The Courageous Path to Healing with Jennifer Kreatsoulas, PhD, C-IAYT

 
Jennifer Kreatsoulas

Episode 83 - The Courageous Path to Healing with Jennifer Kreatsoulas, PhD, C-IAYT

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Kreatsoulas, PhD, C-IAYT, certified yoga therapist specializing in eating disorders and body image. Jennifer is the founder of Yoga for Eating Disorders, creator and host of Real Body Talk, an online interview talk show, and author of the book “Body Mindful Yoga,” and an international speaker. Through her virtual school, Yoga for Eating Disorders, Jennifer offers individual yoga therapy, groups, yoga classes, and continuing education and mentoring for professionals. Her writing about her personal journey of eating disorder recovery and professional experience as a passionate yoga therapist has been featured widely in the media and her next book, “The Courageous Path to Healing,” is scheduled for release in April 2022.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Relapsing from an eating disorder as an adult and as a mother

  • Postpartum symptoms as a risk factor for relapse

  • The danger of holding onto eating disorder behaviors, no matter the severity

  • Mind and body connection for healing

  • The difference between traditional yoga classes and yoga specific therapy

  • How yoga therapy embraces feelings that the eating disorder rejects and challenges normative, disordered behaviors

  • Accepting the chronicity of one’s eating disorder as a means of gaining the self-acceptance needed to move towards healing

  • The complications from COVID-19 and staying on the recovery path despite illness

ABOUT JENNIFER KREATSOULAS:

Jennifer Kreatsoulas, PhD, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, is a certified yoga therapist specializing in eating disorders and body image. She is the creator and host of Real Body Talk, author of Body Mindful Yoga, and mental health advocate. She speaks regularly on self-acceptance, empowerment, and confidence for mental health. Through her dynamic storytelling, Jennifer empowers people from college students to mental health groups to entrepreneurs to transcend their “perceived” limitations and own their unique strengths.

Jennifer is the founder of Yoga for Eating Disorders and provides yoga therapy via online and in person at YogaLife Institute in Wayne, PA, and leads yoga therapy groups at Monte Nido Eating Disorder Center of Philadelphia. She also teaches workshops, retreats, and specialized yoga and eating disorder recovery trainings for professionals. Jennifer was recently named one of the top 80 Female Eating Disorder Experts and Advocates.

Her writing about her personal journey of eating disorder recovery and professional experience as a passionate yoga therapist has appeared in Yoga International, Yoga Journal, Recovery Warriors, and other influential blogs. Jennifer has appeared on Fox29 news and has been featured in the Huffington Post, Real Woman Magazine, SJ Magazine, Medill Reports Chicago, Philly.com, YOGA Magazine, and on several podcasts.

Jennifer has more than 1,000 hours of yoga therapy training and is certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She began practicing yoga in 2001, and has been teaching since 2002. She completed a 3-year yoga therapy training at YogaLife Institute in Wayne, PA, and now is a teacher and mentor in the program. Jennifer also leads advanced teacher trainings and gives seminars on yoga therapy.

Previously, following completing a PhD in Literature from Lehigh University in 2007, Jennifer taught writing to college freshman. She went on to be a medical writer at Bryn Mawr Communications for 8 years, before founding Yoga for Eating Disorders.

Jennifer lives in Collegeville, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia, with her husband and two daughters.

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER: