Sobriety Sundays: A Personal Share from Shawna Rodgers
When I was 16, I was well into abusing alcohol, substances, and mind-altering behaviors. Somehow, I maintained good grades and a decent paying job and was able to pay for my car and my other “hobbies.” Sometimes, this included yoga classes.
The first hot yoga class I took was physically grueling but mentally freeing. In utter exhaustion, I laid on the floor in savasana and found myself instinctually practicing mantra. A window into something greater had been opened through this physical, embodied practice. I wasn’t hooked, but I was building new neural pathways that would become my way out of darkness years later. For the next 4+ years, I mostly stayed away from yoga in pursuit of other, more detrimental hobbies.
It wasn’t until my second year at San Diego State University that I returned to a yoga class. This time, practicing hatha. My awareness had been growing. I knew I was in trouble, but I didn’t know how to get better. I’d been trying to drink and use less, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing. Things were unraveling.
I practiced hatha and, for the first time, felt high without having taken anything. I was shocked. My mind, quieted by 90 minutes of breath work, gave more room for my heart and spirit to enter the conversation. I approached the teacher after to share with him my astonishment and findings. He responded simply, “You’re beginning to move the energy of your body. This is normal.” I didn’t return to a yoga class for nearly a year, after spending many more months struggling with sobriety and mental health. So, why share all of this in an email?
Because, quite simply, yoga saved my life and has helped me continue to practice sobriety since 2012. Because I am just a yoga enthusiast who became a yoga teacher who still relies on the tools of meditation, asana, and Patanjali’s 8 limbs to return to balance when my knee-jerk reactions may call for a less peaceful approach. Because after realizing how many people are curious about sobriety in our community, we’ve decided to offer a continuation of the Sobriety Series called “Sobriety Sundays,” and because we want you to know about it.
On the last Sunday of every month, beginning on March 30, we’ll meet from 2:15 - 3:45 pm in the Pleasure Point Sanctuary Dance space. We’ll move a little, breathe a lot, and discuss different aspects of healing and recovery (neuroscience, spirituality, 8 limbed yoga, and more).
We welcome you to join us if you are curious about sobriety, love someone who struggles, or want to learn more about the origins and the science behind these healing modalities.
Feel free to contact info@pleasurepointoga.com or DM me on Instagram to learn more.
Gratefully,
Shawna
@shawnamarieyoga