Someone in AA recovery uses yoga with teacher Malu as a way to sit with discomfort. By holding poses longer and watching what emotions come up, they learned to notice urges without acting on them, turning the practice into a tool for staying sober.
I saw as somebody who like, you know, went to my AA meetings and stuff, is I did not like discomfort. I don't want to feel discomfort. I want to escape it. And so learning to sit with your discomfort on your yoga mat is a great— it's like you are the lab rat in the lab, right? You are learning what is bubbling up right now when I am holding this pose because Malu said I have to hold it for another 3 more breaths. Like, what's coming up? Yeah. Notice what is coming, because that is going to inform— that is going to inform what you do in those moments where you said, like, do I open this? Do I open the grinder right now, or can I sit with this emotion? Yes. Right? Yeah. Can I watch it?
