Yoga for Recovery

"...the wisdom to know the difference."

The Serenity Prayer

During my earlier developmental stages of life, I viewed wisdom as a distant, lofty, and unattainable aspect of life. I left the statements of wisdom to the saints, sages, priests, and learned ones. I felt quite safe and protected from the potential criticisms I had heard of the ‘wise ones’. I would never be one of them and I was OK with that fact as I lived it.

So here I sit with significant, naturally grey highlights in my hair. Some say it makes me look wise. However, 15 years of addiction recovery is leading me to recognize that wisdom is born of the lessons of life. Further, I hear persistent challenges for me to take responsibility for the lessons of life. Specifically, we are to share these lessons with the greater community. Step 12 in our recovery program makes it somewhat official. My fear, though, is that when I share a spark of wisdom, I will then be held responsible to live that statement. WAIT! I have lived that statement. That is how I came to share it, through my life experience.

Yoga has helped me increase my awareness of these experiences, to accept them as blessed lessons. Also, I am learning to hear the words of great wisdom from others who share their experiences. In Yoga, we call it mindfulness. In other aspects of life, we call it listening. Whatever! What I am learning is that words of wisdom are not limited to the aged. Words of wisdom are in the story of every one of us willing to share the growing pains of life and recovery. Yoga has simply offered me a tool to become more mindful of the stories of others; to be less judgmental of the stories of others, AND my own stories.

Now, I share a reminder of our weekly class: Yoga for Recovery – Beside Restful Waters here at the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Share your stories both on and off the Yoga mat. Dress comfortably. Cost is like any other recovery meeting, we simply pass the hat.

Namaste (I bow to the Divinity of all life)