It's All In Your Head

JUST IN YOUR HEAD
There are some of us who heard our whole lives "it is just in your head", meaning that what ever we were feeling was an illusion or delusional thought. The implication was that we were not in reality, our responses and reactions were based on ... nothing. IN FACT we were responding (with more or less skill) to what was going on around us. Sometimes said, sometimes unsaid, but we KNEW what was going on. As a child of an alcoholic I learned well how to gauge my environment. I developed coping mechanisms solely upon the criteria of staying safe. But that phrase "it is all in your head" frightened me away from believing in my mind.

THE POOR BRAIN!
Imagine my delight when I discovered that they were right (to a degree) - but not in "that" way. Trauma of a chaotic and unsettled household and my later active addiction did, indeed, change my brain. The chemistry was certainly affected by ingested drugs and alcohol but more important is the fact that my life long experiences had changed the functioning of my brain.

THE GOOD NEWS
Just as sensory inputs had harmed the brain; wise and healing sensory inputs can restore the brain. YES! The brain can be healed.

THE QUESTION IS HOW
The tools we can use to restore us are simple. With breath, meditation and mindful awareness, as well as intentional movement - the damaged brain centers can be brought back on-line. The hemispheres can re-establish a relationship - right brain and left brain can unite. You can re-integrate the "dis"-integration of the brain, your being and your sense of self. Yoga combines these three modalities and that is why the impact is so tremendous - a brief consistent practice, over a relatively short period of time shows results. The word "results" referring to the fact that the brain heals. The trauma that turned off functioning in the brain can be repaired. Trauma exists at other levels: it is also in the body, and we can address it with the movement. The trauma is also in the self, and we can love that back to health.

THE YOGA SERVICE COUNCIL CONFERENCE
The talented, compassionate and passionate yogis who attended YSC the conference this year at Omega have been serving communities who need to heal. All forms of trauma; illness, poverty, abandonment, disease, neglect, marginalization and harm affect the populations that these yogis have decided to serve. The service means offering the tools for self care that yoga provides in an appropriate and inviting venue. Kelly McGonigal, B.K.Bose, Bessel van der Kolk (among others) gave group talks that amazed and inspired us. Sharing the results of their research freely with us, inviting us all to be part of the remedy, they explained how, what we were doing, had such a profound positive impact on the populations we served. It was a delicious affirmation of our efforts. It was grace.

Their documented research shows exactly this- that the brain, carefully and lovingly attended to, can reframe, reform and remap itself bringing integrated vitality and a wholesome life back to a once damaged being.

Remember - breath awareness, mindful meditation, and yoga. Now let the phrase "it's all in your head" be empowering and remind you, you have the solution.

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path", a leader of Y12SR classes, and the creator of SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) a teacher certification training she holds with her good friend Kent Bond E-RYT500. Find out more about her, her classes and the training at www.yogarecovery.com

Yoga Service Council - Many Ways to Give

June 7 to 9 2013 - a weekend of amazing grace, companionship, networking and growth. Graced to be a scholarship recipient, and humble to be among such phenomenal people. This will be a series of what I heard, what I learned, and what it meant to me and the trajectory of my mission.

I found myself taking notes constantly. I knew my mind could not hold it all: the wisdom, the knowledge, the understanding and the passion. Every presentation was meaty and full of ah ha moments, and times when I was reassured ("I do that!", "I have felt that way." and "I am inspired; I know I am going in the right direction!"). There are times when my mind exploded with the realities that were being shared. And we had opportunities to walk and talk with one another - debriefing and knitting together our community. We had moments to be alone and contemplate.

Beryl Binder Birch started us off with a "lovely" talk. Weaving together the duties of a benevolent social activist with the meaning of true compassion, she set the tone for the whole weekend.

Nikki Myers led the morning practice, exposing many to recovery infused yoga for the first time . Slow, definitive movement performed contemplatively prepared us for the day. She also presented a workshop "The Issues Live in the Tissues: Addiction Recovery, Trauma Healing and Yoga." She has phenomenal command of the information. She has touched so many with her work, and here at the conference it was no different. I am proud to have her as a friend.

