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YOGA FOR RECOVERY

The Yoga for Recovery program was established at Eating Disorders Queensland in 2019, recognising and valuing our holistic way of working with people. Since then, it has run four programs. Due to Covid-19, the decision was made to pause the program until it was able to be run again in person so during the time from July 2020 to June 2021, only two programs were run.

Yoga originates in India and the practice comes from a long line of teachers, students, and practice. Yoga has been recognised as a helpful practice alongside traditional forms of therapy in eating disorder recovery. In this program, through the practice of yoga, a person can start to regain a sense of connection to their body that may have been lost due to their eating disorder. Sessions allow people to focus on turning their attention to their inner experience of the practice thus building skills of being present, interoception, emotional regulation, and moving towards body acceptance. The main goal for Yoga for Recovery is to give the person the opportunity to connect to and notice sensations in their body and then be able to interact with what they feel in various self-directed compassionate ways.

Sessions start with a grounding practice, intention setting and a series of gentle warmups. Then explored are different forms, breathing practices, meditation, mantra, and rest/relaxation time.

Sessions are informed by the philosophical principles and understanding of Yoga such as Ahimsa (non-harming) which are about supporting a shift to a more self-compassionate approach to self.

Introducing healthy movement and including it in daily life to breath and help when emotions get intense.

• A class suitable to all levels of yoga that focuses on the relationship between our bodies, our emotions and our actions.

• I didn’t think of this yoga practice as time away from work or family, I thought of how I was better at all of the roles in my life when I make time for myself.

• On every session, I felt every day is different in my body and it is important to allow my practice to reflect that in which I was able to do during class.

General feedback from participants:

• The non-judgemental space was warm and beautifully motivating… focusing on compassion and kindness for oneself is something that I’ve never experienced and truly moving.

• I have found yoga practice to be one of the most useful tools in my journey so far. The yoga course through EDQ was a physical, gentle and tangible way for me to connect to my healthy self in way I could actually understand and comprehend. I felt so safe and welcome in the group and always left feeling nourished. I still use some of things I learnt, such as ahimsa (non-violence), to try to learn new ways of being with and in my body.

• The first thing I learnt and have never been shown or supported with is, during class, to listen to your body, to not compare yourself with others and explanation around this was invigorating! I actually made a story in my mind comparing and putting myself down before attending or meeting anyone on our first session.

• I found it so rejuvenating each week! A wonderful mid week relaxation/check in/pep up session. It reminded me to come back to my body and my breath!

FUNDING THROUGH THE RECOVERY AND DISCOVERY CENTRE:

EDQ is the specialist eating disorder partner in the Recovery and Discovery Centre through Communify.

The centre is modelled off a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model, with Communify providing the Hub-centralised referral, coordination, and administrative functions. Spokes- are the different partners like EDQ, Brisbane Youth Services and Toowong Private Hospital, providing specialised services.

This Hub covers the North Brisbane (or RBWH) catchment area, funded through North Brisbane PHN. For the Recovery and Discovery Centre, EDQ designed a group, Recovery Warriors as an open group, specifically aimed at psychosocial support and psychoeducation. Aimed at individuals who are either:

• Looking for information to learn more about

Eating Disorders • Seeking help for the first time and wondering what types of treatment and support is available • Is on a waitlist for clinical treatment with EDQ • Or looking at maintaining skills to support ongoing recovery This group provides a space for community connection, peer support, learning and applying skills like Sensory Modulation, Connecting Values to Inner Strength, the Role of Society and Stereotypes and understanding eating disorders from a lived experience perspective.

As an introduction to what clinical treatment might look like and preparing participants for the next ‘step up’ into treatment, we also deliver Wise Choices, a psychoeducation 11-week closed group. The program aims to support participants to develop skills, to help lead a life of healthy and meaningful relationships with oneself and others. Wise Choices is an evidence-based group developed by Spectrum in Victoria and previously funded by NBPHN through PIR as a mitigation intervention to the prevention of hospitalisation.

EDQ is very excited to expand our psychosocial support services through our growing relationships with PHNs across Queensland. Watch this space!

WISE CHOICES

EDQ have facilitated three Wise Choices programs throughout the 2020-2021 financial year. Wise Choices is a manualised psycho-ed skills group, based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which is funded through Communify. The Wise Choices program consists of three different series using a ten-session model. We have run the Introduction to Wise Choices twice and Wise Choices in Relationships once. Interest in the program has increased over the year. The following topics were explored within both series:

Introduction to Wise Choices:

• The cost of struggling to avoid difficult thoughts and feelings • Introduction to Acceptance and Mindfulness skills • Awareness of values and taking values-based action • Awareness of Choice Points • Addressing obstacles to taking values-based action

Wise Choices in Relationships:

• Relationship values • Obstacles to acting in line with values in relationships • Use of acceptance and mindfulness skills to address internal obstacles that arise within relationships

Feedback

“‘I liked talking about my values in this group and listening to other peoples values’

‘I liked discussion, sharing and being heard’

‘I really found it helpful to talk about my problems with other people and connecting with them’

‘it helped me challenge the uncomfortableness and vulnerability’

‘It was helpful evaluating values as a group and linking them to actions. It help me clarify my values’

Session 7 (awareness of emotions) ‘My favourite week so far - I love the whiteboard activities and the groups were awesome. Everyone contributed and it was a great way to connect. Keep doing what you are doing the group discussion is wonderful’

RECOVERY WARRIORS

Our Recovery Warriors program ran monthly throughout the 2020-2021 financial year. The program is a psycho-educational skills-based group which is funded through Communify. The intention of the program is to provide extra support for people who may be on the counselling waitlist, or waitlisted for other groups programs. Interest in the program has been increasing throughout the financial year. Each month EDQ practitioners developed and delivered a different theme that relates to eating disorder recovery. Over the financial year, the following topics were delivered:

• Distress tolerance skills • Building a coping skills toolkit • Responding to emotions • Reflecting on values and relationship building skills • DBT skills in understanding states of mind • Sensory strategies in emotional regulation • Connecting values to inner strength • Responding to societal appearance standards