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By definition, addiction is disconnection. T.S. Elliot once wrote that “Hell is the place where nothing connects.” That’s addiction. Nothing is connected. One feels separate from everything. There is no cohesion between mind, body, spirit; between self, other, and the relationship with the Divine. All of this is skewed and confused and difficult and muddled.
The classical philosophy of yoga is union, oneness, wholeness, and coherence. The path from disconnection to connection, is, by definition, the path of yoga. Yoga is the antidote to addiction. The asana practice of yoga helps to move energy, cultivate Prana, create vitality, and rebalance the nervous system and the endocrine system. It helps heal the tissues and the cells in the brain.
Yoga helps you get the issues out of your tissues. It helps you squeeze and process emotional residue from the past out of the tissues of the body, so that you can be more comfortable, more present, more free. Energetically speaking, yoga allows us to develop a greater sensitivity to the subtle.
Addiction is the very grossest of experiences. It’s a physical anxiety, a deep and overwhelming craving. When we practice yoga, we’re moving towards the subtle, the experience of quieter things. That is what spirituality is. Yoga is the study of moving towards spirit, towards essence. It’s sensitivity training.
From the pranayama standpoint, control of the breath allows us to move beyond some of our confusion to develop an even deeper sense of presence and remove some of our blockages. The state of yoga allows us to be in the state of absorption, of meditation, where we have the ability to master the mind.
Addiction hits us at the level of mind, body, and spirit. Yoga is about calming the mind, healing the body, and reconnecting us with spirit. It’s the perfect practice as an antidote to addiction.
Tommy Rosen is a yoga teacher and addiction recovery expert who has spent the last two decades immersed in recovery and wellness. He holds certifications in both kundalini and hatha yoga and has 25 years of continuous recovery from drug addiction.Tommy is one of the pioneers in the field of yoga and recovery assisting others to holistically transcend addictions of all kinds. Tommy is the founder of the Recovery 2.0 Global Community, the Recovery 2.0 Online Conference series and the Recovery 2.0 Group Coaching Program. He leads Recovery 2.0 retreats and workshops internationally and presents regularly at yoga conferences and festivals. His first book, Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life, was published by Hay House in 2014.
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