Yogurt Now Being Used For Therapy?
Writer Sara Bir finds the act of making yogurt therapeutic and is an example of how many activities can serve a therapeutic purpose.
In a culture that is slowly but surely starting to a place a priority on mental health, folks are willing to try anything that might help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, or just general overwhelm. Therapy has lost much of the taboo it held in the previous decades, and everything from goat yoga to sober lifestyles to treating yourself with luxurious bath products is now on the table as people try to determine what choices and activities make their minds just a little bit easier to inhabit.
For writer Sara Bir, that activity is making yogurt. The process of making yogurt is not an incredibly complicated one, but it does require patience, time, and the occasional bit of troubleshooting. According to Food & Wine, Bir’s weekend yogurt-making has so helped her physical and mental health that it’s become something akin to a religious practice for her.
It’s no surprise that rituals help us feel safe, secure, and at peace. After all, rituals have been part of human existence for as long as it’s been recorded, from religious practices and services, to a well-brewed cup of coffee in the morning, to the crafting of a great cocktail after the kids go to bed. It’s why so many companies these days strive to provide those traditional rituals in new, healthier ways, like Monq’s Essential Oil Diffusers that function like cigarettes or Ritual’s Non-Alcoholic Spirits. There are lots of healthy alternatives to rituals that may not be serving us well and, for Bir—and maybe for you, too—that ritual is yogurt.
Bir first started making yogurt after spending too much time staring at the myriad yogurt options at her local supermarket. Bir wanted something simple, not to mention more earth-friendly than the often non-recyclable plastics that most commercially-produced yogurts come in. She started making yogurt in her Instant Pot, over the weekend, when the demands of her work and life schedule were fewer and allowed for time to trust the yogurt-making process.
Now, years later, Bir still makes yogurt in her Instant Pot every weekend. She’s part of various online forums where other novices and experienced yogurt-makers share recipes, ask questions, and generally discuss their diverse processes and experiences. As a person with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Bir often struggles to complete tasks that include multiple steps; yogurt-making not only serves as a brain exercise but as a way to practice self-forgiveness, as there are myriad ways to fix yogurt gone wrong or make up for a missed step.
Yogurt as therapy is less about the yogurt itself and more about finding the activities and rituals that make you feel more at home and at peace with yourself. While Bir found this therapy for herself in making yogurt, others find it in the outdoors, in cooking, in crafting, or in creating art. In a world that seeks to monetize and capitalize on your time and energy, it’s important to find rituals in your life that are just for you, ones that truly serve as therapy—whether that’s yogurt or something else.
