On a dark January evening, I found a yellow sticky note that I’d completely forgotten about in my coat pocket. On the front were three words: yoga, write, read. I needed this reminder to slow down and make space for these nourishing activities. Now I just had to believe I was deserving of taking the time to do them. Here I share some of the steps I took to build trust within myself that I was, in fact, deserving to make and take space for those people, places, and things that are important to me.

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.

Guest contributor Taylor Bowman loved to move as a child. From bopping her head or tapping her toe or shaking her hips, movement was a natural part of her. But this all changed when critical comments about her maturing and changing body caused Taylor to begin judging her body, which resulted in an eating disorder. In this blog post, Taylor shares her pain of feeling unworthy to move or exist in her body, and her triumph of reconnecting with her body through dance, yoga, and other forms of movement on her healing path to self-acceptance.

Guest contributor Lora McCandless struggled with an eating disorder for many years, often feeling alone and unseen. Here, Lora shares how hearing the words “Be Kind to Yourself” for the first time set her on a journey to learning how to practice self-kindness in her recovery and in her life today as a mother, wife, and human.

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.

In 2010, guest contributor Veronique van Dam traveled to Uganda to volunteer. She had an urge to contribute to the world in a meaningful way. Looking back on her travel diary, Veronique shares 31 lessons she learned from her trip about herself and the values she wishes to live by in her life and recovery.

Learn how the yoga philosophy of saucha can guide us to find inner clarity and freedom from overwhelm, what-ifs, and worry. Use the reflection prompts and guided meditations included in this blog to bring saucha into your recovery.