Let’s admit it—sometimes our emotions get the better of us and we turn to our very best friends for comforts, like Ben & Jerry or Mac & Cheese. There are a lot of reasons we feel emotionally soothed after eating foods that are high in sugar, carbohydrates and fat.
But really, who cares why we emotionally eat? We know deep inside it’s not something we should do often, if ever. Too much emotional eating and you know what happens: it backfires. We end up being even more emotional due to putting junk into our bodies and from the eventual weight gain that follows.
So, what’s an emotional human to do? In a word, yoga! Not only does yoga have numerous physical and psychological health benefits, studies show it actually curbs emotional eating. In fact, not one, but four studies discussed at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association indicate yoga is a beneficial complementary therapy.
The reasons we turn to food for comfort may be complicated but part of the cure is not. It’s as simple as breathing. Yoga literally means “union” and essentially “that which brings you to reality.” As you breathe into poses you get a release and the more you practice, the better you get at breathing and releasing. When you get better at releasing emotions in a healthy way, you just might notice the impulse to emotionally eat declines, little by slowly.
Do your future self a favor and pre-empt emotional eating by self-medicating the healthy way: take a yoga class this weekend. We have these offerings on Saturday and Sunday:
- Open Flow with Sara Asher at 9 a.m. every Saturday
- Beginner Vinyasa with Roberto Reynoso at 10:30 a.m. every Saturday
- Stretch & Release with Teresa Dornellas at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays
- Relax and Renew Restorative Yoga at 9:45 a.m. with Sarah Orlowicz on Sundays
The rest of the schedule is here.
Namaste.