The schedule from the 2013 Yoga Service Council conference will show you everything that was available. The breakout sessions, the group presentations and the panel discussion were phenomenal. There was room for questions, room for discussions and room for true dialoge - with differences of opinions thoughtfully and skillfully expressed. This was a conference of true learning and knowledge exchange.
Scientific data, both from experiencially based research as well as from brain imaging studies validated what we knew to be true. Yoga changes lives. Yoga changes your body, it changes your emotions, your energy, it can have an impact on your spiritual life AND it changes your MIND.
I tell you that to tell you this: it is all in your head. Not in the way you might think - but it is all in your head.

I will explain this in my next entry.

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path", a leader of Y12SR classes, and the creator of SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) a teacher certification training she holds with her good friend Kent Bond E-RYT500. Find out more about her, her classes and the training at www.yogarecovery.com

First 164: How about a real review?

Here is a great post from one of my favorite blogs: First 164: How about a real review? 

Here is a simple plan to re-aligning yourself with your daily recovery practice.  Evaluate how you are doing energetically, physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Then take a moment to check in with your peeps.  This can get you back in synch with your true self, your recovering / ed self and you can find contentment. Surrender to peace.


Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is a yoga instructor specializing in teaching yoga to people in recovery and the creator of the SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) certification program for yoga teachers. She is also the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path".

If you are a yoga teacher ready to take your calling and service to a new level you can find out more about Kyczy and the SOAR(tm) program at http://www.yogarecovery.com/SOAR_Certification.html

Relapse prevention activities Basics 1 | Relapse Prevention Activities

Relapse prevention activities Basics 1 | Relapse Prevention Activities


For anyone who is not yet following this blog - this is hugely worth a read.  

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is a yoga instructor specializing in teaching yoga to people in recovery and the creator of the SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) certification program. Find more about her and the SOAR(tm) program at www.yogarecovery.com.

Five Important Benefits....

I am featured in AlchemYoga. Hop on over and check it out! You can click here to read it.
I have recorded it below as well.

With the auspicious co-occurrence of Yoga Awareness and Recovery Months happening in September, it is the perfect time for me to share my five important recovery benefits from practicing yoga.

1. Getting acquainted with feelings

When I was a newcomer, first entering the room of my 12 Step program I had no idea what my feelings were. I had the basics: sad, mad and glad, but even these were not in appropriate amounts or expressed in proper circumstances.My emotional wiring had shorted out. Fast forward a few years and I have developed a rainbow of feelings, of emotions, and I had become more skilled at expressing them in the right volume and the proper circumstance. And yet, I still had difficulty identifying MY own personal feelings; I still felt blocked and out of touch with myself. Enter yoga: What an amazing experience. On the mat I began first to get in touch with my physical sensations. With time I began to investigate my responses to them: how did I feel about effort? How did I feel about the challenging poses? What did my heart and my mind deal with that? Did I try extra hard, did I recoil from the pose? Did I dread trying it or feel I was in battle with it, pushing through to conquer it? I realized that how I dealt with my yoga practice was how I dealt with life. It became a window and a mirror. It helped me learn my feelings and feel the process of learning.

2. Slow Growth with Gratitude

I am not a spring chicken. I am a woman of a certain age and I am delighted with my presence on the planet at this time. Like many in the rooms of recovery – one of the outcomes of my past life could have been death or disability. I am so fortunate to be here. My age does not trouble me. When I am in a yoga class and look around at others – I see youth and flexibility and strength and all kinds of abilities I do not possess. That is judging myself by their outsides. Not so helpful. When I bring myself back to myown mat, and participate in my own practice: as I have to participate in my ownrecovery, I am able from day to day, from practice to practice see progress. Not weight loss or arm balance mastery or any pretzel pose, but composure, steadiness, stillness and ease. As in practicing the principles of the program the change comes – “sometimes swiftly and sometimes slowly”. I notice the changes and I am grateful.

