“yoke” or bring together all aspects of ourselves—in the search for balance and peace for those in recovery. It is important to remember the seminal purpose of the hatha yoga practice: to bring oneself into balance in order to find union with the true inner core of one’s being. It is to prepare the body to be comfortable to sit in meditation. (See appendix I for a list of some more popular styles and lineages of practice.)
Types of Yoga
The major types of yoga include mantra yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, karma yoga, and raja yoga. Hatha yoga is a part of raja yoga.
Mantra Yoga
Mantra (mahn-truh) yoga uses sound or phrases as a meditation tool. The focus on a sound or phrase can bring the mind to stillness. It is also the yoga of sound and sound repetition. A specific word or phrase, often designed or assigned to a student by a teacher, is repeated in the mind both during meditation and throughout the day. It is not only the meaning of the words, but the actual sounds of the syllables that are believed to have power. The sounds and vibrations of the words, spoken silently or out loud, are likely to bring about powerful transformation: unity with the divine. Negative self-talk can poison our self-image and growth. Replacing this toxic mind-noise with a mantra can be very beneficial for those in recovery.
Words said to us as children, offhand comments tossed out in an unthinking manner by a relative or family friend, can reverberate their untruths in our minds throughout our life. Addicts can often perpetuate these “mantras” with our own pejorative phrases: “You are too (fat, stupid, lazy),” “You are not worth (saving, good health, escaping abuse or danger, having love, receiving compassion),” and so on. Repeating these phrases over and over can become a script, a self-fulfilling prophecy for our lives. Replacing these toxic repetitions with healthful mantras is the key to “right thinking.”
I used to refer to myself as “stupid” constantly. I would drop a pencil, and I was stupid; I would be late for an appointment, and I was stupid; I made a wrong turn while driving, and I was stupid. How foolish and harmful! I changed it to “silly,” from Winnie the Pooh, many years ago, and that has made a tremendous difference over time. It allowed me to refer to myself in kindness, with the hope that I would learn and grow, but with an understanding that this is how I am NOW. Working on the deeper habits of negative self-talk came from this revelation, and I have been able to change many other habits of thinking, resulting in a positive change in my outlook and an increase in self-acceptance.
What would you say if I told you this practice of mantra yoga is used in the rooms of recovery? It’s true: we use slogans and prayers in our daily lives to get us through difficult times and alter our reactions to situations; yoga made a science of it thousands of years ago.
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti (bak-tee) yoga directs attention to our emotional natures, our passion, and our love, and dedicates these aspects of ourselves to our spiritual quest and union with the divine. The compassion and affection that all those in recovery feel for one another, which we hear about at meetings, is an aspect of devotional yoga. We search for that true relationship with our Higher Power, our inner being, in this quest. Coming to the realization that we can hold our Higher Power, our divine nature, close to us in every moment of everyday life is a breakthrough that helps recovering people as they work the steps and move toward health.
The yogic style of devotional music known as kirtan is a form of bhakti yoga. The ancient words of the songs, the call-and-response process of the singing, and the vibrations of the voices and instruments truly bring one closer to one’s Higher Power. Any form of devotional and inspirational music, such as gospel, classical, or instrumental, among others, can be seen as a yoga utilizing all our passions and directing them in a healthy and reverent manner. The various prayers recited at meetings and the choral readings of the Twelve Steps can be interpreted as a form of bhakti yoga; we are listening to our highest desires for ourselves, and through this repetition we align ourselves with our Higher Power and right thinking.
Jnana Yoga
Trying to discern the real from the unreal through the use of mental faculties is the practice of jnana (jan-ya) yoga. Using insight, knowledge, and wisdom, we search for the true self; jnana yoga leads us to our true self by removing all that is not our true self, or our false beliefs. This form of yoga relies primarily on the intellect.
Referring to the work of Tav Sparks, the study of jnana yoga and working the steps go hand in hand. Jnana yoga involves using our will “aligned with the Divine Will” and the skills of “discrimination, renunciation, the cultivation of our spiritual impulse” as well as “tranquility, self-restraint, abstention, endurance, concentration and faith.”3 The use of these tools underscores the fact that we must practice our program with a sponsor or another mentor in addition to practicing yoga, and thereby incorporate these yogic skills in the process of working the steps. The Twelve Steps take us through a process that is very similar to jnana yoga.
Once we have surrendered our addictive behavior and have established or developed a spiritual path, we begin looking at our deluded thinking. We evaluate our past behavior and try to see the themes and trends in our thinking and past values. From that point we work with our sponsor to get outside wisdom on what we are beginning to discern as modes of unwise, unuseful thinking. We use this process to “disrobe reality to find the divinity within.” Throughout recovery we return again and again to this process of thorough review as we become more and more perceptive about our behavior and motivations, both past and present. For ongoing issues we practice Step Ten, taking a daily inventory of both the good and the bad, the useful and the unhelpful, gaining insight and knowledge from that process. By practicing these principles we move toward integration with our authentic self.
Control of the senses and desires through the discipline of self-study can help achieve this union with the atman, or self.
Karma Yoga
Karma yoga is the yoga of action and consequence. Action can be positive or negative. Good (positive) action can come from a clear space in the heart and be performed with no desire for recognition. This type of pure action can be thought of as action performed in dedication to the divine or Higher Power; the action itself is a channeling of the divine and the result is dedicated to the divine. There is no thought or condition of a personal benefit or reflection of that action. The Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Sanskrit text in which karma yoga is defined and discussed, states that “without concern for results, perform the necessary action: surrendering all attachments, accomplish life’s highest good.” This is the perfect definition of service: doing what is required and letting go of the results. This is a yogic way and it is the twelve-step way. In the programs of recovery, we perform service to the group by participating in meetings, doing hospital and institution (H & I) work, chairing, acting as secretary, or taking other vital positions, and we perform service to one another by speaking, sharing, sponsoring, and being sponsored. These activities keep us aligned with right action. Many of these do have the outcome of keeping us sober as well as keeping the organization thriving and vibrant. These are not the results for which we do these things; they are the outcomes.
Good action can also come from a well-meaning heart but may have some residual essence of self-seeking or reward. While the action is good, the motives are not as clear or “clean” as those of selfless service. Good or positive consequences may occur, but they are possibly not as beneficial as those of the purest actions. If we do a service for other than a pure motive, it does not bring us closer to our divine self or Higher Power. If I chair a meeting so that I can be known as “Ms. Recovery,” and I wish to get acknowledgment or praise for my participation, my good service may indeed benefit others; however, I do not receive as much of a spiritual benefit, as the action is taken to feed my ego. If it was not an offering to my Higher Power or the internal eternal divine, but to me instead, it lacks purity. If I chair a meeting exclusively to be a channel of recovery in
