YOGA THERAPY SKILLS FOR EATING DISORDERS

In this session, we will explore the history of psychiatry and eating disorders, examining how they came to be understood as mental illnesses over centuries. We’ll discuss how eating disorders are shaped by time, culture, and socially acceptable ways of expressing suffering and how they have been understood differently across history. The session also introduces Ayurvedic perspectives on eating disorders and considers how they may be understood through the lens of yoga therapy.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Trace the historical development of eating disorder diagnoses and understand how societal and cultural factors have influenced their classification and treatment.

• Recognize eating disorders as expressions of suffering shaped by time, culture, and systemic inequities.

• Understand the Ayurvedic view of disordered eating and how yoga therapy offers a unique framework for supporting recovery.

• Explore the intersection of clinical knowledge and yogic perspectives so you can use insights from both paradigms to work more effectively with your students.

This session explores why eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder. You will learn about common cardiovascular problems in students with chronic eating disorders, the risk of suicide and self-harm in this population, and best practices for offering yoga therapy to students who may be at risk.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Explain the factors that lead to high mortality rates in people with eating disorders and why it’s critical yoga therapists work within their scope of practice.

• Recognize common cardiovascular problems associated with eating disorders and how they impact a yoga practice.

• Understand the rates of suicide and self-harm in people with eating disorders and ways in which yoga may exacerbate mental health challenges.

• Identify best practices for offering yoga therapy to students who may be at psychological or physical risk.

This session explores the question, “What is recovery?” We will explore different models of recovery and how these frameworks align with yoga therapy. We’ll delve into the challenges researchers face in assessing recovery rates, unpack the flawed notion that most people with eating disorders never recover, and highlight emerging efforts by researchers with lived experience to redefine recovery in qualitative and inclusive terms.

The session also provides an overview of current research on yoga as a tool for preventing and supporting recovery from eating disorders. We’ll examine key studies from the past decade, discussing their findings, strengths, limitations, and how they can inform your work.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Discuss common narratives about eating disorders and the factors that perpetuate pessimism.

• Explore how models of recovery from psychosis and substance can inform our understanding of eating disorder recovery.

• Highlight the role of lived experience researchers in reshaping definitions of recovery.

• Discuss key findings from yoga for eating disorders research and apply them to your yoga therapy practice.

In this session, you will learn about specific l yoga therapy practices that can support individuals at different stages of recovery. Learn how to tailor a yoga therapy practice to meet the needs of different students, as well as best practices for conducting assessments in students with eating disorders who may be engaging in behaviors that put their health at risk.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Create a safe and impactful yoga therapy program for students with eating disorders.

• Understand how different yoga practices support different stages of recovery.

• Apply the best practices for risk assessment to your work with students in home settings.

• Tailor yoga therapy practices to the individual needs and goals of each student.

In this session, you will explore how yoga therapy can integrate effectively into eating disorder treatment across different levels of care. We will discuss the key features of eating disorder treatment, including commonly used psychological therapies, and examine how yoga therapy can complement these approaches within a comprehensive treatment plan. You will also learn strategies for working cohesively as part of a clinical treatment team to support individuals in recovery.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Understand the different levels of care in eating disorder treatment and how yoga therapy can integrate into each.

• Identify the most commonly used psychological therapies in eating disorder treatment and their core principles.

• Explore how yoga therapy can complement psychological and medical interventions as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.

• Develop strategies for collaborating effectively with clinical treatment teams to support individuals in recovery.