I recently received a phone call from a woman in Sebring. A recovering anorexic, she began doing yoga to work through issues related to body image, and suddenly all of these negative emotions started surfacing during her practice. She wanted to know if this was normal, or if she were going crazy. I validated her findings, explaining the relationship between emotions and physical movement (as I've talked about here: Yoga as a Safe Have for Healing). She requested to schedule a lesson with me, even though it meant her driving four hours round trip to do so.
When Gail arrived (name used with her permission), I made certain to position her away from the mirror. Even though it was a private lesson, as an anorexic, I knew she'd not want to look at herself in a yoga pose. I included both strong and empowering poses like Warrior sequences, and softened Triangle and related poses to make them more feminine, transitioning between each asana with a shoulder stretch that was simply "hugging" oneself while tucking the chin. To this I asked her tell herself, "I am beautiful." During Warrior she would say, "I am strong." I could see her eyes welling up with tears as she did so.
We met for a handful of sessions, coming up with a specific practice and meditation she could do on her own, without coming to see me for that laborious drive, incorporating common poses that she could do in her local yoga class and feel confident because she was doing them correctly.
I received an excited email from Gail not three weeks later, explaining that "even though it made her cry", she was finally able to go to the front of her yoga class (instead of hiding in the back) and do her poses in front of the mirror (something she was terrified about before). Weeks after that, she noted that some of the effects of malnutrition had passed...her hair was thicker, nails stronger and complexion healthier. She felt beautiful, and consequently, became even more beautiful.
It's interesting to observe students in class, as well as recognize my own insecurities when studying yoga with fellow teachers. Yoga is one of the few forms of exercise that celebrates the body as it IS vs. as it SHOULD BE, and yet practitioners often struggle with body image, and how we look to our fellow yogis.
For this reason, I will be exploring how yoga can be used to facilitate an appreciation of Self, along with the concept of "honoring ones body" as it is vs. as it should be.
Until then, when you do practice yoga, remind yourself, "I am beautiful / handsome. I am strong."
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Have you read....
OPENING THE KIMONO: A WOMAN'S INTIMATE JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE'S BIGGEST CHALLENGES
By award winning author Theresa Rose?
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Comments
This is a good article about healing, and you handled the issue respectfully. Please let me emphasise your suggestion that 'strong' poses and affirmations be part of the process. I would suggest that they are even more crucial than the ones related to beauty (as in, I am strong and don't need to prove it by starving myself).
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