Yoga for Recovery - Practice as a Path

“Smile, breathe and go
slowly.”

~Thich Nhat
Hanh

Recovery from an eating disorder or an
addiction to an unhealthy lifestyle can be difficult and challenging.
Finding your place, returning to yourself and living in acceptance,
compassion and gratitude can sound overwhelming. Yet not only is such a
path possible ~ it can be discovered on a yoga mat.

Healing asks
for a daily commitment ~ sometimes an hourly, even a moment to moment
commitment ~ to a way of being, of abiding with oneself and life as it
is. The ancient medicine of yoga offers itself as such a practice. The
effectiveness of yoga is its simplicity ~ developing balance, calm and
wholeness. Rather than being overcome by anxiety, yoga instills an
ability to listen to the body and to focus on “being” rather than
“doing”.

In fact, yoga isn’t only about establishing certain
poses ~ it’s more about finding balance and being present. Often, there
is little movement at all…only the breath. One of the most relaxing
poses is simply lying on a mat on the back and bringing one hand to the
heart area of the body and the other hand to the abdomen. In this pose,
noticing the breath and how it moves the abdomen up and down, over and
over, is the awareness. For just this time, each person has an
opportunity to be who they are and feel what they feel. A sense of
freedom and expansion is often experienced.

The practice of yoga
is all about the process, the journey. Over time, many young women and
men learn things they may have never thought possible: to be comfortable
inside their own bodies, more accepting of challenges and less fearful
of the unknown. Trusting emergence as well as the impermanence of
thoughts and feelings is often an outcome of practice. Mindfulness ~
moment to moment awareness of the present moment, non-judgmentally ~ is
the gift as well as the guide toward a life of healing and
wellness.

Continuing with yoga also offers individuals connection
to a community of people who may be involved with or teach other
spiritual practices such as meditation, centering prayer, nature walking
and much more. The world is rich and beautiful and offers itself in
abundant ways. Stepping onto a yoga mat could be the beginning of a deep
and abiding way of living…and being.

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