Process Essay: Overcoming Addiction Through Yoga

Improved Essays
Overcoming Addiction through Yoga

It’s no secret that addiction is widespread is our today society. From food disorder, drug and substance addition, smoking and many more, there is a clear need to help people with their addictions. Overcoming addictions is no easy task. The process is both physically and emotionally consuming. Luckily, once you’ve decided to quit, yoga can help you.

The practice of Yoga has been around since early 500 BC. The tradition offers a way to deal with addictions by building your self-esteem as well as confidence so as to overcome the addiction. Yoga combines mental and physical disciplines to achieve peace in one’s body. When practiced consistently, it can become a strong tool in the fight against any addiction. In this article, we take a look at the various ways Yoga can help you overcome addiction by reconnecting with your body, achieving peace of the mind, avoiding relapse and self-exploration. Before we begin, let’s take a look at the few benefits of using Yoga; Helps one achieve a peace of mind Is healthy Helps relieve stress and anxiety Is relaxing Changes your perspective allowing you to focus better Improves your breathing Note that while Yoga has successfully helped many people overcome bad habits and their addictions, it is not a substitute for professional medical help. If anything, Yoga should be used in parallel with medical help or the best results. Achieve a state of balance More often than not, the root cause of addiction has been attributed to lack of something in one’s life. That something may be love, happiness, confidence or even attention. Addiction offers an easy escape from these feelings and eventually leads to a deeper problem. Yoga offers a much needed space where one can examine and confront these thoughts without judgment. Yoga teaches you to look within one’s self and confront what they are trying to escape. To put that better, Yoga helps people reach genuine self-acceptance in their situations. Focus on the present The yogic meditation teaches one on how to be best focused on the present and not dwell on the past. This is helpful for those who’ve been through a lot in the past.
…show more content…
Yoga has been seen to treat both the body and mind by maintain a positive flow of energy. Through yoga poses, we stretch our bodies in ways that allows energy to flow freely. In turn, this releases the blocks of energy, feelings and even cravings that may have built up.

Body detoxification

When you do certain poses in Yoga, you force various organs to release built up toxins that may give you the boost you need to a healthier life. How exactly does this work? By releasing the toxins, you are actively strengthening your immune system. With continued poses and deep breathing, you are effectively detoxifying your lymphatic system as well as oxygenating your nervous system.

Hormone release

Hormones play a critical part in the functioning of your body. With yoga, through persistent exercise and deep relaxation, the body releases endorphin hormone which studies have attributed to happiness and even comfort by reducing activity in areas of the brain attributed to stress. The hormone has even been used to treat stress. Overall, yoga offers a space for therapeutic and proper relaxation techniques that can help you beat any

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Yoga, the mental, spiritual, and physical practices exercised to achieve a state of peace, comes from the various religious practices in India, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It requires concentration, determination, and willingness and takes time to become accustomed to. Armstrong refers to yoga and states that “it [is] mentally demanding and, initially, physically painful. The yogin [has] to do the opposite of what [comes] naturally,” (Armstrong, 15). The mental demands of having to stay still “like a plant or a statue” and the physical demands of “controlled… respiration” or sometimes the need to “exist for long periods without breathing at all” makes yoga an activity that requires much endurance and effort (Armstrong, 15).…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is another item that has a double meaning. First being that yoga itself has taken my baseball career and my body in general in a different direction than where it was going. I have been able to sleep, walk and move in general so much better than before just from simply taking one hour a day or so to just spend time on the one body you get. The second being that I spend a lot of time meditating on many thoughts and situations in my life. I believe that mediation gives you the needed time to process everything that is going on in your life both good and bad teaches you to focus on the positive inspiring thoughts.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Behavior Change Project has prompted us to select a strategy that is proven to reduce stress. I have decided that for this project I will practice yoga as my stress reducing strategy. I chose yoga because I can honestly say I have never heard any negative feedback about it. I know people who do it or have done it, and they have nothing but good things to say. I also like the fact that it not only benefits to my state of mind, but also my physical body.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Injury from yoga exercise is not uncommon, and many people who try yoga exercises feel like they will take something or hurt something, which is a big reason that yoga exercise is often put on the backburner and other kinds of exercise take its place. However, Yoga Burn makes the claim that it can help you avoid injury and get those advantages from yoga, such as toning up, reducing stress, and becoming more flexible. Noises great, right? However, is Yoga Burn well worth buying? Let us look at Zoe's program and her yoga secrets.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The yoga we have become so familiar with in America only represents a small portion of what yoga truly is. Here in America we view yoga as a fun way to exercise and an excuse to buy “cute” new workout clothes. Yoga is supposed develop not only your body, like Americanized yoga depicts, but also your mind and spirit (Prairie Yoga 1). According to Dr. Ishwar, yoga is “Essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science, which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body” (Basavaraddi…

