Yoga Therapy For Addiction Treatment
The word “yoga” might make you think of headstands, stretchy leggings or perfect Instagram poses. But yoga therapy for addiction has nothing to do with downward-facing dogs. It is a gentle and accessible way to care for yourself physically and emotionally during your recovery. Addiction can take such a toll on your body and your emotions that it’s hard to feel at home in yourself. At the Providence Projects, yoga therapy can help you reconnect, manage stress better and bring a little peace to your life.
What is yoga therapy?
Yoga therapy takes the ancient practice of yoga and adapts it to help with modern challenges like addiction (be it alcohol addiction, a drug addiction, or gambling addiction) and mental health recovery. Through simple stretches, breathing techniques and mindful awareness, it helps release stress that gets trapped in the body and calms the constant restlessness that often comes with these kinds of issues.
For people struggling with addiction, yoga therapy in rehab treatment can help reconnect them with their bodies after years of neglect. It is usually offered as part of a wider rehabilitation treatment programme, providing moments of stillness and balance in what can otherwise feel like an overwhelming time.
How does yoga therapy for addiction work?
Yoga therapy sessions usually run for about an hour to ninety minutes, either one-to-one with your therapist or in a small group. They often begin with simple breathing exercises (pranayamas) designed to slow your mind and settle your body. From there, you will be guided through gentle stretches and poses (asanas) and, in some cases, through gentle meditation or visualisation to encourage mindfulness and focus.
Sessions usually finish with a short wind-down and your therapist may suggest easy techniques you can keep up at home. These may be repeating a breathing exercise when you are feeling anxious or practising a few of the poses you’ve already learned.
What are the benefits of yoga therapy for addiction recovery?
Yoga therapy has become an important part of many modern rehab programmes because it helps in ways that go beyond talking or medication. Addiction takes a heavy toll not just on the mind but also on the body and sleep patterns, appetite, energy, and even posture can all be disrupted. Yoga therapy offers a safe way to bring your body and mind back into balance, giving you tools to use both in rehab and long after they leave. Some of the biggest benefits of yoga therapy for addiction include:
Managing stress, withdrawal symptoms and cravings
Breathing techniques and mindful movement calm your nervous system, making it easier to ride out cravings without acting on them. This can be particularly important during alcohol or drug detox and for relapse prevention post-rehab.
Reconnecting with your body
Many people feel cut off from their bodies after addiction. Yoga helps rebuild awareness, self-esteem and a sense of safety in your own skin.
Improving sleep and energy
Gentle physical activity can reset your natural rhythms, helping you sleep more deeply and wake up with more energy. This is important because sleep and energy can be greatly disrupted by substance abuse and unhealthy behaviours.
Regulating emotions
By focusing on slow, mindful practices, yoga therapy teaches you to sit with difficult feelings instead of running from them or trying to mask them with drugs or alcohol.
Building resilience
The physical poses may be challenging at times but they show you that you can face discomfort and come through stronger. This is a lesson that carries over into recovery, especially when facing post-rehab challenges.
Supporting dual diagnosis
For people with both addiction and mental health struggles, such as anxiety or depression, yoga provides a gentle but powerful way to reduce symptoms and help you stay emotionally balanced.
Start your recovery journey today.
Finding the best rehab treatment for you is the first vital step in achieving life-long recovery from your addiction. Whether it is for you, or for a loved one, do not hesitate to find out how we at Providence Projects can help you.
Yoga therapy at Providence Projects
At Providence Projects, yoga therapy is woven into our wider programme of addiction treatment as a way of helping you reconnect with your body and mind during recovery. We implement yoga therapy in a range of our treatment programmes:
Yoga therapy can be a welcome respite from very intense talking therapies and a great way to let off some steam one breath, one stretch, at a time.
Our yoga therapists are highly experienced in working with people in recovery, whether you’re brand new to yoga or already a lifelong yogi. Sessions combine mindful breathing, gentle movement and stillness with no emphasis at all on whether you can do the splits.
Yoga therapy is available in multiple aspects of our treatment pathway; In primary treatment, yoga therapy provides a grounding practice to support you during withdrawal and early recovery. The focus is on calming the nervous system and helping you feel safe in your own body again. In secondary treatment, yoga therapy can become deeper and more personal. It can help you process emotions that surface once the initial chaos has settled, giving a safe outlet for stress, cravings or anxiety.
How does yoga therapy complement other therapies?
At Providence, we believe that yoga therapy works best alongside talking therapies like CBT and DBT, group therapy and 12-step work. For example, where CBT helps you reframe thoughts, yoga helps you feel calmer so those lessons can stick. Where group therapy helps you share your story, yoga helps release the tension you might carry into the room. Even the principles of the 12-steps like patience, surrender and acceptance can be felt in yoga practice, turning abstract ideas into something you experience physically.
As one of our yoga therapists often says: “You carry your story in your body — yoga is one way of gently setting some of it down.”
Yoga therapy after leaving Providence Projects
Life after rehab can feel unpredictable, but yoga offers something constant you can return to whenever things get overwhelming. Practising even a few times a week helps to settle your nervous system, improve focus and create healthier routines. That kind of structure can be a lifeline in recovery, when free time or stress might otherwise become a trigger.
The beauty of yoga is that it’s always there for you, whether you practise quietly at home for ten minutes or attend a full class. The breathing and mindfulness skills you learn can slip easily into daily life, helping you handle cravings or moments of self-doubt before they spiral. With enough practice, yoga doesn’t just support your recovery but becomes a part of who you are, reinforcing the progress you’ve made and helping you carry it forward.
The team of counsellors here at The Providence Projects are always available.
If you would like to find out more about how you can best set healthy boundaries, how you can hopefully encourage your loved one to seek help, find out more about intervention or the treatment process, please call anytime.
Reach out to Providence Projects today
Yoga therapy is about more than stretching! It’s about reconnecting with yourself and finding calm in recovery. At Providence Projects, we bring yoga into addiction treatment to help you heal body and mind, one breath at a time. You don’t need experience, just a willingness to try.
Contact us today and discover how yoga therapy can become a part of your recovery journey.
Going in, I had no life…the Providence Projects has given my life back to me. I couldn’t have done it on my own. I found instantly how warm and welcoming everyone was.
LEO HAYDEN, FORMER CLIENT
Watch Leo's Story
Start your recovery journey today.
Finding the best rehab treatment for you is the first vital step in achieving life-long recovery from your addiction. Whether it is for you, or for a loved one, do not hesitate to find out how we at Providence Projects can help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “somatic yoga therapy”?
Somatic yoga therapy blends traditional yoga postures with body-awareness techniques to help you tune into how feelings and past experiences show up physically. Rather than forcing or pushing, it encourages you to notice tension, stiffness or “holding patterns” in the muscles and gently release them using breath, mindful movement and sensory awareness. In addiction recovery, somatic yoga therapy can help calm anxiety, settle racing thoughts and give you control over your body again.
How long do yoga therapy classes last?
Most yoga therapy sessions run between 60 to 90 minutes. Whether it’s a one-on-one session tailored to what you’re going through or a small group class, the format usually includes breathing work, gentle movement and a relaxed closing. The length gives you enough time to both settle in and leave feeling calm and grounded, without overexerting you.
How much does yoga therapy cost outside of rehab at Providence Projects?
At Providence Projects, yoga therapy is fully included in your rehab programme cost so you won’t pay anything extra during your stay. After leaving, if you would like to continue with private or community-based yoga therapy, prices in the UK generally range between £15 and £45 per class, depending on the instructor and location. If you are just looking to carry on regular yoga practice, there are studios and lessons all over the country and even countless yoga channels on YouTube.