Welcome to the Eating Disorders: How Yoga Supports Prevention and Recovery course.

We’ve created this course because we believe yoga can be a potent tool for eating disorder prevention and recovery. Our vision is to equip you with knowledge, skills, and resources to make your classes a safe and supportive space for people affected by eating disorders in your own community. We hope to inspire you to join us in this international effort to incorporate yoga into the continuum of mental healthcare.

Within the Eating Disorders: How Yoga Supports Prevention and Recovery course, there are three modules:

1: Eating Disorders 101

In this module, you will learn:

• About the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and lesser known diagnoses like muscle dysmorphia and pica
• The biopsychosocial causes of eating disorders –including genetic, environmental, psychological, and sociocultural factors, and how they interact
• How eating disorders affect people from gender and racial/ethnic minorities, including LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, and those from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds

2: How Yoga Supports Prevention and Recovery

In this module, you will learn:

• How eating disorders interfere with the body’s natural communication system, and how yoga can help rebuild pathways related to hunger and fullness
• Practices that can help students manage sensation overwhelm and build emotional resilience
• The role of self-compassion in eating disorder recovery, and ways to help your students build a kinder relationship with themselves in your classes
• Embodied practices you can incorporate in your classes to help all students build skills for mindful eating, emotional resilience, and positive embodiment

3: Risks and Best Practices for Working with Students

In this module, you will learn:

• Common cardiovascular complications associated with eating disorders – including bradycardia, electrolyte imbalance, cardiac atrophy, and loss of autonomic control
• Rates of suicide and self-harm in those affected by eating disorders, and best practices for supporting students you’re concerned about
• Best practices for conducting risk assessment and referring acutely ill students to treatment

We are excited to have you here, and grateful to be connected to you as you join our growing yoga service community. 

PARTNERS IN SERVICE

Eating Disorders: How Yoga Supports Prevention and Recovery was created through a partnership between the Give Back Yoga Foundation and Eat Breathe Thrive.  

We also want to express our gratitude to the Omega Institute, for making each course you find on Give Back Yoga University possible. The Omega Institute is dedicated to providing hope and healing through innovative educational experiences that awaken the best in the human spirit. Learn more about their work at eomega.org.