I love being a yoga therapist. It's an absolute privilege to hold space for individuals and share the practices, philosophies, and tools of yoga to support them in the shifts and changes they wish to make in their lives. Many thanks to Sofia Health for inviting me to share about the benefits of yoga therapy for eating disorder recovery in this interview.

In her latest blog post, Niya Bajaj explores how the experiences of individuals who do not fit in the “skinny, white, affluent, girl” (SWAG) stereotype impacts if and how they seek help for eating disorders. Educating on the yoga practice of Satya, Niya identifies how yoga therapy can support inclusive recovery and guide individuals to reconnect with aspects of their identity and cultural practices to support their recovery.

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.

In her latest blog post, Niya Bajaj highlights how the experience of intersectionality--or multiple social identities--impacts eating disorders and recovery outcomes. She explores how the yoga concept of svādhyāya (self-study) guides us to deepen our awareness of what influences our identity and body image. Niya also explains how researchers and care providers can apply svādhyāya to help address eating disorders in a truly inclusive way by including systemically excluded populations in the eating disorder community.