Yoga And The Twelve Step Path

The powerful practice of yoga, with all its diverse approaches and time-honored traditions, meets twelve-step recovery. Those in recovery who yearn to connect more fully in the suggested "prayer and meditation" of Step Eleven will welcome this delightful book from a fresh voice in recovery literature. Kyczy Hawk's experiences of addiction and recovery make her a relatable, compassionate guide to an integrative practice that addresses the threefold aspects of addiction―body, mind, and spirit―for a new experience of recovery and of physical and spiritual health.

Experience the benefits of recovery through the practice of yoga. Recovery from active addiction is a lifelong journey that can take many paths. By aligning yoga philosophy and poses with each of the Twelve Steps, Kyczy Hawk presents a physical and spiritual guide that complements and augments any twelve-step practice. Highlighting her own yogic journey through the steps, Hawk provides an enlightened way of thinking that allows readers to investigate how they think, feel, and believe by using a new vocabulary to process traditional recovery principles. Current findings increasingly support yoga and mindfulness as promising complementary therapies for addictive behaviors (Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2013). Provides clear and concise instructions requiring no prior knowledge and enabling people to experience the benefits of this ancient practice in the comfort and privacy of their own home. Key yoga terms are explained clearly and all poses are accompanied by illustrations. Consistent practice will lead to a more positive outlook on life and help eliminate harmful attitudes and behaviors. It can also create a balanced lifestyle, bringing greater harmony, stability, and enjoyment. Anyone can benefit from yoga, regardless of ability, age, belief system, or life circumstance. Kyczy Hawk is a certified yoga instructor. She lectures on yoga and recovery throughout the Bay Area and has been a presenter at the Art of Yoga Project and Niroga Institute's Yoga Therapy teacher training. As the Success Over Addiction and Relapse (SOAR) yoga teacher specialty-training founder, she has taught yoga instruction workshops throughout the United States. She hosts a weekly yoga recovery meeting on In The Rooms and manages the Willow Glen Yoga Studio in San Jose, CA

Discover how yoga and the twelve steps can help you find freedom from addiction, exist peacefully in your body, and create a truly joyful life. If you’re in recovery from alcohol or substance abuse—or if you’re thinking of seeking help—you should know that there are many resources available to you. Traditional twelve step programs have become the standard in substance abuse treatment; however, these programs often lack one crucial ingredient for lasting recovery from addiction: a way to relate to the body so you can live comfortably in it—without the need to numb it. This is where yoga comes in. In Yoga for Addiction, yoga teacher Katy Cryer offers a gentle yoga practice that supports and complements the twelve steps, so you can manage emotions, stay present with your body, and stay firmly on the path to recovery. You’ll also find breathing and relaxation techniques to help you manage stress, and tips for dealing with cravings when they seem overwhelming. Whether you’re already in recovery from addiction and are interested in using yoga to support your journey; or practice yoga and think you may have a problem with alcohol, substances, or compulsive behaviors—this book has everything you need to harness the power of yogic wisdom for a full recovery of both body and mind.

"The feeling was electric-energy humming through my body. I felt like blood was pouring into areas of my tissues that it had not been able to reach for some time. It was relieving and healing, subtler than the feeling from getting off on drugs, but it was detectable and lovely, and of course, there was no hangover, just a feeling of more ease than I could remember. I felt a warmth come over me similar to what I felt when I had done heroin, but far from the darkness of that insanity, this was pure light-a way through." - Tommy Rosen, on his first yoga experience Most of us deal with addiction in some form. While you may not be a fall-down drunk, anorexic, or a gambling addict, you likely struggle with addiction in other ways. Workaholism, overeating, and compulsively engaging with technology like video games, texting, and Facebook are also highly common examples. And if you don't suffer from addiction, chances are you know someone who does. Through more than 20 years of recovery and in working professionally with others, Tommy Rosen has uncovered core elements of recovery and healing, what he refers to as Recovery 2.0. In the book, he shares his own past struggles with addiction, and powerful, tested tools for breaking free from the obstacles that stand in the way of a holistic and lasting recovery. Building off the key tenets of the 12-Step program, he has developed an innovative approach that includes • Looking at the roots of addiction; your family history and "Addiction Story" • Daily breathing practices, meditation, yoga, and body awareness • A healthy, alkaline-based diet to aid with detox, boost immunity, increase vitality, support your entire recovery, and help prevent relapse • Discovering your mission, living on purpose, and being of service to others Recovery 2.0 will help readers not only release their addictions, but thrive in their recovery.

An inclusive, research-based guide to working the 12 steps: a trauma-informed approach for clinicians, sponsors, and those in recovery. Step 1: You admit that you're powerless over your addiction. Now what? 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have helped countless people on the path to recovery. But many still feel that 12-step programs aren't for them: that the spiritual emphasis is too narrow, the modality too old-school, the setting too triggering, or the space too exclusive. Some struggle with an addict label that can eclipse the histories, traumas, and experiences that feed into addiction, or dismisses the effects of adverse experiences like trauma in the first place. Advances in addiction medicine, trauma, neuropsychiatry, social theory, and overall strides in inclusivity need to be integrated into modern-day 12-step programs to reflect the latest research and what it means to live with an addiction today. Dr. Jamie Marich, an addiction and trauma clinician in recovery herself, builds necessary bridges between the 12-step's core foundations and up-to-date developments in trauma-informed care. Foregrounding the intersections of addiction, trauma, identity, and systems of oppression, Marich's approach treats the whole person--not just the addiction--to foster healing, transformation, and growth. Written for clinicians, therapists, sponsors, and those in recovery, Marich provides an extensive toolkit of trauma-informed skills that: Explains how trauma impacts addiction, recovery, and relapse Celebrates communities who may feel excluded from the program, like atheists, agnostics, and LGBTQ+ folks Welcomes outside help from the fields of trauma, dissociation, mindfulness, and addiction research Explains the differences between being trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive; and Discusses spiritual abuse as a legitimate form of trauma that can profoundly impede spirituality-based approaches to healing.

