Our community guidelines are the foundation of trust and safety in our Connect, Practice, Recover: A Yoga Support Group for Eating Disorders. The work of creating a safe and positive group environment does not lie with the group facilitators alone; each community member is critical in this process. These guidelines are designed to help you co-create a space within yourself and your group for connection and growth.

Dignity

We affirm each person’s worth and value. We agree to treat everyone in the group with kindness and respect. In practice, this means we speak and act with kindness, integrity, curiosity, and understanding. We do not engage in violence, deception, or manipulation. We consider how our speech and actions may be received by our fellow group members, and work to communicate clearly and without causing harm. If we become aware of harm, we acknowledge the harm directly and seek resolution. In the case of conflict, we speak with the person directly rather than speaking about the incident or person with others.

Diversity

We affirm, respect, and honor each person’s diverse experience and expression. In practice, this means we do not engage in discriminatory speech or behavior of any kind; whether based on race/ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, (dis)ability, or any other aspect of a person’s experience and/or identity. We actively work to understand our own biases and assumptions and recognize that even with the best of intentions we can still do harm. We actively strive to understand harms when they are brought to our attention, make amends when appropriate, and deepen our understanding of our fellow group members’ experiences, identities, and expressions.

Sober State

We affirm our responsibility to engage in the group in a sober state of mind. We acknowledge the impact our presence has on others, the sensitivity of the topics at hand, and the need for awareness, care and conscious participation. We agree not to participate in the event while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, illicit drugs, or any substances that may impair our judgment or interfere with our capacity to be fully present with others in the group. This includes legally-prescribed pharmaceutical drugs (e.g. opiates or sedatives) that may interfere with our capacity to make sound judgments and access all our mental faculties.

Safety and Stability

We affirm our responsibility to care for our mental health. We recognize the limitations of this event; namely that it is not equipped to support or treat severe mental health challenges (i.e. psychosis, suicidality, self-harm, etc). We acknowledge that yoga, group discussions, and psychoeducation activities can be more destabilizing than supportive when we’re in the midst of these experiences. We commit to honor and care for ourselves and seek appropriate treatment if these experiences arise.

Presence and Attention

We affirm our responsibility to be fully present at the event. We understand our attention is a gift we give to our fellow group members, and that phone calls, text messages, and outside distractions can erode the group dynamic. We listen and engage in sessions without distractions. We agree not to use electronic devices during the event unless extenuating circumstances require it. We don’t text, speak on the phone, or otherwise engage in outside conversations during the event.

Respectful Discussion:

• No dumping: If you choose to share something in group, do it with the expectation of receiving feedback and support around the topic

• Step in/ Step out (step up/step back): Be aware of how much you are speaking in group. If you tend to share frequently, pause and let some of the quieter folks speak up. If you are on the quieter side, challenge yourself to jump into the conversation.

• No numbers: Please make note that participants are NOT permitted to quantify any actions or make lists during group. For instance, "I ate a bagel, a cupcake, a hotdog, a burger, a slice...". This is not permissible under the "No numbers" guideline.

• Use “I” statements: As peers who are at different stages of recovery, we find it can be very powerful to share from personal experience about what has helped us, and avoid giving advice or telling people what to do.

• Please use technical/clinical language only for eating disorder behaviors (binging, purging, restricting, over-exercising). Please avoid detailed descriptions and non-clinical terminology like puking, starving, stuffing, etc. These may be very triggering for other participants.