VIDEO: Yoga for addiction recovery

Transcript

all over the valley every day yoga students show up for class to sweat to breathe to reconnect but once a week here at the sweat shop on central in central Phoenix something extra is happening they're all here to support their recovery press into the left foot and lift the right knee there's just me right there's this like true self there's who I am to my core and for a really long time I got away from that so watch Jacob Daphna in the yoga studio both in his own practice and as a teacher he seems at peace guided by a sense of purpose block out me block out you block out everyone else and just focus on that breath but years ago he was lost when I was 12 I started using and drinking and then for 10 I guess 11 years it kind of went through this progression that got worse and worse and worse lower bottoms using harder substances doing things I said I wouldn't do got into all this crap all this really life-threatening really bad habits active addiction for over a decade and and I had to have tools and yoga's just one of many that helped me kind of shed that so I could get back to Who I am who he is today is someone committed to sharing the gifts he's found in sobriety and on his yoga mat Lisa moody is clinical director at Scottsdale Recovery Center she says yoga is an important part of their program and Jacobs guidance as someone in recovery himself works you reach your hand out and help the next person up you know and that's what you do and he gets over and he embodies all of that we get a lot of people with anxiety and depression so great for people have anxiety and depression because you're learning how to breathe you're learning how to meditate you're learning how do you help make your body more healthy because in addiction people are not taking good care of themselves left foot steps to the outside Yoga is offered in many recovery programs across town but Jacob knew was critical to offer these heated yoga classes for addiction recovery beyond that to those who are done with their inpatient treatment the class is so powerful in itself right like there's so much benefit for each student that comes and practices yoga for an hour but more than that is this community that's after so it's a great place your Friday night 7:30 p.m. that's you know it's over by 9:00 that's like a tough time for a lot of people to stay sober or find something to do I'm approaching 90 days and sobriety right now Zach workman says the yoga practice is a powerful piece of the puzzle for a life away from drugs and alcohol look up lift up reach up inhale and then as you exhale triangle pose I realize I wanted more out of life and with a lot of support for my family and friends and people like Jacob and Sydney that I've met through the program it's been totally different experience and I have no intention of going back awesome Zach good stuff man then we'll go ahead and warm up with a couple Sun Salutations Sierra Namaskar a the practice is healing and for Sidney Grendel the human connection is key but inside it's like you just don't feel a part of people you don't feel the same and you're kind of a little dead inside it sort of feels because you know that you have this disease nice awesome Sydney a lot of times especially in recovery people feel isolated and away from each other and even though it is just you on your mat here you are sharing each other's breath really so to speak you're sharing each other's space and your heat giving each other strength I always thought growing up things like yoga was for skinny girls with expensive athletic wear but it really has benefit for everybody of every age of every background it's what Jacob felt years ago when he got sober and got serious about connecting his mind and body it's what he shares in this heated room at the sweat shop on Central every Saturday night remembering his own journey and the correlation between his physical practice and his emotional and spiritual health at first it was confusing to me because I've never done this before and I was new to the postures and so I didn't necessarily enjoy the actual practice initially but that feeling I had at the end is what kind of grabbed me that I felt that piece and I hadn't felt that for over a decade he has a beautiful spirit and that shows from all his work that he's done in his own life when I go through the inevitable tough spots of life which happened and will happen it's kind of a guaranteed I have support and I have tools confidence in myself and I can deal with them without having to act out in an unhealthy way like picking up a drug or drink