A short reflection upon returning home from speaking and teaching in New York City on the natural, deep connection born from shared experience -- how I can be in a room of strangers, yet they are not strangers at all.

Happy 2019! Without fail, the focus on working out and changing our bodies intensifies in the beginning months of the New Year, with marketers convincing us we need to lose weight, join a gym, and eat less. The repetition of these messages can cause us to question if we “fit” in and flare up body image concerns. Can you relate? If so, I promise you aren’t alone. In this blog post, I share an excerpt from my book, Body Mindful Yoga, on the combat language of fitness culture and offer new, more affirming language to embrace movement in your life.

“I continued to move my body in this new, strange way. I felt parts of me engage, physically and emotionally, that I had never engaged before. I started to breathe more in this new way; a way that seemed to soothe my heightened senses and provide moments of peace and silence in my over-stimulated mind.” Read guest contributor Allyson Pesta’s powerfully honest story of eating disorder recovery and how yoga, despite her initial reluctance, taught her she is enough.

Right and wrong, good and bad, and the many-layered meanings of these words have been applied to food, turning the act of nourishing our bodies into an issue of morality. Unraveling morality-based beliefs about food and our self-worth is essential to forging true healing in eating disorder recovery. I’m happy to share this excerpt from my new book, Body Mindful Yoga, on how to call on yoga to embrace your innate goodness and challenge morality language about food.

Guest contributor and author of Notice Me, Špela Kranjec, shares a pivotal moment in her recovery story and offers the important reminder that accepting support from others is a necessary part of healing from an eating disorder.

Here’s what you need to know if a yoga student with an eating disorder takes your yoga class. I am dedicated to educating my colleagues on this topic and advocating for others in recovery.

“I always felt that if I looked perfect on the outside, no one would know what a mess I was on the inside.” Guest contributor Crystal Hampton shares her story of overcoming an eating disorder and addiction and offers others hope to keep going on their personal journeys. Read more about Crystal’s story and what has helped her maintain recovery.

Body comparing thoughts can take over our minds like a wildfire, leaving us empty of confidence and consumed with self-doubt. If you are often distracted with body comparing thoughts, here’s 5 of my favorite hands-on Yoga tools to quiet body comapring thinking and practice becoming more present.

Guest contributor Jenifer Dillow shares her story of eating disorder recovery. From the secrets that kept her sick, to the self-forgiveness that set her free to live her fullest potential, Jenifer inspires others on their recovery journeys to trust that “freedom is there for the taking.”