{via pinterest}

Yesterday, Julie Norman, a registered dietician, yoga instructor and Health At Every Size Supporter, talked about how women can heal their body image and food issues.

Today, in part two of our interview, Norman offers insight into the biggest nutrition myths, how to eat mindfully and why yoga helps to heal a negative body image. She also lists some of her favorite yoga resources. (By the way, I’d like to add Anna’s Curvy Yoga to the list. She’s amazing!)

Check out Norman’s website to learn more about the great work she’s doing.

Here’s part two of my interview with Anna Guest-Jelley, a certified yoga instructor and founder of Curvy Yoga. (Check out part one here.)

Anna believes in being healthy at every size. (Me too!) She’s dedicated to promoting the messages of joyous movement and self-acceptance at every shape.

Instead of focusing on shame and self-loathing – which we see promoted all-too often by the media and even some health professionals – Anna helps people challenge such negative ideas and feel safe and truly happy moving their bodies.

To me, this is a great gift to give to others.

She also writes a fantastic blog on her website. It’s wise, well-written and most importantly honest and genuine – which are just some of the qualities, among many, that I admire about Anna.

Below, Anna talks about what a positive body image means to her, what helps her stay positive, how to practice yoga at home and so much more!

How many of you have ever felt uncomfortable, too big or just not good enough when going to the gym or trying out a new fitness class?

What if the instructor made you feel like you didn’t belong in the class or didn’t even know how to provide you with safe ways to practice?

So many of us can relate to feeling out of place. In fact, many people don’t pursue physical activities because of such feelings.

But there are amazing people out there who are working to change that!

Anna Guest-Jelley is a certified yoga instructor and founder of Curvy Yoga. And I think a true inspiration!

As she writes on her about page, “One of the primary goals of Curvy Yoga is to give fat people a safe space in which to move their bodies—for the first time in a long time, for many people.”

Plus, “Curvy Yoga also strives to give people quiet space for introspection and reflection to start challenging the ways in which they care for themselves and creating a life built on happiness rather than self-loathing.”

Below, Anna talks about why she started Curvy Yoga and her own struggles with self-acceptance, the diet mentality and body image.

{image credit}

This Monday, we talked about some helpful questions to ask to assess the state of your body image.

Today, I want to talk about what makes you super duper giddy about your body.

I was reading Julie’s post (that’s Julie of the fantastic blog Beautiful You) on dreams, and she wrote something that struck me.

She writes:

Are your dreams as amazing as you are?

It’s great to have them, but how much are they really inspiring you?

Could your dream possibly just be a goal that requires some of your attention and commitment, or is it actually a dream that will require passion, dedication and S – T – R – E – T – C – H?

Don’t for one moment believe that you should limit your dreams.

Never.

So like Julie says about dreams, let’s not talk about what makes you feel iffy, OK or blah about your body.

In May, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mary NurrieStearns, a licensed clinical social worker, yoga teacher and co-author of Yoga for Anxiety: Meditations and Practices for Calming Body and Mind, for an article on self-help strategies for anxiety on Psych Central. Today I wanted to share with you some of the tidbits that didn’t make it into the piece, which may be very helpful.

According to Mary, in addition to the health and anxiety-calming benefits, “Yoga connects us. When we connect, we feel more real. Yoga calms and quiets us. We feel good. And I think when we feel good in our body, it’s somehow a reflection of our basic goodness. We’re meant to connect to that.”

Today, we’re continuing with our three-part interview with Maggie, who struggled with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Maggie is the creator of Sprout Yoga, a fantastic organization that teaches yoga to individuals healing from eating disorders and trauma.

Below, Maggie talks specifically about her recovery, yoga’s role in that recovery and what she’s learned in general.

Recently a pilot study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that yoga was effective in treating adolescents with anorexia, bulimia and eating disorder not otherwise specified (or EDNOS, the grab bag category, which includes eating disorders that don’t fit the criteria for anorexia or bulimia).

Specifically, the study looked at two groups: one group received standard care, which involved an appointment with a physician or dietician every other week; the second received standard care plus yoga.

Immediately after the yoga sessions, teens reported being less preoccupied with food. At 12 weeks, these teens also had lower scores on the self-report questionnaire, Eating Disorder Examination. While the teens who didn’t practice yoga experienced an initial decline in scores, they returned to their baseline at week 12. Also, importantly, the teens didn’t lose any weight. The researchers concluded that, “Results suggest that individualized yoga therapy holds promise as adjunctive therapy to standard care.”

Q&A with Eating Disorder Specialists

To learn more, I emailed with Sharon Behl, MA, LPC., E-RYT, primary therapist and yoga therapist at the Eating Recovery Center and Kenneth L. Weiner, MD, CEDS, co-founder and medical director of the Eating Recovery Center.

1. I was under the impression that inpatient centers typically prohibit exercise because it can become a method of purging (if it isn’t already). Even though the study was done in outpatient treatment, it seems counterintuitive to recommend yoga for individuals with eating disorders. What are your thoughts?

Behl: This is a concern that we hear occasionally. However, studies show that a low level of exercise can actually contribute to better overall patient experience in treatment.

It’s important to understand that yoga is more than the postures and poses we typically identify with the practice. Yoga also involves breathing, focus, relaxation and guided imagery. This contemplative practice increases an individual’s sense of well-being. People with eating disorders often feel disconnected from their bodies…yoga helps them to reconnect, offering moments of “being okay” in their bodies.

2. What is it about yoga that may have helped in reducing eating disorder symptoms?

Behl: At the physiological level, yoga allows a patient’s relaxation response to kick in. This process can …