Yes its a real thing, and if both parties are willing, and committed to the exercise as well as relationship, a very good thing indeed.

There's no rational reason for you to be beating yourself up with worry, starving or self harming, because you 2 have not split up. You are letting fear and anxiety dictate your actions, instead of the reality of the situation.

If I am to understand your post correctly, its not even actual space because there's contact, the only thing that is changing is to not base your schedules on eachother, and to do what you feel like doing, when you feel like doing it, independently.

Yes, I see how it can be hurtful, I'm not minimizing your hurt, but your reaction to a schedule change is a bit worrying, which leads me to believe he's doing this for the right reasons, for both of you.

When I've asked or been asked for space, it was no contact, no text, no calls, no "bumping into eachother" for a set amount of time. Sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes a month, depending on circumstance. So what you are describing does not seem like space, but rather the freedom to explore and enjoy things, without worrying about the other.

This is a good thing, because too many of us get so wrapped up in our relationships / partners, that we lose sight of who we are as individuals. And when that happens, how are we to recognize ourselves, or eachother when the person you fell inlove with no longer exists? Or when the person you were in the beginning, no longer exists?

Its hurtful at first yes, but if you can understand and accept his motives (and there seem to be no ulterior ones) then you can adjust and commit to making this exercise work, and in so doing, strengthen your relationship.

This is just my opinion, but something to think about: If your bf knows how badly you're taking this, how you are not able to actually make a go of this exercise without falling apart, you will prove his dependency issue accurate and it may lead him to take more drastic measures (eg. no contact / longer period of "space" ) to address the dependency problem, or he may want to eventually in future re-evaluate the relationship if this exercise goes belly up and dependency remains the name of the game.

So my advice?
Trust him, and as healing said, embrace those yoga classes you've missed. Have coffee with friends or family etc. And make it fun, "pics or it didn't happen" type of challenge for both of you.
Send him pics of activities you're engaged in, and he can do the same for you. That way you can surprize AND cheer eachother on, because trust me, this is not easy for either of you.

Ps. I hope I didn't come across as harsh