Elke Schleiss, RD, LD
Description
While my philosophy around the way we eat, move, play and perceive our bodies and their place in the world owes a great deal of gratitude to the people who formed IE and HAES®, my approach has also been impacted by the wonderful people who came after them; the folx who helped me see these philosophies as wonderful starting points, but also that there is much more work to be done in the name of body liberation for all bodies. The ways in which we perceive our bodies in the world are impacted by the ways others react to them. Not only does body size impact our interaction with our world, but racial identity, religious belief, gender identity, trauma history, socioeconomic background, sexuality, neurodivergence, and so much more, all inform the people we are, our understanding of and emotional connection to our body’s history.
For these reasons, I can’t be the expert in the room when we work together – that will be your role. I humbly acknowledge the specific and limited scope of experiences I’ve had as a white, cis-gendered woman with thin privilege. As we work together, I want to learn from you what your experience has been and how best I can be of service to you in getting to a place where your focus in life is on your values, the experiences you love, the people you care about and the work that energizes you — not on a goal of changing your body. Let’s change the world instead.