Eating Disorders And The Use Of Yoga In Prevention And Treatment
By Roy Thomsitt
It was not so long ago that eating disorders, such
as bolimia and anorexia, were thought to be purely the result of mental
conditions. More recently, though, some physical factors have been
attributed to these conditions. It is now thought that eating disorders
can be triggered by a multitude of factors, in combination, including
those of a psychological, behavioural, social, or biological nature.
How Can Yoga Help With Eating Disorders
As with many conditions, eating orders can better
be dealt with through a calm and focused mind. Depression and low
self esteem are problems often associated with eating disorders, and
Yoga can help with both.
It has been proven that Yoga can reduce depression,
restoring a state of balance and well being in the individual. Also,
there are different yoga practices which encourage heightened levels
of self esteem, and promote a positive view of your own body. These
are crucial factors with eating disorders, and it has been shown that
the application of yoga can significantly increase recuperation and
healing.
Through the elimination of self judgment, yoga establishes
a strong connection between mind and body. This, of course, is the
natural state of wellness. By re-establishing this strong connection,
mind and body will work in harmony to repair the damage.
Regular yoga practice will increase the overall fitness
level of the human body, improving the immune system and giving it
a good chance of fighting illnesses. This is helpful with Anorexia,
for example, because the sufferer's body will experience lower energy
levels, and the condition reduces bone density.
In dealing with eating disorders, the yogic system
identifies them as a problem related to the first chakra. There are
different yoga poses that can be used to balance it: eg. staff, crab,
full wind, and pigeon. By using grounding postures (eg mountain, goddess,
standing squat and prayer squat) strength and courage can be increased.
What these postures do is to re-establish the strong
mind-body connections, and through that connection help overcome many
physical obstacles. For anorexia sufferers, most of the yoga back
bending poses help reduce depression, while forward bends can calm
the spirit and reduce anorexia's effects.
Because the mental state has an important role in
eating disorders, meditation can be used successfully to reduce negative
and harmful thoughts and feelings. An active, well targeted, meditation
practice should prove to be very effective. The yoga poses work best
when external factors are shut out, and concentration is allowed to
focus on your inner self.
Giving special attention to breathing, and also to
inner sensations, will transport you to a state of greater awareness
and calmness. This new state will allow you to go on further to explore
new concepts, and hopefully pursue new goals that may have been impossible
before.
As with many medical conditions, being aware of the
bulimia or anorexia problem, and showing a constant and strong desire
to defeat it, is a great method to reduce their effect. It is likely
that an early adoption of yoga practices would make the patient more
aware of the problem, thus making a positive contribution to an early
cure.
However, these yoga techniques are more usually used
in the recuperative stages of the illness. That is a pity because,
as with all illnesses in which it can be beneficial, yoga works best
in the prevention stage, when the negative effects are still low and
easier to over come.
This eating
disorder and yoga article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner of
http://www.routes-to-self-improvement.com
