Integrating Yoga with 12 Step Recovery

08/18/2025

I just finished teaching a three-day training on Trauma-Informed Yoga, and I’m feeling so grateful for the opportunity to share my recovery, my experience, strength, and hope.
One of the most important truths I’ve learned is that trauma is often the root cause of addiction. Many of us grew up with childhood post-traumatic stress injuries. Without tools for self-regulation, we turned to external things—substances, behaviors, or distractions—to help our nervous systems find relief, to help our parasympathetic system kick in, so we could feel less combative and reactive to life.
But this coping comes at a cost. Trauma wires the brain to be deficient in “feel-good” chemicals, so when we finally stumble on something that makes us feel better, our brains light up and say, “I need more of that.” That’s when addiction takes hold—when we keep reaching outside ourselves to feel okay.
The good news is recovery is possible. Healing is possible. And trauma-informed practices like yoga give us the tools to pause, self-regulate, and respond to life rather than react.
We are not “bad people trying to get good.”
We are sick people trying to get well.
And wellness—real, lasting wellness—is absolutely possible.

07/04/2025

I bent over backwards (literally) and turned it over (spiritually).

24 years of one breath, one day, one Downward Dog at a time.
Some days I surrendered to a Higher Power.
Other days, I surrendered to child's pose.
Either way—I stayed sober. 🙏

Grateful for the steps that showed me the way and the mat that gave me space to fall apart (and put myself back together).

07/02/2025

As always, when my anniversary gets closer, I reflect on the past and look at who I am today and how do I live in this world as a sober human?

I was at a meeting the other night and it was on tradition 6. Traditions in AA literature serve as guiding principles to protect the unity, survival and effectiveness of AA as a whole. We read this step and these words popped out to me:

"Nearly every one of us had wished to do great good, perform good deeds and embody great ideals. We are all perfectionists who, failing perfection, have gone to the other extreme and settled for the bottle and the blackout."

Before recovery, I carried the weight of big dreams and ideals—always wanting to do good, to be good—but falling short and numbing the shame with the bottle. Perfectionism told me if I couldn't do it perfectly, it wasn't worth doing at all. And that led me to some very dark places.

Today, 24 years sober on July 4th, I can honestly say: my deepest wishes have come true—but not in the way I imagined. Not through perfection or grandiosity, but through humility, consistency, and grace. I get to live a meaningful life, be of service, and show up as I am—whole, imperfect, and free. That’s the miracle of this program.

07/01/2025

It has been awhile. I am circling back as this is the time of year that I celebrate my sober anniversary on July 4th of all days to choose. And I did choose the day (even though I probably over 25 years of drinking chose many days to stop). Why was I able to really pledge a life of alcohol abstinence on July 4, 2001 and have lived sober one day at time? All I know is I felt that my back was against the wall and "I was sick and tired...of being sick and tired." That saying continues to stick with me to this day. Now I am healthy and energized. Now I love waking up with gratitude and appreciation
(most days). It is a process and it is a journey but all I know it is about being present. Being right here, right now. "Stay in today" was my mantra, I fell in love with yoga and learned to breathe for no one can steal your peace when you own your breath my friends!

05/14/2025

It has been awhile since I posted. I am back in the saddle in AA sponsoring women again. I took a little time off but I found that for me I needed to fortify myself because guess what?? The longer I am sober, the more I think that I am a different person now and that I could actually manage my drinking. I can drink gracefully.

Truth is I do not want to experiment with that one. I also know that science has a lot to say about alcohol and how it is a neurotoxin and that it shrinks the brain. Even when I read these things there is still a part of me that says "who cares?" I am glad that part is small and by being of service and sponsoring others this keeps my wise Self strong and focused on gratitude. Living a life with gratitude and not one with regrets has been the best and I don't want to go back.

So keep it simple today..don't drink, take precious care of you and be kind to others....love you all!

