The Power of Practice
Building a Foundation for Recovery and Wellbeing on the PEACEful PAth
I wandered into my recovery by accident. I only signed up to train to be a Yoga teacher. If someone had told me that I’d end up 6 months sober when I got my teaching certificate, I might have thought twice about the whole idea!
But the practices I learned and enjoyed most days gave me gifts that went beyond being able to teach them. They helped me to release and heal years of pain, shame, self loathing and so much more. The day I decided to be kinder to myself and choose sobriety, I did it knowing I had resources available to support myself during the hard times that I’d never had before. I no longer needed to drink my problems away, I could breathe, stretch and write them away.
I was sure that Yoga was vital for my recovery and wellbeing, and worried that if I stopped, I might start drinking again.
But then I stopped practicing Yoga. I had fallen out of love with it, and lost interest in it. And at the worst possible time - still stressed out from Covid and all the stress that had brought, and now dealing with the grief of watching my mother fade away over a year.
My body missed it. I got stiff. I developed tennis elbow, lower back pain, tendonitis in my shoulder, gallstones, pain in my neck.
My mind was noisy. I spent all of last year keeping myself very busy, rushing from one exciting adventure or challenge to the next, barely pausing for breath. I trained to be a meditation teacher, and embodiment coach, but as soon as the courses were over, I stopped those practices too. I stopped exercising. I gained weight. I slept poorly.
There was also, I think, an element of not wanting the silence of my Yoga mat, which meant that there was nothing to distract myself from it all the pain, overwhelm and sadness I was feeling. But if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that avoiding the painful thoughts and feelings doesn't make them go away - quite the opposite in fact! I didn’t stop thinking about the painful stuff just because I wasn’t letting myself get still. I simply wasn’t giving myself the change to process them in a compassionate, nurturing way.
With hindsight, the mental health crash I’ve experienced this year was inevitable. Stopping my Yoga practice hadn’t sent me back to the booze, but I had stopped taking care of myself, and that hurt my recovery.
I used to think “as long as I’m sober, Im ok”. But I was missing the point. Recovery isn’t simply about not doing the thing you’re trying to avoid. It’s about creating a better life, a life in which you can thrive.
The Power of Practice
This is why Pratice is a vital part of The PEACEful Path of Recovery. And to do that, you need to find the practices that support and nourish your wellbeing, enhance your connection with yourself, and give you a healthy way to process your emotions. For me it’s Yoga (I’ve fallen back in love with it now!), walking and being in nature, writing and, increasingly, swimming and being in the sauna.
It could be argued that the whole path of recovery, whatever path you choose, is a practice. If addiction is the build up of habitual, conditioned responses to difficult emotions and experiences, as I believe it to be, then the way out of that is to create new habitual, conditioned responses that support wellbeing and a meaningful life. I was able to walk away from 20 years of addictive drinking because the practices I learned on Yoga teacher training gave me the ability to face my pain and unhappiness, so I no longer needed to ‘drown my sorrows’. Those practices allowed me to begin my recovery, and gave me so much more - my life was better each day that started on my Yoga mat, or when I was in my walking boots on a mountain.
This didn’t happen after the first class of my YTT course, I needed to embed those practices into my daily life so that they became as natural to my responses as reaching for a drink or a cigarette once were. I had to practice, and make them a regular part of my life.
I was spending a lot of time on my yoga mat each day, and over time it became unsustainable. Life gets busy, and when life is busy, and responsibilities are weighing you down, it’s often the self care, the daily practices that we let go of first, After all, I couldn’t stop feeding my son, doing my work or caring for my mother. So it felt not only easy but necessary to drop my self care practices.
And inevitably, my lack of self care caught up with me, and I crashed. I didn’t drink. But I most definitely was not ok.
