I remember my dietitian once telling me that there is more to life than rules about what you are and aren’t allowed to eat, that there are preferences if you give yourself permission to accept them. What the heck are food preferences, I thought. I only knew the world of strict, punishing food rules, thanks to the eating disorder. Here I share how I came to loosen my grip on food rules and began to explore what I actually, truly, deep down enjoy and dislike to eat—and in so doing, opened an unexpected pathway to self-acceptance.

Meet guest contributor Layla Caroni. At age 27, after 10 years of struggling with an eating disorder, Layla faced herself in the mirror and began what she calls the most significant journey of her life: her Hero’s journey to recovery. Read Layla’s inspiring story, which is also an invitation to view your own recovery journey as heroic.

Research has demonstrated a strong link between trauma exposure and other severe adverse experiences in both childhood and adulthood with eating disorders. In her latest blog, Niya Bajaj explores how the experiences of systemic exclusion and associated trauma impact how people seek help and how yoga therapy can support inclusive eating disorder recovery.

Writer and yoga teacher Ashley Paige explains how the third chakra relates to eating disorder recovery. Learn why exploring your strengths, values, and sense of purpose are important for both recovery and this chakra.