"Do the Best You Can With What You’ve Got" - Casey Urban

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1. Tell us more about yourself and your profession

Due to my unbridled teenage rebellion, I was pushed into practicing yoga at a young age. At first, I hated it! Eventually my daily practice became a way of life as it helped me overcome clinical depression and bulimia.

Now I have over 1,000 hours of yoga teacher training, which include an initial 200-hour certification, 2008 Bikram YTT in Acapulco, 2013 advanced YTT at Dharma Yoga in Austin, Texas, 2017 10-day silent Vipassana course, and 2018 Yoga for All YTT with Dianne Bondy and Amber Karnes.

I recently developed Bodylove! Yoga workshop, created to spread awareness of eating disorders and the Body Acceptance movement. I teach from a Body Positive and anti-diet culture perspective and advocates so that her daughters may grow up feeling empowered and in a safer world.

I have also become a professional certified eating disorder coach! I am absolutely honored to be part of this!

2. What is your fitness mantra?

Do the best you can with what you’ve got.

3. What are some of major misconceptions about diets and exercises?

One HUGE misconception about diets is that they don’t work! 97 percent of diets fail. Science teaches us that dieting (aka famine) triggers a biological response in our brain which causes us to binge. Learning this fact helped me personally take a lot of shame out of my binges when I was first in recovery. ALSO! Diet culture (aka the notion that we must all be thin no matter the cost) permeates every part of our society but especially in all forms of media. I encourage everyone to read up on diet culture, weight stigma, and thin privilege. 

4. How can one maintain a healthy lifestyle?

Healthy is an interesting word! Often times the word “healthy” is diet culture in disguise. I think being healthy is not just about eating your fruits and veggies and getting enough rest and exercise, but it is also about maintaining your mental health through therapy, yoga, mediation, or all of the above! In the eating disorder recovery world, it is also very important that we allow ourselves to have complete food freedom so that we don’t create fear around any foods. This allows for a more free and enjoyable lifestyle. 

5. How can one build a successful career in your field?

This is something I’m working on! These days everything is about your online presence…but I also highly recommend e-mailing studios, businesses, local schools, anyone and everyone to get your feet in the door! For the eating disorder recovery field it’s a little more specialized. Feel free to reach out to me for this answer!

6. What is one piece of advice you would like to give someone who wishes to lose weight?

Read Health at Every Size! Diets don’t work. Heal your inner world and allow yourself to find body neutrality and eventually, body acceptance!

7. How do diets and exercise contribute to overall well being and happiness? 

DIETS DON'T WORK! Eat intuitively and allow yourself room to grow and heal in your body acceptance journey!