3. Discipline and Commitment

It is not always easy getting to a meeting. It is not always easy getting to a yoga class. It requires commitment and dedication – to your self and your growth. I know I will feel better. I know my mind will move away from planning or perseveration when I practice my yoga. I can’t think about the grocery list when I move through my fourth slow sun salutation or balance in half moon pose for ten slow full breaths. I just can’t do it when my mind wanders. I stay there in my body, feeling my feelings, witnessing my mind, and being in my body. That is the grace of the practice and even when there is joy when coming out of final relaxation – I occasionally fight attending to my practice. I procrastinate, I make excuses, I resist. Just like going to meetings. And yet, nothing can be better than keeping that commitment. It is an estimable act – helping to build self worth.

4. Integration

One of the definitions of yoga is union: union of body mind and spirit. I am an addict/alcoholic. I have a physical allergy, spiritual malady and suffer from a mental obsession. This makes yoga a perfect remedy, a holistic remedy for this holistic disease. Through the breath and through the poses we calm the mind. In fact the mind may even soften to the point that thinking retreats into the background and one can get in to a meditative state – just experiencing the pose, the breath and one’s higher power. In meetings and in our 12 step work we move toward the eleventh and twelfth steps, creating in ourselves the capacity to both pray and meditate as well as to be right in our thoughts, actions and deeds in our daily lives. We do this so we may be of service. And through Karma yoga we also practice being of service coming from the place of our higher selves. In this way we have developed integration of body, mind and spirit and practice this both on and off the mat.

5. Trust

Now you might wonder how does yoga affect trust. I first wondered how going to meetings was going to keep me sober! I was also curious as to how working the twelve steps would improve my life. It was in shambles, I was in shambles. And yet, trusting in the process, I came to meetings, met with another alcoholic, read and worked the steps and now, many years later I no longer doubt. I trust. I am not flexible. I am stiff and I don’t have one of “those” bodies. I have a mind that whirls around and seemingly cannot stay still, how was I going to practice yoga and how was I going to relax in savasana (tranquility pose)? I trusted. I stepped onto the mat, slowly the pain in my wrists evaporated and I could do downward facing dog without my awareness of my hands and forearms distracting me from my breath. My forward fold became less stunted and strained and became more fluid and full of ease. I gave myself time to improve and learn; I trusted my body to know what was OK, what was safe and I worked within that capacity. I don’t do elaborate back bends – they are not for me. It took a few experiences with pain to affirm this, but now I know. I have trusted both my limits and my abilities. I have taken this knowledge into my experiences off the mat and realize there are some things I do with ease and well, some things I do with difficulty and well, and there are some things that I have a choice about. Self-trust is huge and it is a very worthy benefit from both the recovery and the yoga practice.

Now you might know that these five things are but a scratch on the surface of mutual benefits. What have you discovered? What has recovery provided that is helpful on the mat? And what has yoga taught you that is helpful in recovery. I would love to hear your experience strength and hope.

by Kyczy Hawk
Author: “Yoga and the Twelve Step Path” and "Life in Bite Sized Morsels"

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200 is a yoga instructor specializing in teaching yoga to people in recovery and the creator of the SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) certification program. Find more about her and the SOAR(tm) program at www.yogarecovery.com.

AlchemYoga has a lot of interesting entries so plan to spend a few minutes and check it out!.

Breaking the Cycles

I am honored to be a guest blogger at Breaking the Cycles. Please click here to read what I wrote. Breaking the Cycles has been sharing research, information, personal experiences and opinions on these topics such as drug addiction, alcoholism, substance abuse, dual diagnosis, underage drinking, help for families, prevention, treatment, recovery and the neuroscience of the brain disease and brain health and more since 2008. Their goal is to change, and in some cases simply start, the conversations so together we can end the stigma, misinformation and shame. They do this through presentations, workshops, consulting, blogging and media outreach. Cruise on over to their website and see what other information you can find.

September is National Yoga Awareness Month and Recovery Month

September is National Yoga Awareness Month
This is the journey of a woman who is totally different from myself, a totally different lifestyle and completely different background (she a successful young business woman and I, a middle aged recovering alcoholic) and yet - we both have similarities in our path to wellness and wholeness: YOGA!!!.  Yoga has been a vital part of my recovery and reintegration, and it has, for different reason been hers.