Yoga may supplement psychological treatment for eating disorders

Dahn Yoga benefits people of all ages, backgrounds and body types, which may be why so many satisfied members have written testimonials expressing their jubilation at having found the regimen in the first place. Besides being an appropriate exercise for people in a frail condition, yoga may augment psychological therapy for individuals with serious mental conditions.

Yoga has been found to accommodate the physical needs of patients in relatively weak conditions. A study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine recently determined that low-impact yoga exercises may help elderly individuals with chronic heart failure stay active.

Now, research appearing in the journal Eating Disorders suggests that the holistic discipline may be an appropriate supplement to rehabilitation programs for anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

Laura Douglass, the author and an interdisciplinary studies student at Massachusetts' Lesley University, is careful to note that on its own, yoga is not a thorough treatment for people with these conditions. Instead, it may be a constructive part of an integrated mental and physical healing program, she states.

Douglass notes that yoga may come at the problem of body image by way of sociological, neurological and spiritual inroads.

In addition to making an individual more aware of his or her own physique, Dahn Yoga mindfulness meditation can emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong, accepting connection between mind and body.

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