Finding Sustainable Practices
Looking back, I realise that I had fallen into an all-or-nothing mindset about practice. At one point, I was doing so much Yoga, so much self-care, that when life got busier and harder, I felt I couldn’t keep up. Instead of adjusting and allowing for smaller, more manageable ways to care for myself, I let it go. I’d also become disillusioned with much of the Yoga and ‘wellness’ world, and instead of only looking at the parts I knew worked for me, I used that as justification for walking away from it all.
It’s a trap many of us fall into. We think that if we can’t do it perfectly, it’s not worth doing at all. But the truth is, self-care doesn’t have to be an elaborate ritual. Sustainable practice means finding the small, meaningful actions we can commit to, even on our hardest days. Sometimes, it’s as simple as taking three deep breaths in the car before going into a meeting, jotting down a single thought in a journal, or walking around the block for five minutes.
Richard Louv, in The Nature Principle, reminds us that even brief moments of connection—to ourselves or the natural world—can have profound impacts on our wellbeing. It doesn’t require climbing mountains every weekend or spending hours meditating. Sometimes, it’s just stepping outside, noticing the feel of the wind on your face, or listening to birdsong for a few moments. These small practices are often the ones that ground us most effectively when life feels chaotic.
Thriving in Recovery
Recovery isn’t about achieving perfection. It’s about learning, adapting, and showing yourself compassion along the way. There will be times when you stumble, when life feels too busy or too heavy to carry on with your practices. That’s okay. One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned is that you can always come back to them.
Reconnecting with Yoga has been like coming home to myself. It reminds me that practices are not only about what we do but about how we feel while doing them. They are acts of care, moments of presence, and ways to connect with ourselves. But what works for me might not work for you. Your practice could be writing, gardening, painting, cooking, or simply sitting quietly with a cup of tea. What matters is that it nourishes you, gives you a moment to pause, and reminds you that you matter.
Ian Banyard, in Natural Mindfulness, talks about practices as a bridge between being and doing—ways to bring ourselves into the present moment and connect with the world around us. It’s through these small, intentional actions that we create a life worth living.
So let your practices, however small, become a way of telling yourself, “I am worth this.” Because you are. And when you choose to take care of yourself, even in the smallest ways, you’re not just maintaining your recovery—you’re building a life where recovery isn’t just possible but full of joy, meaning, and connection.
As you move forward, think about one small thing you can do today to support yourself. Maybe it’s taking a mindful breath, stepping outside for a moment of fresh air, or writing down one thing you’re grateful for. Whatever it is, know that it’s enough.
The power of practice lies not in grand gestures but in the quiet, consistent choices we make to care for ourselves, no matter how busy or overwhelmed we may feel. These small acts of kindness toward yourself are what sustain recovery and lead to a life where you don’t just survive—you thrive.
A Gentle Invitation
So here’s my invitation to you: pause and ask yourself—what practices support you? What are the small, simple things that help you feel grounded, connected, or at peace? It doesn’t have to be something new or complex. Perhaps it’s something you’ve done before and loved, or something you’ve been curious about trying.
Take a moment to reflect on what makes you feel alive, or even just a little lighter. Lance Dodes, in Breaking Addiction, emphasizes that recovery is less about removing the destructive behaviours and more about filling our lives with meaning and healthy ways of managing emotions. Practices that centre you, that make space for reflection and connection, become tools you can turn to when life feels overwhelming.
You don’t have to overhaul your life or start a dozen new habits overnight. Choose one small practice—something achievable and kind to yourself. Let it be something you look forward to, rather than another item on your to-do list. And then, when you’ve committed to it, be consistent. The power of practice lies not in its size but in its repetition.
Resources for Paid subscribers
As promised, with this series I am offering some extra resources for my wonderful paid subscribers. To accompany this week’s essay, I am offering
Some journal questions to help you uncover the practices that will help you most, and how to incorporate them into your life
A simple practice to integrate into your day, to help you connect with the body, and centre yourself.
If you’d like to access the resources I will be making available to paid subscribers, you can subscribe below.
Next week, we will be looking into the other P on the PEACEful Path of Recovery…. the power of Purpose. I can’t wait to share it with you!