Navigating Recovery Through Mindfulness
September is National Recovery Month.
We're always really curious about the ways meditation supports people, and many people in our CMP community have shared that they are in recovery.
This month, we asked one of our facilitators what she saw as the connection between meditation and recovery/sobriety, if any.
Eileen - a pseudonym to respect their privacy - shared the following:
"The literal connection to 12-step recovery programs is that a meditation practice is recommended as a way of developing conscious contact with a higher power.
However, for me, conscious contact is less about perception of a spiritual realm and more about attending to an ongoing experience of being okay in the present moment and beginning to form a sort reservoir of sense memories during group meditations.
Through sustained practice with other people, who may or may not be in recovery, I've worked on being able to deeply hold calmness in my body and mind: through practices like Mindfulness of Breath or Body Scan or Equanimity or Gratitude or Loving Kindness, or Empathetic Joy.
When any sort of emotional upheaval and/or simple stress comes up for me, I don't really worry that I might drink, or use other substances, instead I rely on this shared history of meditation practice to call up sense memories of being at ease, feeling balanced, being calm. Since I do have a years-long practice, I can choose these options and feel them take effect very quickly.
To help me execute a shift to balance and stability in the midst of feeling vulnerable, I sometimes ask myself,
"Is my hair on fire right now? Even if it feels like that, is it really?"
Every time (so far) the answer is, No!
And at that moment of self-assessment, I find I can shift into a state of calm, or at least, a PAUSE, where I can locate and reconnect to emotional balance.
Since coming to CMP about 6 years ago, I have observed how our science-based Mindfulness meditation practice has worked to support my sobriety journey, first as a participant and now as a facilitator for the last four years.
Here are some of the things I love and find supportive through our community sessions:
We welcome newcomers into our circle.
We take a little time to check in and really listen to one another.
We build trust and community together in the present moment.
We focus on the breath as a stabilizing element of our practices, a tool that is always available and stays with us. We can always access it.
As we sit in our guided silence/s, we share a gentle structure of practice that supports our personal experience of inviting ease into our bodies.
Our heart-opening practices help us examine, and possibly find inspiration to understand, repair and improve our relationships.
We often laugh together.
I always leave our sessions with a felt sense in my body of loving kindness and gratitude.
We frequently extend a collective wish for all beings to be well.
Our practices offer a true antidote to our own experiences of negativity bias that seem to be reinforced in daily living.
We thus can become change agents for living truly sober lives that benefit not just ourselves, but those around us, as well.
Thanks for asking me to think about how my mindfulness practice supports my recovery. It truly does."
Thank you, Eileen, for the skill, compassion and generosity you bring to the CMP community!
If you want to learn more about our work to support those in recovery reach out to connect with our team. We lead partnerships with Liberation Programs, Catalyst CT that support our commitment and pride in serving our community and empowering people to lead healthier lives.
