Yoga & Addiction Recovery
Crow’s Nest Ranch outpatients and residents have the opportunity to focus on the “whole person”, or a holistic approach that encompasses a variety of methods and tools to help achieve, maintain, and enhance their recovery.
The practice of yoga and its benefits is one of the many physical activities that “The Ranch” offers. The slow pace and challenging positions of yoga offer a highly rewarding exercise that strengthens the heart and respiratory system while bringing unique physical and mental benefits to those struggling with addiction.
The Yoga Journal describes modern yoga as the use of physical postures to learn how to connect mind, body, and breath to gain self-awareness and focus attention inward. It has also proven to be very beneficial when used adjunct to one’s recovery process.
The Benefits of Yoga
Stress relief
Increased physical stamina and strength
Self-reflection and increased self-awareness
Healthier exercise and eating habits
Heightened self-confidence and improved self-image
Pain relief
Better sleep
Increased energy levels
Reduction in fatigue
Emotional healing
Yoga For Addiction Therapy
As explained by a blog published by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, yoga is sometimes used as a complementary arm of treatment, to help addicts ground themselves in the physical expression of their healing and recovery.[9] If addiction is an issue of lack (a lack of self-esteem, power, love, companionship, contentedness, happiness, etc.), in the words of The Huffington Post, then yoga – even with its spiritual side removed or downplayed – gives individuals a foundation, a base of understanding of themselves and the world around them.[10]
In short, yoga helps the practitioner by requiring one to focus on their breath work while experiencing the reality of unfamiliar poses our brains experience a natural increase in serotonin and dopamine levels.
