Ozark Mountain Yoga Mindful Living Magazine September 2015 | Page 7

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particular carries this mystical aura that can keep new students from trying it out. I de-mystify "capital Y" yoga; I make it accessible. By stretching and breathing with the 12 Steps as an underlying theme, I help people in recovery reconnect with their bodies.

What continues to motivate you?

Yoga, and the way I pair poses with the spiritual principles of 12-Step recovery, has given me a new understanding of the 12 Steps, and a sense of physical connection and mind-body wholeness that I was missing until I returned to the practice of yoga. Because I'm a member of the population I teach, my own experience motivates me.

What keeps me teaching recovery yoga is that I know it works, and I know it offers something I didn't get from the 12 Steps alone. Yoga reconciled me with my body, and gave me physical tools I can use to reconnect the various aspects of myself. Any psychological or emotional disruption is manageable with breath. When something throws me out of balance, my physical experience of yoga is like muscle memory. I know I can lose and find myself during yoga, so why can't I do the same thing in my life?

Another way to say this is that yoga allows me to physically process disconnection and discomfort. It teaches me that I can survive discomfort. In active addiction, there was a chasm between my head and my heart. I knew drugs were addictive, but my psychological pain was so great, I didn't care. All I knew was that substance X made me feel better, and made existing in my own skin bearable. I hope to show other addicts the power of yoga to connect head and heart and body, so that substance X can't gain a toehold.

Is there a standout moment from your work with recover-ing addicts?

Yes. In my classes we have an anonymous check-in share before class. I encourage my students to go deep; I suggest they share something they are working on or struggling with, something to which they can dedicate their physical practice during class. I usually share first to establish a safe space and lead by example. I am consistently moved by the insight and candor of my students.

In one of my early classes, we went around the studio sharing before class, and as usual, people were breathtakingly honest and open about their inner lives. Then we practiced yoga for an hour, and ended practice with the serenity prayer. I opened the floor for our "check-out," in which students can share anything that came up for them, give me feedback, etc. A few students shared, and then we came to the one student who was new to class, and with awe in her voice and tears in her eyes she said, "You guys really do it. You don't just talk about it; you really work a 12- Step program." Her reaction is why I teach. It is such an honor to be granted the opportunity to really see my students being themselves, and taking the risk to be seen.

What did you know about the population you are working with, before you began teaching?

I am a member of the population I teach.

What advice would you give to anyone who is going to teach yoga to people in recovery from addictions?

Be real. Be authentic, genuine, engaged, and emotionally present. Creating a safe space for students is critical. If they sense any judgment or insincerity from the teacher, they will clam up and withhold their emotional vulnerability. Their willingness to expose their raw spots is what makes group physical yoga practice so effective for recovering addicts.

What are some of your ideas about or hopes for the future of "service yoga" in America in the next decade?

I love flash mobs. I would like to organize service yoga flash mobs.

What organizations do you admire?

I love what Nikki Meyers is doing with Y12SR. She has built up a grass-roots network of 12- Step meetings that incorporate yoga.

Off the Mat is another group that is bringing yoga to un-derserved populations that are especially in need of tools to foster psychological well-being and mind-body connection.

First published 3/10/2014

Huffington Post

Rob Schware, Executive Director Give Back Yoga Foundation, President, Yoga Service Council

12-Step-Style Yoga

for Addiction and Depression

Rob Schware