing.
The air first fills your abdominal cavity, then your chest and lungs.
Take a full inhale, then make a few light, calm exhales.
Now, calmly, without special effort, take another inhale.
Notice which parts of your body are in contact with the chair, floor, bed, or ground. In those areas where the surface supports you, try to feel that support a bit more strongly.
Imagine that the chair, floor, bed, or ground rises slightly to support you. Relax the muscles you use to hold yourself up.
The next exercise is used when you feel tension or when you need to stay in control but fear you might “lose it.”
“Float in the Ocean” Exercise:
Imagine you are a small float in a vast ocean… You have no goal. No compass. No map, rudder, or oars… You move wherever the wind and ocean waves carry you… A big wave may cover you for a moment, but you resurface again… You are a float… Try to feel those moments of resurfacing… Sense the movement of the wave… the warmth of the sun… raindrops… the cushion of the sea beneath you, supporting you… Notice what other sensations arise when you imagine yourself as a small float in a vast ocean. Bring these sensations into a real-life situation.
The next exercise can be used when you feel a lack of strength or energy.
“Energy Transfer” Exercise:
Imagine a source of energy in front of you (fire, lantern, crystal, flower). It warms you, gives you light and energy, entering every cell of your body. Try to feel how the energy affects the front of your body. Inhale it. Imagine the same source of energy behind your back. Feel the waves of energy gliding up and down your spine. Place the source of energy to your right. Feel the energy affecting the right side of your body. Place the source of energy to your left. Feel the energy affecting the left side of your body. Imagine a source of energy above you. Feel the energy affecting your head. Now the source of energy is beneath your feet. Feel your feet filling with energy, then the energy rising and spreading throughout your entire body. Experience the fullness of light, warmth, and energy in your body. Now expand the boundaries of your energy (one meter from you, to the room, to the house or apartment, to the city, to the country, to the universe).
Now, let’s connect with your Higher Self and align with your intuition.
When your soul comes to Earth, it doesn’t arrive in its entirety, only with a part of its energy. About 25% of your energy remains in the realm of souls, above. This is called your Higher Self. The Higher Self holds the wisdom of all your incarnations, serving as a source of insight. It always provides you with information, and here we call it intuition.
Instructions for the exercise: It’s best to record this meditation text in your own voice on a recorder and listen to it as needed. Your own voice is better received by your subconscious, accepting it as a native instruction for action.
Think of a personal, hidden question you would ask your Higher Self, one that can be answered with a yes or no: perhaps it’s about an important choice – act or not act, decide or not decide, choose or not choose, etc.
Take a deep breath, and as you exhale, close your eyes. Now, either aloud or silently, state this intention: I ask my subconscious to help me dive deeper, unlock my abilities, and create the best conditions for this – repeat 3 times.
Welcome to your deepest journey, a journey into the realm of your subconscious.
(From this point, record your voice, dictating the text at your usual pace or slightly slower.)
Your eyes are closed… and now, slowly… slowly… with each exhale (exhale), with each inhale (inhale), you begin to surrender to relaxation. Now imagine a beautiful light entering your head with your breath, a beautiful golden light. Allow this light to spread throughout your body, downward and deeper, filling your body with wonderful golden light. You feel the calming effect of this color; it soothes and relaxes. It helps your body and gradually your mind to relax. Calm your mind. Quiet the stream of thoughts flickering in your inner consciousness, and don’t let these thoughts take hold of you. Your head and mind become free and clear of thoughts…
Imagine standing on the shore of a deserted beach, looking at a turbulent, restless sea. It’s a heavy, dark sea. The waves roll in and crash (exhale), roll in and crash, roll in and crash… And you hear how the rhythm of the waves aligns with your breathing as you inhale and exhale, roll in and crash, roll in and crash… Picture a stunningly beautiful golden-red sunset. The sky is filled with golden-yellow, orange, and crimson colors. Just relax and let go, relax more deeply, even more…
Now I will count from 1 to 5, and when I say the number 5, you will enter a state of self-regulation.
1—relaxation spreads throughout your entire body.
2—your body is completely relaxed, heavy, sleepy.
3—all thoughts in your head dissolve and disappear… your mind becomes light and clear.
4—inside you is peace and tranquility.
5—you hear only my voice and follow only my voice.
Now imagine a soft, warm cloud appearing beneath your back, gently lifting you under your feet, back, and shoulders. This cloud is your safety and protection. You feel it beneath your feet, under your head, creating the best sense of calm and security… Notice the difference between the parts of your body already in contact with this cloud and those not yet touching this pleasant, soft cloud… It envelops you right now, gradually carrying you and your entire state, your entire body, to the safest place. This cloud takes you to that safe place where no one can disturb you…
I will count from 1 to 10, and on the count of 10, this cloud will carry you to the safest place, where your subconscious will reside…
1—the cloud envelops you more and more.
