With lots of excitement, very shortly there will be an online yoga subscription launching at BodyMatters! My name is Lauren and I have just joined the BodyMatters team, check out my bio here.
I am very excited to be working in collaboration with BodyMatters to introduce yoga as an additional step on the journey to eating disorder recovery and the pathway to loving our bodies.
How can yoga help?
I notice a clear connection between yoga and recovering from an eating disorder, or even for anyone learning to love their bodies just as they are. Through the practice of yoga we have the opportunity to recreate a peaceful and intimate relationship with our body, appreciate it for its functionality rather than form, and listen to what it needs. We learn to nurture self-acceptance, compassion and presence within each moment of our lives.
Yoga also helps with reducing stress and transforms how the body and mind intuitively respond to it. It helps to regulate our emotions and manage and create more positive thoughts and behaviours towards ourselves.
What will this new initiative look like?
One yoga class will be posted onto the webpage each week (for a small weekly subscription fee), and all classes will be different. Each practice will move with intention, having a theme each week in order to more deeply connect with our bodies and minds on and off the mat. We will learn various yoga poses and mindfulness and meditation techniques to help us manage destructive thoughts and behaviours towards our bodies and towards ourselves. Through your subscription you will be able to access all videos posted and can view them as many times as you like!
In addition to the yoga videos, I will write a weekly blog with themes that correspond to the yoga practice that week. For example, I will write and teach about mind and body awareness, self-compassion and self-love, presence, breath, mindful movement, meditation, and balance, just to name a few!
There will also be an opportunity for those who subscribe to the yoga videos to connect with one another on an online forum. It will be a safe, positive place to share feedback and ask questions about the blog or yoga videos, and also a space to support one another through your journeys.
Finally, I will be offering individual yoga classes. These will be fully customised lessons that you schedule and pay for, delivered over skype. This means that you can learn yoga from the comfort and convenience of your own home. This is suitable for of people of all shapes and sizes, and of all stages of recovery.
But first…
To kick it all off, BodyMatters’ Sarah and I will be leading an upcoming event at the Lululemon Athletica store in Mosman. There will be a yoga practice and presentation where we will explore how to learn to love and create a more positive relationship with our bodies. This will also be a wonderful opportunity to get a feel for what the online yoga classes will look like, to meet some of the BodyMatters team, and to connect with lots of other like-minded people within our community. Everyone is welcome! Please check out the event details and we hope to see you there!