By offering an empowering personal program of self-care in recovery, this book provides guidance for everyone affected by widespread modern 'addictiveness'. The book explores Ayurveda's understanding of both the problem of our 'one addiction process' and its solution. It offers holistic techniques that enhance any of the traditional recovery pathways and beyond any of the common diet/exercise dogma from mainstream media. It covers the stress/addictive tendencies of the doshic types, and links this to how stress affects metabolism, the main determinant of health. The program offered in the book is an integration of the philosophy, psychology and physical practices of Yoga and Ayurveda to help people shift their life trajectory. With Yoga of Recovery, author Durga Leela presents a complete resource for working with individuals recovering from addiction.

The face of addiction and alcoholism is a face that many have seen before -- it may be a celebrity, a colleague, or even a family member. And though the 12-step program by itself can often bring initial success, many addicts find themselves relapsing back into old ways and old patterns, or replacing one addiction with another. Author Darren Littlejohn has been there and back, and presents a complimentary guide for recovery to the traditional twelve-step program, out of his own struggles and successes through the study of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. Working with the traditional 12-Step philosophy, the author first shares his own life path, and how he came to find the spiritual solace that has greatly enhanced his life in recovery. Then, he details out how his work integrating Buddhism into the traditional twelve-step programs validates both aspects of the recovery process. While being careful not to present himself as a Tibetan lama or Zen master, the author shows how each step -- such as admitting there is a problem, seeking help, engaging in a thorough self-examination, making amends for harm done, and helping other drug addicts who want to recover -- fits into the Bodhisattva path. This integration makes Buddhism accessible for addicts, and the 12 Steps understandable for Buddhists who may otherwise be at a loss to help those in need. The 12-Step Buddhist is designed to be a complimentary practice to the traditional 12-step journey, not a replacement. While traditional twelve-step programs help addicts become sober by removing the drug of choice and providing a spiritual path, they rarely delve deep into what causes people to suffer in the first place. The integration of Buddhism with the traditional process provides the wisdom and meditations that can help addicts truly find a deep, spiritual liberation from all causes and conditions of suffering -- for good.

Merging Buddhist mindfulness practices with the Twelve Step program, this updated edition of the bestselling recovery guide One Breath at a Time will inspire and enlighten you to live a better, healthier life. Many in recovery turn to the Twelve Steps to overcome their addictions, but struggle with the spiritual program. But what they might not realize is that Buddhist teachings are intrinsically intertwined with the lessons of the Twelve Steps, and offer time-tested methods for addressing the challenges of sobriety. In what is considered the cornerstone of the most significant recovery movement of the 21st century, Kevin Griffin shares his own extraordinary journey to sobriety and how he integrated the Twelve Steps of recovery with Buddhist mindfulness practices. With a new foreword by William Alexander, the author of Ordinary Recovery, One Breath at a Time takes you on a journey through the Steps, examining critical ideas like Powerlessness, Higher Power, and Moral Inventory through the lens of the core concepts of Buddhism—the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, mindfulness, loving-kindness, and more. The result is a book that presents techniques and meditations for finding clarity and awareness in your life, just as it has for thousands of addicts and alcoholics.

An active and personalized way for people in recovery to extend and strengthen their yogic investigation of the Twelve Steps. Designed for use as a companion to Yogic Tools for Recovery, this workbook allows a person from any fellowship to document his or her progress through the Twelve Steps. In the introduction of each step, yogini Kyczy Hawk focuses on a recovery concept and breaks down its healing message, utilizing the wisdom of the yoga sutras. Then, she leads readers through a self-exploration of the yogic principles aligned with the step, providing introspective questions along with activities such as poses, visualizations, breath practices, and meditations. By working the steps in this manner, both men and women, regardless of age and physical ability, will learn how to synthesize the artifacts and memories of addiction in a new, holistic way, leading to contentment as they find their true path.

Stress is now considered the foremost contributor to poor health and a major factor in causing heart disease, cancer, and a myriad of chronic and acute diseases. This book will make yoga a fundamental part of your quest for wellness and well-being, whether you are a novice or a current pactitioner. Nischala Joy Devi, a pioneer in the field of alternative healing and a renowned yoga expert, has spent years helping people realize the healthful and stress-controlling benefits of yoga. In 1982 she developed yoga-based retreats for Dr. Michael Lerner's now famous Commonweal Cancer Help Program. That same year Dr. Dean Ornish asked her to create a program of yoga practices for patients suffering from heart disease. Yoga's contribution to the success of both programs has been astounding. Devi shares her years of experience working with the healthful benefits of yoga, teaching visualizations, breathwork, and meditation, as well as providing the classic steps and illustrated instructions for yoga's physical poses. The Healing Path of Yoga uses timeless Indian-based yoga techniques and philosophy, along with Devi's lifestyle-altering regimen, to create one extraordinary program with the power to rejuvenate and heal. The Healing Path of Yoga presents the key to:preventing disease and stress in healthy people aiding in recovery from heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses physical conditioning and weight loss deep, healing relaxation techniques heightened overall wellness of body, mind, and spirit From the Trade Paperback edition.