    • 2013 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Discovering yoga It was only a matter of time before overworked, overstressed, and overextended Westerners discovered the power of yoga. As we endured the running craze of the 70s, sweated through the aerobic classes of the 80s, many have embraced yoga during the 90s. If the thought of twisting your body into a pretzel shape is what's holding you back, don't despair. You set your own goals and develop at your own pace.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This article concludes that although yoga has a more…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mindfulness Addiction

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This is where mindfulness meditation can begin to help with the discovery of the root causes for most addictions. Meditation and practicing mindfulness can help us learn a greater capacity to see further into…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Yoga is a very effective, integrated approach for mind-body complex. Through its various practices, which includes physical exercises, regulation of breath and meditation, it is an ideal tool for stress management. The psychophysiological benefits of yoga practices are affirmed through several researches. However, due to the lack of integration of yoga therapy into the medical system, the choice of a specific yoga intervention is dependent on the patient's evaluation of potential instructors and styles of yoga practice. As a therapeutic intervention, yoga shares with the rest of behavioral medicine the requirement of compliance and regular practice in order to ensure effectiveness.…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To change my physical health, while doing yoga I will engage in a series of techniques three times a week for 45 minutes.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If you 've considered trying yoga, then get on your mat and be fearless. Unlike common misconceptions that yoga is nothing more than a simple stretch, a closer look at how yoga can improve long term health, reduce stress, depression, and chronic pain proves that yoga is a beneficial workout. You might be surprised with the many benefits it has to offer. Yoga is for ____people. Common misconceptions is that yoga is for young, thin, and flexible people.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the last couple of years, I have been weightlifting in the gym. I initially took it up to gain strength and a leaner physique at the behest of my boyfriend, but partial credit is owed to my mom, who always inspired me to do what I want and be strong. Weightlifting to me is very rewarding in that I gain physical strength and confidence, yet there 's no one to compete with but myself. It 's about personal goals and being my personal best--not just physically but in all aspects of my life. Though traditionally weightlifting was solely for men, recently more and more women are getting into it.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction Recovery “While the path to drug addiction begins with the voluntary act of taking drugs, over time a person 's ability to choose not to do so becomes compromised.” (NIDA, 2009) Addiction is something that takes over your mind and body, changing the person you were before. Most people react differently to drugs, therefore there are many different methods to recover from addiction. Although it is not easy, it is possible.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Benefits Of Yoga Essay

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In addition to helping improve musculoskeletal, cardio, and other systems of the body, some of the mental health benefits of Yoga include increased ability to manage stress, improve self esteem, increase focus and more (American Osteopathic Association, 2016). And indeed, the more one can live and function with ease, the better they can handle the countless stressors in their day without negatively affecting their…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Yoga: Physical and mental health benefits of yoga How has yoga helped people throughout the world? Yoga is an ancient practice that came from India. Yoga most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. Yoga is famous all around the world because it has helped improve many people’s lives. Yoga has many physical and mental benefits: it relieves stress, increases flexibility, and improves circulation.…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays