Guest guest Posted March 8, 2003 Report Share Posted March 8, 2003 I started practicing yoga about 1 year ago and was diligent for about 6 months. After a while, school and time conflicts "got in the way" so i stopped. As a result, my bulimia and depression kicked in again. I'm ready to restart my practice of yoga but was wondering if anyone had similar stories to tell. how has yoga helped you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 ashtanga yoga, "jnphrly" <j91lee@u...> wrote: I started practicing yoga about 1 year ago and was diligent for about 6 months. After a while, school and time conflicts "got in the way" so i stopped. As a result, my bulimia and depression kicked in again. I'm ready to restart my practice of yoga but was wondering if anyone had similar stories to tell. how has yoga helped you? Jnphrly: Yoga can help people deal with issues like depression and bulimia. But let's be clear: YOGA BY ITSELF, IS NOT A CURE-ALL. IF YOU NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP, PLEASE GET IT. Yoga is best used in conjunction with therapy and/or medication, medical help, etc. So, the first thing you need to do is get the professional help you need, if you haven't done so already. Once you've gotten some help, then you can return to yoga to supplement your other treatment. Since you are already in school, and probably have a ton of homework, I hesitate to make this next recommendation. But when you get a chance, you might want to pick up "The Women's Book of Yoga & Health" by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden. The whole book is really terrific, and I highly recommend it to all women. The book helps women use yoga to strengthen their bodies and spirits throughout all stages of life (adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and the later years). It's the kind of book you'll probably refer to again and a again, depending on where you are in life at any given moment. The chapters that might be most useful to you right now are Chapters Four and Ten. Chapter Four, titled "Befriending Your Body," deals a lot with eating disorders. Chapter Ten is called "Working With Depression." One of the great things about the way the book is structured is that each chapter ends with specific postures and yoga sequences that can help with the issues/problems/conditions discussed in the chapter. The sequences are really quite good, and many can be done fairly easily at home (or in a dorm room). Since you're in school and your time is limited, you might not be able to go to yoga classes. Using the book, try to develop a few short routines you can do at home. If you decide to practice at a studio, try to find one that has a warm, supportive environment. Now that I've recommended the Sparrowe/Walden book, I feel I should point out one major problem I personally had with it. ALL of the models used in the book are thin. I think this is really unfortunate, especially since the authors obviously made an attempt to be diverse in other ways. (For example, there are models of color, there is one model who is pregnant, there's one women who's in her 50s or 60s, etc.)Since you already have an eating disorder I'm concerned that you will look at these models and see them as "the perfect weight" and compare yourself unfavorably to them. I hope you won't do this and, again, this is why it's important to get other help before resuming your yoga practice. Finally, remember that one of the major tenants of yoga is the concept of "ahimsa," or non-harming. Yogis aren't supposed to harm any being--including themselves. Good luck and be well. EAW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 ashtanga yoga, "e_assata" <asawrt@a...> wrote: > ashtanga yoga, "jnphrly" <j91lee@u...> wrote: > I started practicing yoga about 1 year ago and was diligent for about > 6 months. After a while, school and time conflicts "got in the way" > so i stopped. As a result, my bulimia and depression kicked in again. > I'm ready to restart my practice of yoga but was wondering if anyone > had similar stories to tell. how has yoga helped you? > > Jnphrly: > > Yoga can help people deal with issues like depression and bulimia. > But let's be clear: YOGA BY ITSELF, IS NOT A CURE-ALL. IF YOU NEED > PROFESSIONAL HELP, PLEASE GET IT. Yoga is best used in conjunction > with therapy and/or medication, medical help, etc. So, the first > thing you need to do is get the professional help you need, if you > haven't done so already. > > Once you've gotten some help, then you can return to yoga to > supplement your other treatment. Since you are already in school, and > probably have a ton of homework, I hesitate to make this next > recommendation. But when you get a chance, you might want > to pick up "The Women's Book of Yoga & Health" by Linda Sparrowe and > Patricia Walden. The whole book is really terrific, and I highly > recommend it to all women. The book helps women use yoga to > strengthen their bodies and spirits throughout all stages of life > (adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and the later years). > > It's the kind of book you'll probably refer to again and a again, > depending on where you are in life at any given moment. The chapters > that might be most useful to you right now are Chapters Four and Ten. > Chapter Four, titled "Befriending Your Body," deals a lot with > eating disorders. Chapter Ten is called "Working With Depression." > > One of the great things about the way the book is structured is that > each chapter ends with specific postures and yoga sequences that can > help with the issues/problems/conditions discussed in the chapter. > The sequences are really quite good, and many can be done fairly > easily at home (or in a dorm room). Since you're in school and your > time is limited, you might not be able to go to yoga classes. Using > the book, try to develop a few short routines you can do at home. If > you decide to practice at a studio, try to find one that has > a warm, supportive environment. > > Now that I've recommended the Sparrowe/Walden book, I feel I should > point out one major problem I personally had with it. ALL of the > models used in the book are thin. I think this is really unfortunate, > especially since the authors obviously made an attempt to be diverse > in other ways. (For example, there are models of color, there is one > model who is pregnant, there's one women who's in her 50s or 60s, > etc.)Since you already have an eating disorder I'm concerned that you > will look at these models and see them as "the perfect weight" and > compare yourself unfavorably to them. I hope you won't do this and, > again, this is why it's important to get other help before resuming > your yoga practice. > > Finally, remember that one of the major tenants of yoga is the > concept of "ahimsa," or non-harming. Yogis aren't supposed to harm > any being--including themselves. > > Good luck and be well. > > EAW Oops, sorry, I meant "tenets" of yoga. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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