Learning the yogic definition of contentment was an important turning point in my recovery because I could let go of the pressure to be happy all the time, or even to always like my body. Here I share how a most unexpected role model showed me I was free from measuring the success of my recovery by the depth of my happiness.

I experienced grief off and on during my recovery, especially in the beginning when I started to consistently make choices that aligned with recovery and not the eating disorder. I invite you to read about a pivotal moment in my journey, when I learned what it actually means to grieve the eating disorder, and why this emotion is a natural and important part of healing.

For so many of us in recovery, being “healthy” creates quite a conundrum. Although we commit to health and desire the benefits that come from being healthy, it can be painfully difficult to hear the words: “You look healthy.” Here I open up about the trouble I had with this word, and how I eventually learned to expand my definition of healthy from one rooted in eating disorder thinking to one that aligns with recovery values.

In her 20s, guest contributor Rebecca Berg, MS, RDN (she/her/hers), became obsessed with exercise and controlling her food intake and weight, only to realize that she was experiencing an eating disorder at the very same time she was studying to become a Registered Dietitian. Rebecca bravely shares what it meant to her to acknowledge she had an eating disorder and how she reframed the stories that were keeping her stuck. Rebecca’s story is an invitation for everyone—including those in the helping and healing professions—to recognize that their struggles do not diminish their worth.

“When we step back and observe emotional eating as a natural behavior we use to help us cope with hard feelings like anxiety, loneliness, sadness, and anger, we can begin to let go of judgement. Instead, we can look at emotional eating through a kind, understanding lens.” Read this latest blog post by Caroline L. Young, MS, RD, LD, RYT, to learn why emotional eating is normal, how to release judgment for coping with food, and to remember your ability to choose from a variety of ways of cope with hard feelings.

In this month’s blog series on yoga therapy and inclusive eating disorder recovery, Niya Bajaj investigates the impact of systemic exclusion on eating disorder recovery. She educates about how we can apply the niyama of tapas (TAH-pahs) to make systems more inclusive. Niya offers practical suggestions for how researchers, care providers, and individuals seeking care can practice tapas to build systems that are more inclusive.

Writer and yoga teacher Ashley Paige explains how the fifth chakra, also know as the throat chakra, relates to eating disorder recovery. Learn some practices to help heal this energy center so that you can be authentic in your words, and actions and feel empowered to communicate openly.

Writer and yoga teacher Ashley Paige explains how the fourth chakra relates to eating disorder recovery. Learn why taking steps to practice self-respect and self-love are cornerstones to healing our relationship with food and our body.

Guest contributor Liz Dehler shares how the Buddhist teaching of impermanence can be a tool in eating disorder recovery that helps us shape a new relationship with our experiences and the world around us. Liz provides some practical ways to begin embracing impermanence in your daily life and a short meditation to practice also.