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.

Ask Kyczy about Yoga and Recovery; Karma Yoga and 12 Step Work

To participate in the joy and honor of being in service are crucial to my well being. This activity brings me closer to people and to their divinity. It accesses the divine in me. I address being of service in my morning meditation by including a prelude which asks that all obstacles be removed in order that I be able to be of maximum service to others. I then contemplate the fact that if, indeed, I am of service – I am not the doer. I am a channel, I am a conduit but I am not the beginning of the service action and I am not the end. This helps me to remember that I am not the outcome either. I am not the result and I am not responsible for the result.
In service in the 12 step program or on the mat, whatever I do needs to be approached with the right attitude, perhaps employing the quality of saucha, purity. Whatever I do needs to be with the right motive (selfless service), do it honestly within my capacity at this moment in my life, do it to the best of my ability, and learn from the activity all it has to offer. This is a tall order!
The possibility of being of service occurs almost every moment in life, smiling at a stranger you pass on the street, picking up a fallen object for someone, preparing a delicious and colorful meal for your family or housemates – there are opportunities to be of service. Embrace them all!
So when I step into a classroom or studio, when I step into a meeting or cup of tea with a sponsee I must remember all these practices. Don’t overstep, be where I am and be honest, and do not attach my ego self to the results. Good class? Good meeting? I want to contribute, as a teacher I must lead, but in no case am I the message – I am really just the messenger.
Karma Yoga and 12 Step work invite us into the very best be have to offer – to ourselves and each other.

Ask Kyczy about Yoga and Recovery; Samskara - negative habits of the mind

Moving out of negative ways of thinking is so important for an addict. It is a challenge for all humans, but we addicts have the additional concern of jumping into the rut of negative thinking and sliding right into addictive behavior. Thought patterns or habits of the mind – referred to as samskaras – become more entrenched the more we follow them. These patterns emanate from impressions of the subconscious mind reinforced by later decisions we had made as the result of upbringing, social adaptation, responses to negative experiences and plain wrong thinking. Later we increase the grooves of unskilled thinking as the result of actions and habits we ourselves had taken up to "take care" of ourselves or to get high. For example the self protective behavior we might have had in childhood of withdrawing from social interaction to avoid toxic actions in a household filled with verbal or physical violence, may lead to an attraction for an reclusive addiction like on line gaming, or alcoholism. That activity reinforces this samskara of isolation and withdrawal. Addiction can increase the samskara to constant feelings of being “apart from” or “alienated”. These patterns still exist in sobriety /abstinence and, without remedy, can further hamper wise and healthy personal relations. What can you do to overcome this habitual rut of negative samskara?
You can overcome this pattern by building new habits of the mind, healthy ways of looking at things, and healthy activities. In the example of isolation and alienation in the example above, the samskaras can be remedied by finding meetings of recovery that reinforce pursuing solutions, working with others and being “a part of”; the healthy satsang of WE (a group of like minded recovery oriented, spiritual people). They can help by example, demonstrating their abilities in overcoming isolation and alienation. Yoga classes that stress the positive, the being in the moment, the paying attention to the internal landscape and the breath, can also help develop positive habits of the mind. The philosophy of yoga, along with the practice of the recovery principles, can lead to uncovering the source of these samskaras and help to overcome and replace them with positive habits of the mind. A lifelong practice – but well worth it.

The Yamas – weaving yoga and the 12 Steps

The first of the Raja Yoga 8 limbs are the Yamas.  The Yamas are “restraints”  - five actions that, when avoided, will bring you closer to your true self. 

The five Yamas are: non violence, non-lying, non- stealing,  non- excess and non-possessiveness. Like the 12 Steps of recovery,  the restraints, along with other rungs on the yoga path, can become part of the principles you practice every day to improve your relations with yourself and with others.  The  Yamas are practiced in thought, word and deed – so there are subtle aspects that can be investigated  when incorporating them into your life.

The first Yama, “Non-Violence” sounds pretty straight forward.  As an addict (alcohol, gambling, consuming, or other) stepping away from the "object of our [over-]affection" is non-violence to ourselves and others. In abstinence we are practicing non violence.  We "cease fighting everyone and everything". We cease harming ourselves, the ones we love, our pocket book, our sanity, our safety, nor our health through the use of or attachment to our form of addiction. However we may still have character defects that are still causing harm.

