How to Use Yoga for Anorexia
Anorexia is a disease without a cure. Even after nutritional rehabilitations and extensive psychological counseling, many patients suffering from this disease may find it all too easy to fall back into old, unhealthy patterns of behavior. Negative body image issues may return, sometimes accompanied by new symptoms such as exercise addiction. But many recovering anorexics have found the strength to maintain a healthy lifestyle through the practice of yoga.
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Instructions
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Use Yoga to Maintain a Healthy Mind and Body
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Approach your yoga practice with an open mind. This is not an exercise designed to burn calories or help you lose weight. Your purpose in engaging in this physical activity should be geared toward healing your body and your mind through gentle movements and mindful breathing.
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Choose a yoga class environment where the concept of competition among participants is eliminated. Ideally, your instructor should encourage each student to explore what their own body is capable of and limit their self-judgments based on the performance of others.
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Select a yoga instructor who has experience teaching people with eating disorders. These instructors will be more able to guide you through yoga positions suited for recovering anorexics that help you to explore your psychological and physical flexibility.
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Use yoga to increase your awareness and acceptance of your body. The practice of yoga offers a meditative opportunity to recognize the limitations of your body and rejoice in its power and uniqueness.
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Find that yoga breathing techniques may help decrease your stress and anxiety, which often contribute to anorexia and other damaging behaviors. By reducing the amount of cortisol your body produces, you can boost your mood and your immune system, making you better equipped to deal with life's stresses.
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Wrap up your yoga practice with a guided meditation. Following the physical elements of yoga, you should utilize focused breathing to achieve a state of targeted concentration. Your instructor and your physician may provide you with a specific target to aid in your recovery from anorexia, such as visualizing healthy eating habits.
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Tips & Warnings
Get your doctor's permission before beginning any new exercise regimen, including yoga.
Though traditional yoga does not typically tax the body, variations such as Bikram yoga, where participants work out in high-temperature environments, may strain already damaged systems. Use caution when practicing this type of yoga if you have suffered heart or other organ damage due to your anorexia.