2—every cell, every fiber feels the protection of your entire being.
3—closer and closer to the ultimate sense of safety.
4—your body is protected and covered.
5—all your subtle bodies are protected and covered.
6—a new level of safety and protection opens.
7—even better, even more secure.
8—this feeling of protection becomes familiar with each dive.
9—this feeling becomes natural.
10—you are in that place of ultimate safety and solitude.
Explore this place… this is your place of power, perhaps somewhere in nature or indoors. It might be a real place from your memory or a fictional one you’ve created. Look around – what’s happening there, what’s the setting, the weather… Pay attention to all the details, study this place, feel completely safe here, stay in this state. Now imagine a stream of light descending from above, entering through your head and completely filling your body. Scan your body and organs for dark spots… and move through those spots with light, dissolving them from within. When your body is evenly filled with light, begin to radiate energy into the space, filling the place where you are. Look up, look down… give time for the images to emerge and unfold in your subconscious. Listen to the pleasant surrounding sounds in your place of power… Touch some of the details around you, feel their texture – hard or soft, warm or cold.
Now I will count to 3, and on the count of 3, all images, sounds, and sensations will intensify twofold.
1—complete focus on your vision and sensations.
2—the stream of light within you grows stronger, stronger, stronger.
3—twice as bright, twice as clear, all details are more vivid, the controlled sounds are even clearer. You begin to feel the space around you twice as intensely with your body.
Observe your place of power, notice what has changed – the weather, the atmosphere, whether the place looks different. Stay here a little longer and enjoy your creation. A powerful, subtle, crystal-clear purple cosmic stream begins to enter through the crown of your head, flowing into every cell of your pineal gland, pituitary gland, thalamus, hypothalamus, every cell of your right hemisphere, every cell of your left hemisphere. Your brain is filled with strength, power, and cosmic energy, activating all the control centers of your biorobot brain. All control centers of the biorobot in your brain are enhanced, your intuition strengthens, your memory improves. The power of the crystal-clear purple cosmic stream grows and intensifies. Full activation of your third eye point, enhancement of intuition, improvement of memory, and strengthening of extrasensory and self-hypnotic abilities… The crystal-clear purple stream continues to flow into your pineal gland, pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and thalamus, into every cell of your left and right hemispheres, activating and unlocking all your abilities. All your attention is on your hands; you feel your hands. After I count to three, your hands will enter a state of maximum sensitivity.
1, 2, 3
Your hands are like highly sensitive antennas. Now, mentally try to feel the difference in sensations between your hands. Perhaps one hand feels warmer, the other not; perhaps one hand feels lighter, the other heavier… Maybe you feel a specific finger differently from the same finger on the other hand. Simply allow your attention to focus on the sensations. Imagine that these are your hands, yet not quite yours… That you exist on your own, and your hands exist on their own – they simply are.
Your subconscious can take control of these hands. Just allow your unconscious to take control of your hands and ask yourself a very simple question. Ask a question about yourself. You are breathing – just ask yourself, Am I breathing? and notice any change in either hand, pay attention to the response. It might be at the tip of a finger. It might happen quickly. Perhaps one hand becomes warmer or lighter, or maybe you feel a prick somewhere. When the response comes, ask your unconscious to amplify this signal to strengthen the response.
Ask like this: I ask to amplify the signal —3 times (silently to yourself).
As you realize, you’ve now received a yes or no answer. Now ask again: Am I breathing?
Listen to your body’s response. Which finger on your hand does your unconscious prefer to communicate through, and what sensation in your hands does it use?
Now ask yourself the next question: Am I underwater right now? And listen for the response that comes.
Once the response arrives, ask your unconscious to amplify it: I ask my unconscious to strengthen the signal.
Now ask the simplest question you can get a yes or no answer to, and listen to your body’s response. The answers come faster now. Then ask another question that interests you the most at this moment – perhaps the one you prepared at the start or one that comes to you in this state. Observe the response – yes or no. Now it’s time to ask one more question, one you personally want an answer to. It could be about the future or the past, a question you want a definitive yes or no answer to. Ask it now and listen to your body’s response – yes or no.
Now feel a white stream of light entering through the crown of your head, filling you with white divine energy, warmth, and a positive state. All unnecessary images fade away, leaving only your body’s clear response as a new tool for communicating with your subconscious.
Repeat after me, mentally or aloud: I clearly recognize my new abilities and use them for good —3 times.
Now I will count from 5 to 1. When I say the number 1, you will fully emerge from the trance state, feeling excellent, full of strength and energy, and filled with positive emotions and a wonderful mood.
5—your body begins to emerge from the trance.
4—every cell on a physical level fills with vitality.
3—you know you now have a place of power, and it’s always with you.
2—your body fills with energy; you’re ready to confidently step into a new life.
1—open your eyes and fully emerge from the trance.