When you are caught in addiction, it often feels like everything else is ignored. Your health, relationships, and money may suffer. Whether it’s a substance like alcohol or cocaine or behaviors like gambling or smoking, the pattern is the same. You’re chasing that short-term high, but you’re sacrificing long-term well-being in the process.
Even addictions that seem less severe, like smoking, can wreak havoc on your health over time. And when it comes to food addiction, the lines get even blurrier, often going unnoticed while still having a damaging impact on your life.
Addiction can really wear you down, both mentally and physically. It chips away at your sense of self and leaves scars that go deeper than you might even realize.
Traditional treatments like dialectical behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, and medication-assisted treatment are effective. However, there is growing interest in adding holistic options, such as yoga therapy. It is getting attention to help both the mind and body. It offers a deeper and more connected way to heal.
Yoga is an ancient practice that started in India. It combines physical, mental, and spiritual parts. This helps improve health and overall well-being.
The practice includes various techniques. These are special body postures called asanas, breathing exercises known as pranayama, meditation, and ethical guidelines. The main goal is to develop within an individual the condition of good health, peace, and increased self-awareness.
Yoga therapy involves the use of yoga techniques in a therapeutic environment to address particular bodily, mental, behavioral, and emotional challenges. This therapy personalizes yoga practices. It includes asanas, breathing techniques, and meditation.
Yoga therapy has emerged as a specialized field, providing treatment specific to health issues. Yoga therapists do more than teach yoga classes.
They receive extra training in health or psychology. This helps them create custom yoga programs for people with specific conditions. These private, one-on-one sessions adapt traditional yoga practices to meet your specific needs. This offers a more personalized healing approach.
As more people recognize its benefits, healthcare settings now include yoga therapy alongside traditional medical treatment. It is becoming more popular in addressing many health concerns and promoting personal well-being.
Research shows that activities like yoga can help people beat drug addiction when used with regular treatment. Yoga increases levels of GABA and oxytocin in the brain. These chemicals help with withdrawal symptoms and lower the chance of going back to drugs. Yoga helps improve decision-making. It reduces impulsive behavior and encourages better self-control. This leads to positive changes in behavior.
Yoga therapy may help reduce PTSD symptoms. It can also lower the chances of drug and alcohol use. Additionally, it encourages interest in proven psychotherapies. If you’re working on getting better from using opioids, yoga can make a big difference. Research shows that it helps your brain. This is especially true for areas that manage emotions and handle stress.
When you feel triggers or cravings for opioids, yoga can help change how your brain works. It affects areas like the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula. These regions play a key role in how you process emotions and respond to stress. Yoga also impacts the extended amygdala and hippocampus. These areas are linked to stress and memory. This practice helps you handle situations that could lead to relapse.
Yoga doesn’t just calm the mind; it also works wonders on your body. It can help lower cravings and relieve physical pain, anxiety, and depression. These issues often get worse during recovery. On top of that, it’s excellent for improving sleep, which can be especially tough during this time.
The best part is that yoga is a holistic therapy. It is non-invasive, making it a safe and supportive practice. This helps you work toward long-term healing. It provides a strong tool to help you control your emotions. It can reduce stress and improve your well-being. This support helps you stay steady during the ups and downs of recovery.
Let’s dive deeper:
Yoga enhances strength, balance, and flexibility, aiding arthritis, back pain, and cardiovascular health. It may also assist with neurological disorders such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and strokes. Yoga has become an important part of treatment for substance use and ongoing recovery care.
Mental Benefits
Yoga nurtures mental well-being by giving you the space to pause and reconnect with your inner self. This sense of mindfulness helps you understand your substance use and its impact on both your mind and body. Yoga’s ability to reduce stress and promote relaxation can also:
This is critical because uncomfortable side effects often linger as your body clears substances. Yoga helps you manage those symptoms and provides tools to move beyond them.
