I am so absolutely excited to team up with Charlene Smith, LCSW to offer a combination of group psycho-therapy and Anusara-Inspired yoga designed to support recovery from Eating Disorders. This is an 8 week series meeting once a week for 2 hours staring July 2nd.
When a client signs up for the series they will fill out an intake form. One part of that form asks them to list 6+ specific topics they would like to focus on, some examples might be: triggers, emotions, self sabotage... Charlene and I will look through these topics, I am sure many will overlap, and we will break them up into each sessions. The session will be guided by the clients suggestions! Each week we will focus on one topic, group discussion + processing + support + journaling + and yoga theme will all be based off of the specific topic for the evening.
Yoga asana will be very gentle. We don't want this to be a "lets burn calories" or "push the body to hard". Instead I want the clients to cultivate a gentleness with themselves and a sense of listening. One reason I believe this group therapy + yoga combination is going to be so powerful is because we will talk about it, write about it, and then move the body and integrate everything into our body at a cellular level then reflect on it.
There will be a lot of practicing the first principle of Anusara Yoga, Open to Grace. Open to something bigger then your imprisoned sick self! Open to what life would be life with out your eating disorder! Stand on your feet with confidence because you have the power to make and cultivate this change in your life! Lift up your chest and stand tall! Eating disorders can make people can feel afraid to take up space. Claim your space on this earth! Sand up tall and expand your chest and ribcage with willingness and courage. Without losing this new posture soften your skin, thank yourself for showing up for yourself in this way!
If you are interested in this series send me an email and I will get you an intake form.
Hi Kimberly--I'm a fellow yoga instructor, and I happened to stumble on this post when looking up yoga themes (next week I am doing "stand tall"). It's timely for me b/c I am also a psychologist who works with college students. Currently I have a client who is severely bulimic, and I am trying to weave some yoga into our work. I'm starting with simple meditations to get her more in touch with her body, but I wonder if you have any specific suggestions for me from your group work. I would love for you to email me!
ReplyDelete