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Man in a white t-shirt practicing Yoga
Photo by Yan Krukau

Yoga has evolved into a popular holistic approach to wellness. Its application in addiction rehabilitation has gained attention for its effectiveness in supporting mental health. When we discuss how yoga can support mental health in addiction rehabilitation, it’s important to recognize its multi-layered benefits.

The Mental Health Challenges in Addiction Recovery

Recovery from addiction is not just about overcoming physical dependence; it’s equally about mental and emotional healing. Individuals in recovery often struggle with anxiety, depression, and stress, making their journey more challenging. 

The emotional unrest can come from years of dependency, often heightened by underlying issues such as trauma or social isolation. Yoga becomes indispensable in this scenario, offering a therapeutic outlet to manage these complex emotions. Yoga provides a balanced approach to mental health, easing the transition from dependency to recovery.

A Tool for Stress Reduction and Emotional Regulation

Practices like controlled breathing and mindfulness meditation, integral parts of yoga, are known to calm the mind and reduce cortisol levels – the stress hormone. This stress reduction is very important for individuals in recovery, as it helps ease one of the major triggers for relapse.

What’s more, yoga’s emphasis on emotional regulation can be profoundly beneficial. Learning to control your reactions and emotions through yoga makes you better equipped to handle the ups and downs of recovery, reducing the risk of falling back into addictive behaviors.

The Role of Breathing Techniques

Breathing techniques, or pranayama, are a central part of yoga that can have profound effects on mental health. These techniques help regulate the nervous system, reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. For someone in addiction recovery, learning to control their breath can be a powerful tool for managing emotional and physiological responses to stress and cravings.

Building a Routine and Discipline

Yoga isn’t just a set of exercises; it’s a discipline that requires regular practice and commitment. For individuals in recovery, establishing and maintaining a routine can be vital to regaining control over their lives. The discipline of regularly attending yoga classes can translate into other areas of life, instilling a sense of responsibility and self-control that is key for long-term recovery.

Enhancing Self-Awareness and Mindfulness

Yoga encourages you to focus inward, fostering a heightened sense of self-awareness. This introspection helps in addiction rehabilitation. It helps you understand your emotional triggers and develop healthier coping mechanisms. 

Mindfulness, a core component of yoga, teaches being present in the moment, a skill that is invaluable in managing cravings and negative thought patterns. This heightened mindfulness extends beyond the yoga mat, helping those in recovery remain grounded in their daily lives and make conscious, healthy choices that support their long-term sobriety.

Physical Benefits Supporting Mental Health

While discussing how yoga can support mental health in addiction rehabilitation, it’s impossible to overlook its physical benefits. Yoga improves physical strength, flexibility, and balance. These improvements can lead to better overall health, which in turn supports mental well-being. 

A healthy body often means a healthy mind, and this connection is particularly significant in addiction recovery. Regular yoga practice can also lead to improved sleep patterns and increased energy levels, both of which are important when recovering from addiction. This holistic improvement in physical health can significantly boost self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Long-Term Benefits and Continuing Practice

The benefits of yoga extend beyond the period of active rehabilitation. Many individuals continue their yoga practice long after completing their treatment program, finding it a valuable tool for maintaining mental health and preventing relapse. The skills and coping mechanisms learned through yoga can provide lasting support in lifelong recovery.

Yoga and Community Support

Yoga classes often promote a sense of community and belonging. If you are in addiction recovery, this sense of belonging can be incredibly therapeutic. It offers a supportive environment where you can share experiences and learn from others, reinforcing your recovery journey.

Incorporating Yoga into Addiction Rehabilitation Programs

To maximize the benefits of yoga in supporting mental health, rehabilitation facilities in Edison NJ, but also beyond, are increasingly adding yoga sessions into their treatment plans. These sessions, guided by trained professionals, are tailored to address the specific needs of individuals in recovery. 

Yoga, especially when practiced within a calm setting that a rehab center in Edison NJ can provide, has the power to banish negative thoughts and promote inner peace. This is helpful because most individuals battling addiction consider substance abuse a coping mechanism. Yoga can provide that same ”relief” and ”escape” minus the harmful side effects. This makes it a highly effective tool in the holistic treatment process and one that many addiction treatment specialists swear by.

The integration of yoga into rehabilitation programs is not a one-size-fits-all approach, though. It often involves a variety of styles, such as Hatha or Restorative yoga, depending on the individual’s physical capabilities and therapeutic needs. This customization ensures that each participant can benefit from yoga. However, at their own pace and comfort level.

Overcoming Barriers to Practice

Starting a yoga practice can be intimidating for some, especially for those new to it. Keep in mind that rehabilitation centers often introduce yoga gently, starting with basic poses and gradually progressing. The key is to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable and capable of participating. 

To further ease the transition into yoga practice, instructors often use props like straps, blocks, and cushions to make poses accessible to all participants, regardless of their physical condition or experience level. Creating a non-judgmental and supportive atmosphere enables these centers to help individuals overcome mental barriers, such as self-doubt or fear of failure, which can be significant obstacles in the early stages of recovery.

Yoga Can Support Mental Health in Addiction Rehabilitation

Understanding how yoga can support mental health in addiction rehabilitation opens up new avenues for healing and recovery. As more rehabilitation centers embrace this practice, the future looks promising for those seeking a balanced and comprehensive approach to overcoming addiction. It’s important to note the path to recovery is unique for each individual, and incorporating practices like yoga can make this journey more manageable and fulfilling.