Physical Benefits
Addiction can take a toll on your body, but yoga can help restore physical health. Through regular practice, you’ll regain:
It’s a gentle yet effective way to rebuild your body and get back to feeling strong and healthy.
Emotional and Mental Well-being
Recovery through yoga is not just about the body. It also explores emotional strength, mental health, and self-awareness. Yoga offers complete ways to face the challenges of addiction recovery.
Yoga therapy goes beyond the physical postures, integrating breathing techniques, mindfulness practice, and meditation to promote emotional healing. These practices help you find inner peace, reduce stress, and gain clarity on your path to long-term sobriety. Breathing exercises, mindfulness, and meditation combined with yoga push you to:
Yoga helps you build the emotional tools needed to stay balanced and grounded.
Self-Reflection and Mindfulness
One of the most powerful aspects of yoga is its ability to encourage mindfulness—being present in the moment. This practice of reflection helps you:
By being more mindful, you can make better decisions. This is important for overcoming addiction and staying focused on your recovery.
Spiritual Benefits
At its core, yoga is a practice that brings together the mind, body, and spirit. While it isn’t tied to any specific religion or higher power, yoga helps you:
Yoga helps you look within yourself. It guides you to find what is important and what you want to achieve in your healing journey.
Yoga offers many different styles, and some are especially effective in supporting addiction recovery. Each type has its own unique benefits, and finding the one that fits you can profoundly enhance your healing journey. Here are a few types commonly used in therapy:
Hatha yoga focuses on slow, deliberate movements and postures. It’s a great starting point for those new to yoga, especially if you’re looking for a gentle practice. The slow pace helps:
Hatha Yoga can be a helpful tool in your recovery. It helps you reconnect with your body and mind. This practice creates balance and stability.
Hatha Yoga can help reduce the physical pain of post-acute withdrawal syndrome that often comes with detox programs. It also helps you feel more balanced and calmer inside. The gentle physical movements (called asanas) will improve your flexibility, make you stronger, and improve your overall health.
Vinyasa yoga consists of transitioning seamlessly from one pose to another in a fluid, ongoing flow. It’s a bit more dynamic than Hatha, offering a more active way to release tension. This style helps:
Vinyasa is perfect if you’re looking to sync your breath with your movements, creating a calming flow while letting go of built-up emotions. Each Vinyasa session is unique, with different asanas introduced every time, so you’ll never experience the same session twice. If you like a faster pace and want different options in your practice, Vinyasa yoga therapy could be perfect for you. It can help you stay engaged and focused.
Kundalini yoga includes moving, breathing, singing, and meditating. It tries to wake up and release energy stuck in the body.
The word kundalini means “life force energy.” This yoga believes that energy builds up at the base of the spine.
Kundalini poses help to start and let this energy flow through the body. It can help with:
Restorative yoga is a gentle, calming type of yoga that focuses on creating peace and stillness. It involves holding soft poses for longer periods, often with the support of props like blankets, blocks, and bolsters. This approach allows you to really relax and let go of stress and can come in handy for emotional healing.
For people recovering from addiction, restorative yoga can be very helpful. It helps manage the tiredness and emotional stress that often comes with recovery. The calming quality of this practice allows for a gentle release and healing.
By resting and relaxing in these gentle positions, you can heal your body and mind. This makes it easier to feel calm and find inner peace as you recover.
Yin yoga provides a slower and more thoughtful practice. In this style, you hold poses for longer times, usually 3 to 5 minutes. Yin yoga is different from other yoga styles.
It focuses on stretching connective tissues, such as ligaments, joints, and fascia. This is different from just working the muscles. This style can help you relax, breathe deeply, and feel more in tune with your body.
Yin yoga can be a game-changer if you’re on the journey of recovery. It offers more than just physical benefits:
Yin yoga can be incredibly powerful for emotional release, mental clarity, and overall healing in addiction recovery. It allows you to take a step back, find stillness, and nurture both your body and mind as you move forward.