Next, using the steps, we can find more subtle characteristics in ourselves that had become harmful – anger, distrust, impatience, perfectionism, resentment or being judgmental.   These aspects of ourselves can influence unwise or harmful speech even if there is no actual harmful physical action.  It is part of our journey to uncover and identify these harmful character traits.  They influence our actions and our words. Mentors and our higher power / universal spirit and the strength of looking at ourselves honestly can unearth how we un-intentionally harm others with these traits. Mentors and our higher power / universal spirit can help us move through them to the other side.

Then comes thought – the privacy of our own minds that can  torture us and tear down semblances of self esteem that we might have developed in our past.  One of the addict’s most prevalent character traits, a lack of esteem, is a form of self punishment and harm that has no purpose in a recovering life. So even in our thoughts we must learn to be kind,  to think, as well as act, with forbearance and compassion. 

This non harming can have a foundation in language – the words we use when mentally referring to ourselves.  When making a mistake no longer can we refer to ourselves as “stupid” or a “total *–up”.  Phrases like “good  try” or “better luck next time” would be far more helpful.  We may still have little kid brains – treat yourself as you would a favorite niece or nephew, as beloved child  - with words of encouragement and kindness. 

Why not?  If nothing else it could amuse you.  And there would be no harm done.

So – for today – try non-harming. In thought, word and deed, work on your character in this loving way.  Just  for today.

Kyczy Hawk E-RYT200, RTY500 is the author of "Yoga and the Twelve Step Path", and "Life in Bite Sized Morsels".  She is a leader of Y12SR classes, and the creator of SOAR(tm) (Success Over Addiction and Relapse) a teacher certification training. 

Follow her ONLINE recovery infused yoga classes 
http://yogarecovery.studiolivetv.com/MemberRegistrationYR.aspx

Ask Kyczy about Yoga and Recovery; People in Recovery Benefit from Yoga

Ok – you have stopped indulging in your addiction. Now what?  You go to meetings, are meeting with a sponsor and working the steps. How do you find out who this NEW YOU is?  How do you get to know yourself?  How do you get physically well and stay well?  One of the paths to knowing your self and to getting and maintaining health is through yoga.  Yoga and her sister science Ayruveda (a complimentary and alternative medical system for keeping the body in balance)  . Today I will begin to address the benefits of yoga.  Later I will draw attention to the similarities between Yoga and the 12 Step programs.  I will also being to introduce some of the Ayurvedic concepts that can be incorporated with yoga and your recovery program to bring about total constitutional health.

The word yoga means “yoke”. It signifies the pulling together of the body, mind and spirit.  Just what we need to find our selves – to gather ourselves together in one moment – for the moment.  Yoga starts and ends with the breath – the breath is an amazing link between the body and the mind, and breath control can ease physical stress and relax the mind.  Control of the breath leads to control of the mind – and through that control we can better master our actions and responses.  A useful yoga class will teach a variety of breath practices over time.  You will be able to practice and become skilled at them – and they will lead to a rich 11th step meditation practice.  Finally yoga classes teach you how to relax.  The majority of classes will end with final relaxation in the conventional savansana (corpse) pose.  In this pose all the physical activity will be integrated into your body and your mind will savor the relaxation that results from being in your body and in the moment.

There are many paths of yoga and many traditions of yoga practice.  The yoga that is most commonly known is hatha yoga – the physical asana, or practice of postures.  Practicing yoga is a wonderful way to step into the body.  A good yoga studio will have lots of offerings so that you will be able to find a yoga style that works for you.  Some yoga styles are therapeutic yoga, integral yoga, ashtanga yoga, Iyengar yoga, Bikhram hot room yoga, Shadow yoga, restorative yoga, Yin and Vini yogas and on and on.  What kind of yoga you choose is sort of reflective of where you are spiritually and athletically.  Some yoga classes emphasize the spiritual; others the physical.  

Just like meetings – you may need to “shop around” and find the class and style, and even teacher, who suits you and your needs.  Just like meetings, sometimes you have to return a few times in order to really find out what the meeting / class is like.  Just like meetings you have to participate in the class to make it worthwhile – the more you put in to it the more you get out of it.

So – give yourself a treat and try a class.  Move into your body and find ways to move into your self.
To find out more visit http://www.yogarecovery.com