FEATURE: YOGA AND ADDICTION RECOVERY
Photography: Courtesy of Rolf Gates
covery but it was yoga that helped my
long-term recovery from the physical,
mental, and emotional effects of trauma…trauma is held within the physical energetic and emotional bodies and
cannot be processed intellectually. Yoga
asana enables an individual to move into
unprocessed experience held within
those layers of ourselves and it enabled
me to feel settled, grounded, and safe.”
One of Gates’ legacies will be the Yoga,
Meditation, and Addiction Recovery
Retreat, a weeklong immersion into the
intersection of the mindful sciences and
addiction recovery. He was inspired to
launch the conference after watching
President Obama “go above and beyond
for his community.” Gates felt called to
go above and beyond, too, so he built
an annual retreat with big-name teachers from scratch. “President Obama’s
message was that those who can give a
little more to their community because
of talents, wealth, or other privileges
should.” Held annually at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Calif., the retreat can
INDIANA & YOGA MAGAZINE ISSUE I
cost as much as $3,835, a price tag that
would be prohibitive to most struggling
or new-in-recovery addicts. But Gates
maintains that this conference helps a
broad audience find the benefits of yoga
and meditation through a trickle-down
effect.
“I spend most of my time reaching addicts and non-addicts through mainstream yoga venues…the more yoga
grows within mainstream settings, the
more individuals have been inspired to
bring what they learned into other settings like the military, the prisons, and
addiction treatment facilities. The recovery conference is one of the ways I
support this dynamic within the larger
yoga community.”
Another way Gates gives back to the
community is through his writing.
While working on his first book, Meditations From the Mat, Gates discovered
that he loved the “creative and artistic
process.” He’s since authored Meditations on Intention and Being. Gates’
take on meditation is all about appreciating the world as it is, even when that
world seems unsafe or combative.
“Yoga prizes two basic capacities: awareness and compassion. The outcomes...
depend largely on our ability to foster
positive working relationships with
those around us. From this perspective,
yoga is a fit for just about anyone in any
situation. For example, my son trains at
a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym in town with
fighters who, on the surface, aren’t about
awareness and compassion but he has
formed powerful, positive bonds with
his coach and the other athletes, which
has helped in every facet of his training.
I believe the key ingredient of the success my son has had as a fighter comes
from the ability to form positive relationships”
Gates can relate to that. He feels that he
was able to complete Ranger School, one
of the most intense trainings of the US
Military’s Special Operations, because
of his ability to foster relationships. To
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