Beyond the Mat: Integrating Yoga into Eating Disorder Recovery.

Yoga can be beneficial to helping people recover from eating disorders in many ways. And although it is very important to work with a yoga therapist who is specifically trained in working with eating disorder recovery, regular yoga classes can still also be very helpful. Usually, but not in all cases, eating disorders are paired with body dysmorphia, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, using yoga asana to become embodied, and work on building strength, mobility, and flexibility, can begin to help the individual become more confident and have more appreciation for their bodies. I know from personal experience that, over time, becoming aware of the power that my body is capable of, truly did give me a newfound appreciation for my body, and this sparked inspiration for me to fuel my body correctly in order to keep growing in strength and confidence. This also helped me create something positive to focus on that I began to feel passionate about, rather than focusing my energy on control and restriction in my eating habits. Moving the body also releases endorphins, which is a feel good hormone, therefore, having a yoga asana practice can help lift mood and clear the mind. A lot of people with eating disorders have issues with trapped emotions and trauma, and it is known that practising yoga asana can help move these trapped emotions through the body. As such, this attention to embodiment through the use of yoga asana can help individuals with eating disorders feel the movement and sensations of emotions again, and can even help with feeling hunger and fullness cues again. For people with restrictive eating disorders, meal times can be very stressful and cause a lot of anxiety. From personal experience, I can say that, in some cases, eating more than you would usually allow yourself can feel like you are upsetting the system you have created in order for your nervous system to feel safe, and so anxiety attacks can commonly happen whilst in the process of reprogramming the nervous system while breaking these unhealthy habits. When it comes to food addictions, it is one of the most difficult to recover from, this is because we all need food to live, so we cannot get rid of the source altogether like we can with other unhealthy addictions such as alcohol, and so because of this, it exercises a slightly larger amount of self restraint. As such, people with food addictions may feel anxious about the possibility of giving in to over-eating. Anxiety can also come after eating. Some sufferers may feel their eating disorder can be used as a way of feeling soothed, for example, negative thoughts may be calmed by bingeing, restricting food intake can feel safe for those who may have trauma or anxiety around control in their life. As such, to help relieve anxiety around meal times and falling out of bad habits to reprogram the brain’s feeling of safety, grounding yoga postures and meditation can be wonderful tools to use, as they can help to calm the nervous system. However it must be mentioned that, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for individuals with eating disorders to come to the path of yogic practices with the means of over-exercising, and even using suggestions given from some practitioners such as juice cleansing and fasting as a form of under-eating. Which is why I personally believe it to be important and beneficial to also teach these individuals the philosophy of yoga; providing them with the knowledge of the Yamas and Niyamas, why and when we do certain practices, and being mindful and knowledgeable with the full practice of Yoga. Additionally, teaching people with eating disorders how to listen to their bodies and understand what they need, and how to differentiate that from what their eating disordered thoughts are telling them, which I can confidently say that, although it took time, this was one of the most effective tools which helped me keep up with my recovery. I would also like to make a personal note here for anyone who is currently struggling with ED. When it comes to recovery, my personal advice would be to take things one small step at a time so as to not overwhelm yourself. Small victories and slow progression is better than none at all. I know personally that eating disorder recovery is difficult, and I am proud of anyone who is on their journey or who is starting their journey to recovery. It is just a chapter, it gets better.

Research:

In 2016, a study was held with 20 adolescent girls who had eating disorders along with anxiety, depression and poor body image. Upon completing 7 – 12 yoga classes, participants experienced a significant decrease in anxiety, depression, and body image disturbances. Another study, held in 2010, showed that after 12 weeks of a consistent yoga practice, participants, in this case males and females aged 11 – 21, saw a significant decline in eating disordered symptoms. Although extensive studies on the use of yoga as a healing role in eating disorder recovery is needed, current research is promising in suggesting that yoga in fact can help aid in recovery.

References:

1. Hall A, Ofei-Tenkorang NA, Machan JT, Gordon CM. 2016. Use of yoga in outpatient eating disorder treatment: a pilot study. 2. Carei TR, Fyfe-Johnson AL, Breuner CC, Brown MA. 2010. Randomized controlled clinical trial of yoga in the treatment of eating disorders.