More than 22 million Americans are battling substance abuse, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That’s more than 22 million people who need access to every tool available to help them on their journey to sober living. Yoga is one of those tools. Addiction prevents the connection to the core of the individual, and yoga is a conduit to the reunion of the self. Many yoga classes for addiction recovery exist and can be found through the Yoga Alliance, but here are some poses you can try on your own.

Begin in Sitting Mountain by coming to sit on the heels. If this is not comfortable, place a pillow or folded blanket between the seat and the heels. Rest the hands lightly on the knees. Let the chin drop slightly, and the eyes close. This creates stillness in the body. Stay here for 5 to 10 breaths and repeat the words, I am.

Release forward into Child’s Pose by bringing the forehead to the floor. If that is too much, create a pillow with your hands, and rest your forehead there. This pose relaxes the muscles of the back and shoulders, and the pressure on the forehead calms the mind. Stay here for 5 to 10 breaths saying the words “in” and “out” as you breathe.

Come to sit with legs extended, placing a pillow beneath your seat if you need support. Move into Seated Forward Fold Pose by reaching forward and holding the shins, ankles, or feet. This pose stretches the hamstrings, and teaches self-acceptance. You only go as far as you can! Repeat the words “let go” as you take 5 to 10 breaths.

Finish in Legs Up the Wall Pose. At a wall, lay in such a way that your seat is at the wall, the legs are extended up the wall and your upper body is relaxing on the floor. Let the arms relax and the palms face up. Place a pillow under the head if you’d like. This pose relaxes the muscles of the legs and feet and reverses the flow of blood. Stay here for as long as you want, but at least 10 breaths, repeating the words “just be”.

Please contact us to see how we can help you on your path to sober living.

Recovering from hard drug use is a long, involved process. Narcotics don’t just strip away our sobriety; they strip away everything that makes us productive members of society, everything that makes us feel whole.

The basic living skills and social skills that we develop as we grow up in society are erased and overwritten by ways and means to get the next fix. Once we hit rock bottom, have our moment of clarity, and get clean and sober, those skills don’t just come back; they must be re-learned.  

That’s where Women’s Sober Living homes, such as those provided by Stairway to Freedom, come in. The first few months after achieving sobriety are so very crucial to long-term success, and the right environment will tip the scales favorably. Stairway to Freedom offers a taste of a life that many addicts may have lost: clean, comfortable living; peers who genuinely care about their success and well-being; structure and accountability; and most importantly, respect.

The home supports personal goals, and keeps women accountable to those goals with twice-weekly house meetings. Stairway to Freedom gently re-integrates women into society in stages which offer progressively more freedom as the women grow into their independence.

The twilight between sobriety and recovery is a tumultuous stage. The support that women receive in this home will push them through to the other side by reminding them what they’re capable of, teaching them skills they may have forgotten, and allowing them a safe place to breathe before they plunge head-first back into society.

Women’s Recovery Home in Chicago, IL

If you or someone you know is in need of our sober living services, please contact us.

Chances are this is the first time you have been sober and lived away from your family and/or hometown where everything was so familiar to you. Many substance abuse counselors, like the therapists you worked with in your inpatient addiction treatment program, will give you credit for making the first suggested change necessary to maintain your sobriety, which is moving into a halfway house in Chicago. This automatically distances you from the people you used to drink and get high with on a regular basis.

The physical distance is definitely a good start to separate you from the built-in temptations and open opportunity to relapse if you chose to spend more than five minutes in the company of anyone in active addiction, particularly your former drinking/using buddies. Equally important is your commitment to not try to contact anybody you used with or got drugs from in the past. This means no phone calls, texts, Facebook chats, emails, or even hand-written letters delivered the old-fashioned way.

The second recommended change is to maintain healthy boundaries with your family members. Remember what you learned in treatment about critical topics like enabling, co-dependency, and manipulating addict behaviors? If you spend your free time trying to contact your mom or spouse or sibling, who are not addicts in recovery, you will not be focused on you, your recovery and the changes you need to begin to make right now if you want to build a healthy, new, addiction-free life.

So who should you be developing contact with on a daily basis? The people who will become an integral part of your network of support and the third categorical change. You can start with individuals you live with in the halfway house. While you are deciding who to reach out to for a phone number, you should also be evaluating the individuals with long-term recovery as possible sponsors.

The sooner you get a sponsor, the sooner you will begin doing step work, which will encourage you to get comfortable talking to another addict openly and honestly about your journey from active addiction into recovery. Please contact us for more information on support in recovery.

After you complete an inpatient drug treatment program, the next step in your journey may be to find a recovery house Chicago to call home for your immediate future.

Finding Real Success in a Recovery Home

This phase could last anywhere from three to six months or even longer. There is no reason to rush it. In fact the longer a recovering addict lives in a recovery house, the better opportunity you have to build a solid foundation for success in your new healthy lifestyle, according to a study published by drugfree.org.

You will probably be encouraged to accomplish certain goals, such as creating a resume, applying to jobs, completing your GED, or enrolling in college classes. Obviously as you work on self-improvement to increase your marketability, you expand your potential for success. When establishing your aftercare plan it is easy to overlook some less obvious, although equally important, ideas to enhance your recovery. If you are like most addicts, you begged, borrowed and perhaps even stole to get money to feed your habit. Now you can let out a huge sigh of relief because those awful days are over.

And there’s more good news! Starting right now, you can begin to spend your money on little pleasures in life that were likely long-forgotten in the world of active addiction. Make a list of what you would like to do for yourself. Think of what would make you feel good, healthy, and happy. Maybe think of things you gave up as your addiction took over your life. Or think of your definition of healthy now. 

Some of the ideas you come up with will cost nothing except your time. You may be amazed how good you will feel engaging in these positive, healthy endeavors.

Ready to start climbing the stairway to freedom? 

Please contact us for support during this phase of your recovery.