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The right tools Myers says the idea that yoga can provide a set of tools is critical as the practice of yoga is much more than the poses themselves. She says there’s also a focus on breathing techniques, a meditation of sorts, and a connection to one’s physical reactions that can prove vital when faced with di ! cult circumstances. Myers recalls how one woman who participated in 12-step yoga later found herself in a very stressful situation at home with her kids misbehaving and everything going wrong. She said she could feel the negativity boiling up inside her. It was the kind of stress that had triggered her to drink in the past, but the woman said in that moment she was able to relax and calm herself by focusing on her breathing and remembering the feeling of tranquility she had experienced in class. “It had a way of creating a space, giving her tools to create a space between her reactions and instead take a di " erent neural pathway,”Myers says. “ # ese are the kind of tools that we’re looking to have people use.” ´$ IRFXV QHHGV WR EH RQ WKH ERG\ EDVHG SLHFH DV ZHOO DV WKH FRJQLWLYH SLHFH LQ RUGHU IRU ZKROHQHVV WR UHDOO\ EH PDQLIHVWHG µ - Nikki Myers

Not a replacement Myers is quick to point out that yoga is not a substitute for traditional 12-step support, but rather an additional measure that some people may $ nd helpful. She says some people have pushed back against the practice, but others have been enthusiastic about its power, with classes spreading across the country and even internationally. Myers says she hopes that one day 12-step yoga will be as common as other treatment programs. But she says as long as people are maintaining sobriety and $ nding wholeness within themselves, she’ll be proud of the di " erence her system has made. “We’ll tell people, ‘Notice this in your body, what it really feels like,’” Myers says. “Healing only happens in safe space.”

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