Yoga for Addiction: Using Yoga and the Twelve Steps to Find Peace in Recovery

by Katy Cryer MS, Judith Hanson Lasater PhD, PT (Foreword by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684035953
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	11/01/2020
Pages:	200
Sales rank:	1,064,843
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Katy Cryer, MS, is founder and director of Square One Yoga, a chain of yoga studios in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cryer’s founding mission for Square One is the same mission in her writing: to present and teach yoga in a way that is accessible and unintimidating for every body. Sober since 2006, Cryer credits yoga for giving her the skills and freedom to stay grounded in recovery.


Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT, has taught yoga around the world and in almost all fifty states in the US since 1971. She is a founder of Yoga Journal magazine, and holds a senior teaching certificate given to her directly by B.K.S. Iyengar in 1983. She is author of ten books, including her most recent, Yoga Myths.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction 1

Part I The Alchemy of Yoga and the 12 Steps

Chapter 1 My Story 9

Chapter 2 The Yoga-Recovery Alchemy 21

Chapter 3 12-Step Recovery in a Nutshell 31

Chapter 4 Yoga 101 39

Part II 12 Steps, Eight Limbs

Step 1 We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable 45

Step 2 We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity 59

Step 3 We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand God 73

Step 4 We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves 85

Step 5 We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs 97

Step 6 We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character 105

Step 7 We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings 113

Step 8 We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all 121

Step 9 We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others 131

Step 10 We continued to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it 143

Step 11 We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out 153

Step 12 Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs 167

Conclusion Karma and Dharma: Living the Yoga Life in Recovery 177

Resources 181

Acknowledgments 183

Interviews

Cryer resides in Berkeley, CA.

Editorial Reviews

In this clear, thoughtful, and accessible book, Katy Cryer provides tools for creating connection, which is at the core of recovery. Addiction disconnects us from ourselves, others, and our bodies. The 12 steps provide us with connection to others while yoga connects us to our bodies. I recommend Yoga for Addiction as a course of action for deepening recovery and becoming whole.”
—Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW, codirector of the Center for Gender and Justice; and author of A Woman’s Way through the Twelve Steps, Helping Women Recover, and Beyond Trauma

Stephanie S. Covington

For more than 2,000 years, yogis have known of our ‘addiction;’ not to any pill or drink, but to our ego self. It blinds us to our true self and leads inevitably to alienation and deep-seated sorrow. How fitting then is Katy’s work with yoga and substance addiction. Her series of self-investigations and yoga-based exercises are an accessible, effective holistic treatment program for such addiction; but more, to some extent that depends on you, your sorrow.”
—Richard Rosen, yoga instructor with thirty-three years’ experience; and author of five books on yoga, including Yoga FAQ

Richard Rosen

Katy, a superb yoga student and teacher, has written a book that will support countless people in recovery. By combining accessible practices that help people feel more physically comfortable and confident with the 12-step process, this book is an invaluable resource.”
—Jason Crandell, internationally recognized yoga teacher and teacher trainer

Jason Crandell

Yoga for Addiction is a remarkably comprehensive book. Its great contribution is its insistence that our recovery be grounded in the body. This understanding and wisdom is badly needed in the 12-step world. With its wise exploration of the steps, its personal stories, and its highly accessible introduction to both yogic philosophy and practice, it will be a valuable resource for every person on the path of recovery.”
—Kevin Griffin, author of One Breath at a Time, and cofounder of the Buddhist Recovery Network

Kevin Griffin

With equal parts care, tenderness, and bravery, Cryer takes readers on a journey inward, and offers them the opportunity to grow into wholeness with renewed intimacy and appreciation.”
—Melanie Klein, MA, empowerment coach, professor of sociology and gender/women’s studies, cofounder of the Yoga and Body Image Coalition, and coauthor of Yoga and Body Image

Melanie Klein

Walking into a recovery meeting or yoga class for the first time can feel scary and unfamiliar for most. Katy Cryer’s down-to-earth, straightforward, and compassionate book feels like someone encouraging you, helping you find your bravery, and holding your hand as you walk into the room. She offers a clear guide on how to approach your healing as a whole, embodied, very human, being.”
—Suzannah Neufeld, MFT, C-IAYT, psychotherapist, and author of Awake at 3 a.m.

Suzannah Neufeld