Yoga for Addiction and Mental Health Recovery
- The Summit
- Sep 3
- 4 min read
At The Summit Sanctuary, we understand that mental health and substance abuse are deeply interconnected. Our mental health–first approach recognizes that substance use is often a symptom of underlying psychological challenges, and addressing the root causes is essential for lasting recovery. One powerful tool we integrate into our multidisciplinary programs is yoga, which supports mental health, emotional regulation, and resilience in addiction recovery.
How Yoga Supports Mental Health & Addiction Recovery
Yoga is more than just physical exercise—it’s a holistic practice that connects the mind, body, and breath. Research increasingly shows that yoga can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression while enhancing emotional resilience and self-awareness, which are critical components of recovery. According to Harvard Health, yoga improves mental health by regulating stress hormones like cortisol, promoting relaxation, and increasing levels of the neurotransmitter GABA, which helps calm the nervous system.
For individuals in recovery, these benefits are particularly valuable. Yoga can provide alternative coping strategies to manage triggers and cravings, helping reduce relapse risk. A review published in Frontiers in Psychiatry highlights that yoga enhances brain function, improves self-regulation, and supports the neural pathways involved in reward and stress management—key areas affected in substance use disorders.
Yoga and Recovery: Mindfulness and Emotional Resilience Through Yoga and Meditation
One of yoga’s greatest contributions to addiction recovery is its emphasis on mindfulness. By focusing on breath, movement, and present-moment awareness, individuals develop the ability to observe their thoughts and emotions without judgment. This skill fosters emotional resilience, allowing individuals to respond to stress and cravings with clarity rather than reaction. According to Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, mindfulness-based practices like yoga have been shown to improve treatment outcomes for people in recovery, including reduced anxiety, depression, and substance use.
Yoga also provides physical benefits that support mental health. Studies show regular practice can improve sleep quality, lower blood pressure, and increase flexibility and balance—all of which contribute to a stronger sense of well-being and empowerment during recovery.
Three Yoga Poses to Support Mental Health at Home
Even outside a clinical setting, certain yoga poses can be practiced at home to help support mental health and recovery. Here are three poses to try:
1. Child’s Pose (Balasana)
How it helps: Child’s Pose is a gentle, restorative posture that calms the nervous system and reduces stress. By folding forward and resting, the pose encourages introspection, grounding, and emotional release.
Instructions: Kneel on the floor with knees apart, fold forward, and stretch your arms in front of you. Rest your forehead on the mat and breathe deeply for 1–3 minutes.
2. Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
How it helps: This restorative inversion reduces anxiety and relieves tension in the lower back and legs. It encourages relaxation, lowers cortisol, and improves circulation, supporting overall mental and physical recovery.
Instructions: Sit sideways next to a wall, lie back, and extend your legs up the wall. Keep arms relaxed at your sides and focus on slow, deep breathing for 5–10 minutes.
3. Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
How it helps: Warrior II builds strength, confidence, and focus, helping you feel empowered during your recovery journey. This pose also promotes mindfulness and body awareness, enhancing emotional resilience.
Instructions: Stand with legs wide apart, turn your right foot out, bend the right knee, extend arms out to the sides at shoulder height, and gaze over your right hand. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute and repeat on the other side.
Integrating Yoga into a Multidisciplinary Approach
At The Summit Sanctuary, yoga is an integral part of our daily programming. Guests start each weekday with yoga and meditation sessions, combining these practices with therapy, nursing, psychology, and medical care to address both mental health and substance use. This integrated approach ensures that treatment targets the root causes of addiction while building lifelong coping skills and resilience.
In addition to structured classes, our team guides clients on mindfulness, breathing techniques, and personalized yoga routines they can continue practicing at home, creating sustainable habits that extend beyond their stay.
Research Supports Yoga for Recovery
Yoga reduces stress and cortisol levels, which are often elevated in individuals with substance use disorders (Harvard Health).
Mindfulness and yoga practices improve self-regulation and emotional resilience, enhancing recovery outcomes (Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation).
Yoga positively affects neural pathways related to reward, stress, and inhibitory control, which are critical in addiction recovery (Frontiers in Psychiatry).
Start Your Recovery Journey with Yoga
Whether practiced in a clinical setting or at home, yoga can be a transformative tool for mental health and addiction recovery. Its benefits extend from physical health to emotional resilience, mindfulness, and cognitive clarity. At The Summit Sanctuary, our guests experience these benefits daily as part of a holistic, evidence-based approach to treating both mental health and substance use disorders. Yoga is more than a practice—it’s a pathway to sustainable recovery, empowerment, and well-being.
Contact us today to learn more about our holistic therapy programs and schedule a consultation. Discover how this unique, luxury approach can help you heal, grow, and thrive.
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