Yoga as an adjunct treatment for eating disorders: a qualitative enquiry of client perspectives.

BACKGROUND: This qualitative enquiry explores the experiences and perspectives of individuals with an eating disorder (ED) regarding their perceptions of yoga as an adjunct intervention to psychotherapy. It also explores the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of yoga from their perspectives. METHODS: This study used a practice-based evidence framework and employed semi-structured interviews with 16 females with an ED. Participants were asked about their perspectives on the use of yoga as an adjunct intervention in ED recovery, perceived risks and what factors supported or hindered engagement. Thematic template analysis was used. RESULTS: Three topic areas were elaborated. The first included participants' perceptions of how yoga enhanced their ED recovery. The second included how and when participants came to find yoga in their ED recovery. The final topic explored factors that supported participants with ED to engage in yoga. These resulted in the development of guiding principles to consider when designing a yoga intervention for EDs. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds further to the emerging evidence that yoga can bring complementary benefits to ED recovery and provides a biopsychosocial-spiritual framework for understanding these. Findings provide an understanding of how yoga programs can be adapted to improve safety and engagement for people with an ED. Yoga programs for people with EDs should be co-designed to ensure that the physical, social, and cultural environment is accessible and acceptable.

Yoga as an adjunct treatment for the eating disorders: A qualitive enquiry of clinician perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Yoga has been recognised as a beneficial adjunct for eating disorder (ED) treatment due to demonstrating positive effects on ED symptomology. Despite this, research exploring the perspectives of clinicians regarding the use of yoga for the spectrum of the EDs is limited. Consequently, this study utilised qualitative enquiry to explore the experiences and perspectives of clinicians regarding the implementation of yoga as an adjunct for ED treatment. This research examines how yoga may be safely applied for the EDs, to enhance ED treatment approaches and recovery. METHODS: This study employed semi-structured interviews with 12-clincians with up to 20-years of experience working therapeutically with people with EDs. Participants were asked their perspectives on the benefits, risks, and adaptations for delivering safe and suitable yoga programs for the spectrum of EDs. Template thematic analysis was used. RESULTS: Four distinct themes were identified. They included the (1) benefits of yoga, (2) risks associated with the practice, (3) recommendations for adapting yoga for this cohort, and (4) implementing yoga alongside current psychological treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians viewed yoga as a safe and suitable transdiagnostic treatment, with the potential to support individuals with a more holistic and sustained recovery model. Clinicians raised concerns that might arise with the use of yoga for this cohort, however, they also emphasised the ability for these to be mitigated with a series of key adaptations. Importantly, clinicians recommended that yoga is implemented and monitored alongside ED treatment to ensure its suitability and safety. Key barriers for implementing yoga as an adjunct treatment and future research directions are discussed. Recent research has explored the benefits of yoga for individuals with eating disorders (EDs). However, researchers have not yet interviewed clinicians who work with those with EDs regarding their views on using yoga for their clients. This study therefore interviewed 12 clinicians working with individuals with EDs, to obtain their views for using yoga as a therapeutic treatment for this group. Overall, clinicians viewed yoga as a safe and beneficial treatment for EDs. While some concerns were raised regarding the safety of yoga for this group, clinicians emphasised that these could be relieved by a series of key adaptations. This study offers unique insights into how yoga may be safely applied into the care for ED clients, to enhance their treatment approaches and recovery.

One size may not fit all: A mapping review of yoga-based interventions for the treatment of eating disorders.

BACKGROUND: While research investigating the potential benefits of yoga for eating disorders (EDs) has expanded, a systematic approach examining how yoga has been implemented for this cohort has not yet been conducted. This research therefore aimed to synthesize the current understanding of how yoga has been implemented for individuals with EDs, with regards to the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of yoga for this cohort. METHODS: This study utilised mapping review technology. The following electronic databases were searched within the month of September 2021 and December 2022: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Embase. Articles that applied and documented the use of yoga for the EDs were selected. RESULTS: The review identified ten unique studies. Details regarding the application, feasibility, acceptability, and safety of these yoga programs were extracted. This resulted in an evidence map or visual summary of how yoga has been applied for the EDs. CONCLUSION: While limited, the current literature suggests that yoga is a safe, acceptable, and feasible transdiagnostic intervention for EDs. These findings provide pragmatic support for safely applying yoga for the EDs into clinical practice to support ED recovery.

Values and cognitive mechanisms: Comparing the predictive factors of Australian meat intake.

Recent studies have found values for animal-welfare, personal-health and the environment to be the main factors motivating veg*n diets. However, studies are yet to simultaneously compare these values between Australian meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans, and therefore, the extent to which they motivate these groups. Further, while cognitive mechanisms (methods of reducing the psychological discomfort of eating meat while holding such values) have been found to facilitate meat intake, these mechanisms are yet to be compared against values in their ability to predict meat consumption. In the current study, meat-eaters reported the lowest concern for animal-welfare, personal-health, and the environment. With the exception of personal-health, vegans reported the greatest concern for these factors. However, cognitive mechanisms predicted meat consumption more strongly than these values. These findings may have implications for reducing meat consumption and improving outcomes for animal-welfare, public health and the environment.