I was never totally scum. Not before I started drinking and during my pre-recovery years. I was also not struck wonderful when I found recovery. However, when I share my story you might think that I was perfectly bad in my “before days” and steadily better on the road of “progress” with occasional bouts

Some are sicker than others and Crazy Paul’s first name was a heads-up for the newcomers in the rooms. No other warnings were necessary—as soon as they listened to him babble for a couple of minutes, they knew his tip didn’t go to the top. Crazy attended meetings in our neck of the woods while

We are each of us unique and all of us similar. That is what makes recovery such a challenge and a blessing. I hear me in you, and yet, I process things in my own way. I am both an individual and a part of this clan. Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga. This

Body Hacks for Long Term Recovery: why it is so hard to be in the moment and tools to help you find NOW. Why do I feel like something is about to happen; all the time? I feel in a state of high alert, not as if something good is going to happen, but the

  I was walking the other day, thinking about my daughter with whom I had just had a pleasant phone call. I am so proud of her, I love her loving heart, her pragmatic approach to life, the generosity she holds for her family, house and home; welcoming to others and being informal so that

When I was 16, I was 5’8 and 115 pounds. I was able to run a five minute mile and had complete control over my eating habits. Fast forward 12 years later, I am 28-years-old and over 200 pounds and cannot even jog a block before getting winded, I don’t know where things exactly went

What do I mean by Recovery? Recovery is the process of being able to consistently abstain from a problematic substance or behavior, to correct control over behaviors that damage personal relationships, and to repair dysfunctional emotional responses. (Adapted from the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s definition of addiction.) In finding control over behaviors we also

      Relapse and Triggers What is Relapse? Lapse describes a short “fall off the wagon,” and relapse describes a longer and perhaps more permanent “fall off the wagon.”. Hendershot et al. describe it this way: “a setback during the behavior changing process” (2011 www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1747-597X-6-17/pdf) . If you re-engage with sugar or sex, codependent

    What is the relationship between recovery, relapse and triggers? Addiction. What is “yoga” doing in the title? Yoga brings the keys to self-awareness that help maintain recovery, prevent relapse and release triggers in a healthy way. In order to fully appreciate the benefits of yoga, we have to delve deeper into recovery, relapse,

One byproduct of entering recovery is the multitude of gifts that sobriety can offer us.  Some of the perks are more obvious than others, such as improved health, relationships, overall satisfaction and contentment.  Although life steadily improves after active addiction, there is the stark reality of the state of the life you have just awoken