Many people know what yoga is and how it benefits the mind, body, and spirit, but not many people are aware of how yoga is used in conjunction with other healing programs to fix and heal habits, addictions, and mental health.
Y12SR is a program that takes the 12-steps of recovery from addiction and combines yoga to create an entire healing process. It allows for healing to happen spiritually and mentally.
Some people believe that holistic practices don’t work in any instance, however, this 12-step program has been proven to heal and help people recover more effectively than doing the 12-steps without yoga. A practice that connects and heals the mind, body, and spirit is extremely important during recovery from addiction.
Article Topics
A Simple Definition For Y12SR Yoga
Yoga of 12-Step recovery, or Y12SR, is a simple yoga class that was designed by Nikki Meyers to address and help heal the effects and damage of addiction and trauma. Using the 12-step program many addiction classes already use, Nikki added yoga into the process to allow for full-body healing instead of just focusing on quitting.
When Was Y12SR Yoga Founded And How Does It Work?
Y12SR was founded in 2004 by Nikki Meyers. She based the process on her own struggles with addiction and healing. She desired to create a yoga program that allowed people to heal past what they were trying to get away from in addiction rather than just saying no to drugs.
Y12SR allows people to fix the disconnect that addiction enables people to have. Addiction can separate us from many things such as:
- Our own realities
- Memories
- Trauma
- Tough relationships
- Current or past abuse
- Mental illness
- Broken relationships
- Our specific situations
Once someone discovers they can disconnect from whatever issue they are facing, addiction can easily take over and ruin lives. Y12SR’s program allows people to recover from addiction, heal the physical wounds it has caused and continue to live a lifestyle that will heal the mental, emotional and spiritual wounds they have.
While Y12SR is a really great way to deal with addiction, there are some programs other than AA for alcohol addiction recovery that are also essential to heal.
Y12SR is a holistic program designed to go with the original 12-step program to recovery, not to be used instead of it. It can help maintain a sense of normalcy and purpose while working through the 12-steps.
Since yoga itself is a process of learning union, integration, and balance with ourselves and the world, it works the opposite way that addiction does. Instead of disconnecting us from what hurts us or stresses us out, yoga manages to connect us more to ourselves and our problems to help us work through them.
Yoga affords those healing from addiction the ability to fully immerse ourselves into our lives, stress and all, without feeling like addiction is the only way to escape all of it. Through Y12SR, you will feel equipped to manage any issue, problem, or conflict that shows up in your life without feeling as if you need to disconnect. Yoga helps you align your chakras to achieve your maximum potential and optimal wellbeing. Learn about what are the chakras to fully experience this process in awareness.
What Are The Steps Of Y12SR?
Y12SR maintains the same steps as any other 12-step recovery program, however, they also include yoga throughout the process to heal and manage any trauma, memories, or conflict that comes back up during the program.
For example, in the step of recovery where you make amends with those you hurt in your active addiction, you may benefit from certain yoga poses and techniques that help to heal emotional and mental wounds caused by relationship brokenness.
You simply follow the typical 12-step recovery program while adding the benefit of healing on an emotional, mental and spiritual level through yoga. While Y12SR doesn’t have its own individual steps, it does have practices and principles that go along with the 12-steps that yoga can help you achieve and connect with.
The principles that are present in the recovery 12-step program and Y12SR are:
- Acceptance
- Humility
- Integrity
- Willingness
- Surrender
These principles are not only present in both 12-step programs, but they are the very basis for being able to forgive, heal and recover.
Where Can I Learn More About Y12SR Programs Online?
You can find quite a bit of information about Y12SR programs online, however, it’s always best to make sure you are getting your information from a reputable source so you or someone else is not misled.
The Y12SR program itself offers the workshop direction through them working with their many teachers but is facilitated by Nikki Meyers. However, if you are a part of any other of the best yoga programs you are likely to find the workshops through them as well, maybe even for a discounted price. Some yoga organizations that offer the Y12SR workshop through them are:
- Yoga International
- Yoga Works
- Sacrd
- Yoga Alliance
Now, many people wonder if it’s worth taking the Y12SR workshop, especially if you aren’t going to teach it as a job or side gig, however, there are many things you are likely to learn in the Y12SR workshop such as:
- How addiction affects the brain
- Trauma’s impact on the body and the nervous system
- How addiction as a disease affects people
- How to move from disconnection to connection
- How to apply the principles of the Y12SR to the 12-step program
- How to bring Y12SR to your community
- An overview of the 12-Step program
- How to become a Y12SR leader and teacher
No matter what your reason is for taking the workshop, you can learn why addicts act the way they do and how you can help an addict in your life deal with the consequences and help them through the healing process.
Final Thoughts On Y12 Yoga
Y12 yoga is, at its center, a relapse prevention program. Putting together yoga with the recovery 12-step program allows recovering addicts to create and maintain a lifestyle that doesn’t revolve around avoiding triggers.
The Y12SR allows addicts to face their triggers and heal from them so they won’t be as much of a hindrance anymore. Through yoga you don’t just stop being addicted, you heal mentally, physically, and spiritually.
