Addictions are significant concerns for a person’s overall health and well-being. While the journey to recovery is complex, there are things in a recovery program that can generate better results for people experiencing addiction.

The success rate of those who incorporated yoga and meditation showed improved coping skills, leading to better, more long-lasting outcomes.

What happens on a physical and chemical level?

Addiction influences your brain by inducing cravings. Over the long term, people lose the ability to control how much they use and will continue using despite adverse consequences. 

Addiction provides a dopamine surge, which is generated in the brain’s reward system. The person’s hippocampus creates a memory of a rapid feeling of satisfaction. The amygdala provides a conditioned response to the stimulus that the brain associates with the event, while the neural pathways link pleasure with an overwhelming desire to engage in the behaviour again.

As the body becomes addicted to the high, adaptations generating the dopamine release decrease effectiveness as it establishes homeostasis. The high becomes less intense and less pleasurable. Therefore, to obtain the same effect, the body craves more of the substance more frequently just to maintain that same high.

Pertinent Research Findings

• Studies examining GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) levels associated with practising acute yoga (one hour), compared to reading, discovered a 27% improvement in the yoga group with no change in the other group. Researchers found it may be instrumental for treatment in those with low GABA levels, leading to anxiety and depression, which are often found in people with addictions.
• One project concluded that after inmates were released from jail, those who took  Vipassana meditation had significant reductions in marijuana, alcohol, and crack cocaine use when compared to a control group.

Comparing Yoga and Meditation

How does yoga benefit addiction recovery?

People overcoming substance abuse disorders found meditation and yoga helpful when included in their recovery program. Yoga provided a positive therapeutic technique since it:

• Is a form of exercise: Yoga promotes mental and emotional well-being by physically working the body and releasing stress hormones (cortisol), improving balance and strength. When stress decreases, individuals are less likely to experience a relapse or consume dangerous substances. It also proved beneficial for coping with withdrawal symptoms.
• Provided physical well-being: Individuals discovered they were in better health when engaging in yoga regularly. People noted physical improvements as they progressed through strength-training techniques and advanced poses.
• Grounded the body and mind: Yoga assisted people in stopping cravings and avoiding triggers that dictated their behaviours. 
• Improved brain functioning: Regular yoga increases gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels, which regulate nerve activity. The therapy had positive results in those with mood and anxiety disorders, as they experience low GABA levels.
• Resulted in better body image and self-esteem: People who engage in yoga accept their body type better. Acceptance benefits those with self-esteem issues, which can be linked to mental health problems.

Yoga assisted people in focusing on psychological and emotional healing. Some techniques included asana practices, breathing exercises, and more. Integrating them into an individual’s recovery program allowed experts to address the emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions.

The Benefits of Meditation in Addiction Recovery

Meditation calms the mind, enhances focus, and relaxes racing thoughts. It provides people struggling with substance abuse greater control over their actions and cravings. Meditation improved self-control to such a high extent that it prevented future relapses. 

Forms of Yoga and Meditation

Yoga therapy techniques include parts of asana practice, Ashtanga yoga, varied mudras, breathing techniques, meditation, philosophical studies, mantras, and more.

• Asana Practise: Customized postures reduce physical tensions and stress, which trigger relapses.
• Ashtanga Yoga: An intense practice that assists those in recovery programs with establishing routine and discipline. These are essential in maintaining one’s sobriety. Physical challenges redirect the focus from cravings.
• Breathing Techniques: This technique reduces anxiety and helps manage emotions. Controlling breathing improves emotional regulation.
• Meditation: Meditation creates mindfulness while making people aware of feelings and thoughts without an overwhelming sensation. This form of self-awareness is essential for discovering and managing triggers.
• Philosophy: Learning about yogic philosophy can help people better understand the nature of their addiction and themselves. It can also provide spiritual insights necessary for growth.
• Mantras: Chanting calms the mind and decreases mental dialogue, thus reducing anxiety. It reinforces a positive outcome and provides motivation.
• Relaxation: Yoga Nidra generates a deep sense of relaxation, lowering stress, improving emotional handling, and helping with sleep. These factors prevent instances of relapse.

The Differences Between Techniques

Yoga draws on exercises from the Eastern strength-training and flexibility traditions. While meditation and yoga are similar, meditation is different from yoga. 

Meditation has a mental focus, whereas yoga is physical. Yet, regardless of the differences, many people combine the two and meditate while doing a yoga routine since they complement each other. Yoga targets specific body postures while initiating breath control. It generates physical wellness while helping with meditative exercises. 

With time, many recovery program providers learned that meditation and yoga provided long-lasting benefits to their participants. Regarding recovery, they appeared to help people struggling with addiction to alcohol and drugs.

Promoting Inner Peace

When the techniques are combined, many people noted a greater degree of inner peace. While practising yoga, individuals work on breath control, which is necessary to calm their minds and gather their thoughts at the start or finish of the day. They calm the mind and exercise the body, which is essential for initiating self-control while maximizing recovery.

As people increased in experience, they used the techniques learned for mindfulness and self-reflection. Individuals became more self-aware and learned about their previous negative behaviours and thought patterns. Meditation allows people to avoid giving in to cravings or triggers, even during stressful or dangerous circumstances.

Contact HOPE Be The Cure for Your Addiction Recovery Plan

Since mental health and addictions can be linked, HOPE Be The Cure provides various recovery programs for addiction and mental health care. We tailor our services to the individual’s needs, offering one-on-one therapy, group therapy, anonymous meetings, relapse prevention plans, family support groups, and aftercare programs.

You can contact us at 844-635-4673, email us at info@hopebethecure.com, or book with us using our online form.