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What truly sets yoga apart from other exercises is its focus on being mindful and improving your personal awareness. When stressed, it can be difficult for our minds to rationally process our thoughts. Yoga instructs us to focus on our breath to clear the mind and to channel energy into poses. Through deep, intentional breathing and reflection, yoga can be helpful in your recovery journey if for no other reason than to provide a calm environment to reflect.
Not only does this bring down stress levels, but yoga can offer you an outlet to channel and shift emotional responses. This is an especially important skill to master as you work through building relationships and community in recovery. Over time, the cues practiced in a yoga session can transfer into your daily life, helping you remain thoughtful and also helping you to better reflect on triggers of stress or discomfort in your daily interactions.
When we challenge our bodies to overcome limits, like mastering difficult yoga poses, we expand our minds as well. Pushing through boundaries and achieving success over new obstacles builds confidence — just as much as muscle. Perhaps more important than the poses themselves, if we only take this time to reflect, yoga provides a calm environment to process our thoughts and calmly process difficult decisions or interactions in our daily lives.
While there are certainly known physical benefits to yoga, like improved flexibility and range of motion, the main benefits of yoga are in the welcoming nature of guided yoga activities. The goal isn't to hit every pose, and that can be a great way for us all to be physically active in a relaxed environment. If more intensive cardiovascular exercise is difficult or there are underlying health limitations, the physical benefits of yoga can be a great supplement/addition.
You don't have to run a mile, but you can still get all of the great benefits that physical activity can have on not only your health but the calm and welcoming environment of guided yoga. It also allows you time to simply be calm and reflect.
Yoga is also wonderful because it is so accessible. With just a few poses in your own home or even in your office, you can see the rewards of being physically active while also setting aside time to just relax and reflect each day.
When you participate in regular yoga classes, you're giving yourself another support system to aid you in your recovery. Working out with others is shown to enhance accountability and results while also helping people feel supported and part of a strong group of like-minded individuals with shared goals and experiences.
Yoga can be a great activity to do on your own, but yoga in a group class — especially one designed for groups that share a common journey in recovery — allows you to focus on personal growth in a supportive place, free from judgment. Being around others who want to help you heal and grow is how we rise together.
Check out our yoga classes and other activities at The Phoenix. If you're on your journey of recovery and have the desire to live sober, our activities can help you find that inner and outer strength with a community of others to support your journey.