Jennifer Miranda

Jenn took her very first yoga class in 2012 while searching for a fitness
routine that would improve her strength and flexibility. After that first class,
she got hooked. Yoga changed her life not only because of the physical
benefits of doing yoga but she also discovered that yoga has greatly improved
her mental focus and self-awareness. Because of this, she decided to share
her practice with others. Jenn completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training
in April 2017 and is a registered yoga instructor (RYT-200) with the Yoga
Alliance.

Jenn’s ultimate goal as a yoga teacher is to lead students towards a deeper
level of physical fitness and healthy lifestyle along with mental peace. She
loves to help beginners feel comfortable in their practice and learn essential
postures while motivating and challenging the more experienced yogis and
ensuring a safe practice for everyone. Maintaining her own personal practice
while learning and gaining inspiration from other yogis enables her to design
innovative, energetic, and fun sequences that are fit for all levels.

Jenn is also a professional portrait photographer and her love of both yoga
and photography paved the way for Yoga Photography. The skills she has
acquired over the years allow her to best capture yogis demonstrating beauty,
strength, and grace through movement.

Carrie Del Purgatorio

Carrie has had a consistent, daily, at-home yoga and meditation practice for many years and was finally inspired to take her love of yoga to the next level and embark on teacher training in 2022. She enjoys teaching a more powerful yoga flow with a strong focus on breathing. Carrie firmly believes that a little self-love goes a long way, and she feels extremely grateful to be able to share her practice with people.

Camille Alonso

Camille is a Holistic Health Coach, 235RYT (235 hour Registered Yoga Teacher),
Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, and former Pastry Chef. She received her 200RYT at Indigo Yoga in 2018 and studied meditation at Kripalu in 2019. She then earned her Integrate Nutrition Health Coach Certification at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

She is also a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America with a Bachelors in Baking Pastry Arts and Business Administration. Camille began her yoga and meditation practice in 2009 when she was dealing with chronic panic attacks. She found that through mindfulness practices she could feel like herself again. She is now inspired to guide clients through a relaxing and peaceful practice and leave them with tools to help manage stress and anxiety.

Theresa Conlon

Theresa is a Yoga Alliance certified instructor (200-hour RYT) who has been teaching since 2013. She is skilled in various yoga styles including Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow, Restorative, and Meditation. Theresa also brings an extensive dance background to her yoga practice, which includes teaching both modern dance and ballet. She has over 40 years of dance/theater performing experience and currently showcases her choreography as part of Bergen Dance Makers, a dance collective in northern New Jersey. Theresa’s yoga classes offer a calming mix of traditional asana postures and creative movement flows, supported by energy-moving breath. Students of all skill levels are invited to find ease and peace in their bodies/minds/spirits through the joyful bliss of yoga movement.

Carrie Parker Gastelu

Carrie Parker Gastelu, E-500 RYT, has been teaching yoga since 1993. Carrie began her journey when Yogi Raj Mani Finger initiated Carrie into the ISHTA Yoga lineage after training with Mani’s son, Yogi Raj Alan Finger. In addition, she has studied many other yoga traditions as well as anatomy, physiology, movement, and awareness practices to create an eclectic style all her own. She is known for her honest, non-dogmatic yet passionate approach.

Carrie is a regular speaker and contributor at conferences, websites, and print publications and has been featured in Fit Magazine, the Yoga Zone Book, and in the Yoga Zone Video, “Flexibility and Stress Release.”

Lisa Podesta-Coombs

When Lisa found yoga in 2008, she started to find herself again and it set her on a path of health and healing. She received her 200HR RYT certification from Raji Thron of Yoga Synthesis, and her 30HR Chakra Yoga Teacher Training certificate with Anodea Judith and holds a Y12SR (Yoga of 12 Step Recovery) certification. She is also a Holistic Health Coach (certified through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition). Lisa believes we’re all on a journey of learning how to trust ourselves; she helps her clients build that trust by supporting them in creating better habits for a better life through various functional movement modalities like yoga, barre, Pilates & strength training, mindset, and whole food nutrition.

Forever a student with a passion for people, holistic health, and self-actualization, Lisa is always embracing opportunities to advance her education to better serve; Ayurveda workshops & immersions have been of particular interest as she continues to deepen her knowledge of and experience with food as medicine and she recently completed Unleash Her Power Within, a transformational program of rediscovering our truest selves, powered by Tony Robbins.  

As she continues to give herself space and grace to nourish her natural self and actualize her potential, Lisa continues to share the gift of movement as medicine to inspire authenticity & health in body, mind, and spirit. You can expect mindful, accessible, dynamic, playful, and uplifting classes from Lisa.

Roberto Reynoso

Roberto Reynoso completed basic training in 2017 at Jaipure Yoga in Montclair. The training was Hatha Vinyasa based. Roberto has created his own style from the various styles of yoga he has loved practicing. He is well-versed in Iyengar, Vinyasa, and Restorative Yoga. He hopes to teach poses and themes in each class that inform, challenge, and guide students toward a better understanding of how to make the shapes and the anatomy behind the poses. He hopes to help students find more space when they leave and also hopes to help people grow in awareness through breath, alignment, and movement.