Using yoga therapy in addiction recovery can help improve well-being and support healing. Here are a few practical tips on how to use yoga for recovery from drug and alcohol use disorders:
You should work with someone who is skilled and has experience in helping people recover from addiction.
Yoga therapy isn’t about a “one size fits all” approach. Your therapist will get to know your needs—physically, emotionally, and mentally—and build a practice just for you.
These techniques can help manage cravings and emotional triggers. Mindfulness techniques will also be integrated to assist with emotional regulation.
When you mix yoga therapy with other treatments, you create a complete way to recover. This approach helps both your mind and body. This approach is effective because it focuses on more than just physical health. It also looks at the emotional and mental challenges you face.
Here’s how yoga therapy can make a real difference:
Recovery often relies on being part of a caring community. This can happen through peer-led discussions or wellness events. Talking with others can help support your journey.
Yoga strengthens mindfulness, emotional resilience, and self-regulation, which boosts your ability to connect with others in group settings. The calmness yoga brings mirrors the supportive environment of recovery groups, helping you feel more connected.
We know that cost is a major factor for most people when seeking treatment for drug & alcohol abuse in Virginia. Novara Recovery Center works with most major insurance plans to help cover up to 100% of the costs associated with treatment at our program. To find out your personal options for treatment, get a free verification of insurance benefits right now by clicking the button below.
Yoga therapy for substance use is becoming a popular addition to traditional treatments. It offers benefits like mindfulness, stress relief, and emotional balance. However, like any treatment, it also has risks and challenges.
Some people recovering from addiction may find yoga difficult. This is especially true for those with physical disabilities. Their physical limits or pain can make them hesitant to try yoga. But a good therapist can help by offering easier ways to do the exercises:
For someone with a history of trauma, the introspection and mindfulness required in yoga might be overwhelming.
Staying consistent with yoga can be hard for people in recovery. This is especially true when motivation changes, life gets stressful, or relapses happen.
Other risks to keep in mind:
Your yoga therapist will start by checking your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This helps them give you the best support for your recovery.
Before you even set foot in the yoga studio, you need to have an intention. Maybe you want to gain healing, inner strength, or just peace in your life; whatever it is, pen it down. When you have a clear intention, you will know the path for your practice. This helps you remember what is important during times of reflection.
Based on your initial assessment, you’ll work with your therapist to create a personalized yoga plan. This may include gentle postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and other methods that fit your recovery stage. It’s all about being present and tuning into your body and mind.
Yoga therapy works even better in a supportive environment. It’s helpful to combine it with group counseling, a support group, or even a recovery coach. This way, you can stay motivated and keep making progress because you’ll be with others who are also on the same journey.
At Novara Recovery Center, we include yoga and meditation to help you recover. We teach our patients a practice they can use even after they leave our care. We understand that yoga therapy may be a new experience for some in recovery, and we’re here to help guide you through it.
Yoga is an essential part of our comprehensive treatment programs, which include inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and general outpatient settings. Yoga can help improve health during recovery. It works well with other therapies like CBT, family therapy, and group counseling. These therapies support physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
Are you curious about how yoga can support your recovery? Do you have other questions about drug or alcohol addiction treatment? Call us today at (703) 705-7870, and we’ll be eager to help you take the next step toward healing.
Written By:
Mental Health Writer
Geoffrey Andaria is a seasoned writer and editor specializing in mental health content. With a B.A. in English and Journalism, he possesses a solid foundation in crafting freelance articles and conducting research. Geoffrey has also completed courses in social work. He dedicates himself to providing valuable and informative content for individuals impacted by mental health challenges and addiction.
Medically Reviewed By:
Expert Contributor
Dr. Williams is currently a board member for two non-profit service organizations. He holds a Master’s degree in Human Services from Lincoln University, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He possesses a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Union Institute and University, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a license to offer addiction counseling in both New Jersey and Connecticut. Additionally, he has submitted an application to become a licensed psychologist in New Jersey.
