> Hello,
> I’m not really sure who at this center to contact, but I thought I
> would write a general letter to see if you could help me at all. I am
> a 23 year old female who has been suffering with an eating disorder
> for the last 8 and a half years. This disorder has taken over my
> life, has taken my friends, all but destroyed my family, my identity
> and any joy I have in used to know. I have been through a number of
> conventional treatment programs for this, such as hospital-based
> programs that deal with the physical side of the problem but do very
> little in the way of helping me to recover long term. In the past
> year, I have found yoga, and have been practicing Ashtanga in Boston.
> Through the experience of the practice, I have felt more at home in my
> body and more at peace with my life; it is one of the few experiences
> that is currently bringing joy to my life. I am still, however, quite
> sick, and am in need of more help. I have explored various treatment
> options, but have not found anything that seems drastically different
> from what I have already experienced (which was not helpful for me).
> What I would really love to find is a center where I could recover
> from my disorder but within a program focused on holistic health and
> yoga, where I would be able to address this program from a mind and
> body perspective, where I would not simply be “fattened up” but learn
> a wholistic, integrated sense of being and living, and where I could
> intergrate a regular yoga practice, which has brought so much to my
> life, into my recovery. I was wondering if perhaps you, or anyone at
> the center, might have any ideas or recommendations for me as far as
> any places I could look, people I can speak with, or other sources of ideas or hope.
> Thank you very much,
on my www.yogaforums.com site you can search for all topics related to yoga therapy and my recommendations and also ask to that site any question you do not mind being public. your email will be confidential unless you wish feedback from any of the 500 yoga teachers and students that i serve.
my suggestion for you would be to go to www.treeoflife.nu for a program that can help restore your health. It is located in SE corner of Arizona. My friend Gabriel Cousens runs the center he is a physician, rabbi, yogi, and nutritional specialist. he has written 2 helpful books – Spiritual Nutrition and Conscious Eating. you might benefit from reading them and also contacting him for going there. program can be arranged for different lengths of time. It may be too costly for you so ask what arrangements he can make to make it affordable.
other option i would suggest is no cost to stay at www.yogaville.org Yoga ashram in central Virginia. There you can be helped by another of my friends Dr. Amrita Sandra McLanahan, also MD she has written much about holistic healing and yoga. she can help you and you can join the Yoga for Life program where by volunteering your time you can stay for no charge get healthy vegetarian food, do yoga, chant meditate and be in a loving environment as long as you wish.
blessings for healing. mukunda stiles