Eating Disorders (ED) can be identified by abnormal eating behaviours that adversely impact an individual's physical and/or mental health. With bulimia, binge-eating, and anorexia being the most common types, ED is a serious mental illness that's characterised by an unhealthy obsession with food, exercising, body shape and weight.
Anxiety and depression are usually common comorbidities of ED and, at any given point in time, approximately 0.9 per cent of women and 0.3 per cent of men suffer from anorexia.
One of the main reasons that the public is suffering from eating disorders is stress. It can cause both binge eating disorder and obsessive consciousness about eating. It is common for people with ED to use food to turn off the emotions of sadness, anger and boredom.
The feeling of total loss of control in the pandemic coupled with the absence of in-person counselling support and therapy groups fuelled the spiral of all mind health survivors and especially people living with these disorders.
At such a time, yoga and meditation are the required panacea for those with ED. Meditation also helps in relieving from stress.
How does yoga help?
Yoga promotes acceptance of the self and bestows a sense of inner peace by revitalising the mind and activating the endocrine system. Thus, it helps practitioners to acknowledge and experience their bodies in a holistic fashion.
A study by American Psychological Association focused on a group of women between the ages of 18-30 practising yoga for 12 weeks observed that it can help in creating a healthy body image, which would be helpful in alleviating the conditions of eating disorders.
Within the study, participants reported an increase in satisfaction with their personal body image and thus spent less time on how they appeared to others. This indication is an extremely persuasive sign in favour of yoga being helpful in the recovery and maybe even prevention of the same.
Here are some yoga poses that can be practised under the supervision of an authorised trainer.
Child's pose: It is a relaxing pose which involves bending forward over the knees and placing your body on the mat.
Wheel pose: It is an upward facing bow pose, which stretches your chest and lungs, and strengthens your arms, legs, abdomen and spine.
Mountain pose: Also known as Tadasana, it is the easiest yogasana which improves body balance and gut health.
Bow pose: This pose provides relief in all the issues related to eating disorders and helps in digestion, constipation, stomach cramps.
The other practices which can be followed are Suryanamaskar, Paranayama and Yog Nidra. These practices have a positive impact on the gut and digestive system which lead to balance eating and inspired lifestyle.
When combined with yoga, it can heal not only the body but mind as well. The practice of yoga is fundamentally born out of the need for and practice of relaxation, peacefulness, and mindfulness through several helpful meditation, breathing and exercise approaches. These preparations help combat anxiety, a common building block of EDs.
An effective therapy
Since it's all about balance, yoga therapists who are working with ED patients try not to add to their physical burden by charting strenuous regimes. The teachers are more likely to concentrate on strengthening the minds of the patients and teach the latter to love themselves and get back in touch with their own selves, with meditation and easy yogaasanas that propagate mental peace and calm.
They are taught to recognise when the regime is getting too intensive for their health and learn to stop themselves, and get back to a mental and physical state of balance before going forward. People living with ED suffer due to the belief they're not worthy of love unless their bodies meet certain unhealthy criteria and yoga helps replace this fear for mindfulness and self-love.
(The writer is the founder of Divine Soul Yoga)