03/09/2025

The absence of “feeling” the whole Self is the struggle for people with strategies of addiction. In my opinion, adding the highest self love care through yoga to my addictions recovery really helped me to understand that the hole was an illusion and I had just forgotten that I was never empty inside. I was never broken. The Self has always been in existence!

In other words: Journey of the self through the self to the self" is a phrase often used in the context of yoga, signifies that the process of deep self-exploration and self-discovery, where one travels inward to understand and ultimately realize the true nature of their own being, essentially understanding that a higher Self exists that is Love. Loving this Self really does set us free!

02/19/2025

I give my life to my Higher Power to guide today. Please steer me away from digesting toxicity. Yoga asks us to be wise as to what I see, hear, touch, taste and smell. I ask for that discernment today.

I will live my life in love with love💙

01/28/2025

Everyday, I wake up and am back to feeling anxious and fearful. Instead of dwelling in negativity, I put “pen to paper” and wrote this.

Hope it is helpful !

As you many of you know, I am a trauma informed yoga therapist. I also hold the position of Director of Trauma and Recovery programs at Beloved Yoga studio in Reston, Virginia. My work often feels like I am in an "emotional" emergency room with my clients. I often have to do immediate triage to help...

12/24/2024

I recently attended an out-of-town AA meeting, where the topic of discussion was discipline. The leader referenced page 88 of the Big Book, which states that alcoholics are undisciplined.

I heard a variety of opinions regarding the concept of discipline. Many of us were shamed about our drinking, with some suggesting that greater discipline would have prevented our addiction.

In the context of the AA program, discipline refers to the thoughts and actions that promote new patterns of behavior and character traits. The term "discipline" originates from the Latin word "disciple," meaning pupil or student, implying one who follows a set of teachings, learning, or training.

I often remark that yoga can also aid us in the pursuit of self mastery and that cultivating daily self care provides the opportunity to develop structure, which fosters consistency, and consistency creates safety.

12/22/2024

Hard to believe I experienced my first time deliberately getting intoxicated almost 50 years ago. It was Christmas, 1975. What a journey of growth and transformation I've been on since then!

There is nothing good about the role alcohol played in my life, but I'm grateful for the lessons learned. It harmed me at all levels - mind, body, and spirit - but I've risen above. It damaged me, but I've healed. It set me up to crave the quickest fastest way to “feel” better, but now I choose self-care. I was a walking zombie, but now I'm thriving. I'm in my 24th year of alcohol abstinence, and I'm proud to say I'm living a life of purpose.

I want to be totally upfront about not living in the frequency of addiction. This is a description I first heard from Tommy Rosen. It means I still occasionally find ways to run from feelings, but I acknowledge them and grow. Every time I do that, I get to feel the after-effects that alcohol gave me - guilt, remorse, and shame - but I choose to let them go.

The first step is to admit my obsessive tendencies to myself and another human being. I binge-watch social media reels and stories and lose track of time, but I'm aware. I eat spoonfuls of Nutella and buy things from Amazon, and when I get the package, I laugh at myself. It seems like this is a better way of dealing, but I lose time and I lose what I love, which is balance and self-mastery in this world.

And so, I thank my inner wise Self that keeps urging me to be kind and have self-compassion. Just for today, I set the intention to live in love, to remind myself that this too shall pass. Heather, keep shining your light and remember, progress not perfection!

12/08/2024

Thank you for the reminder Tommy Rosen: “Cultivating silence each day is becoming more and more important to me; more and more precious.

I find that certain things become possible for me as a human being if I allow space for silence in my life. I’m deeply interested in these possibilities, and so each day is another opportunity to make space for silence, stillness, and to listen.

There’s a true humility in listening. When one realizes that a collaboration is taking place, life takes on a different hue with this realization. A greater value of gratitude and love can be experienced. I wish this for us all.”

11/27/2024

And then you wake up to your 8 year old grandson saying “Mimi!are you awake ? Can I play with your phone ?”

And then I breathe in the sweetness of this little boy and I breathe out gratitude for my family and my life in this moment.

And I whisper..thank you !!