#109: Something Big Just Launched - Yoga Sutra Recovery
Plus Reflections from Sober in the City Scottsdale & the Practice That Saved Me
I’m coming off the weekend of Sober in the City in Scottsdale, Arizonaon an incredible high. The event was a whirlwind of connection, healing, and joy - workshops on sobriety, fancy dinners, mocktail nights, and yoga classes. I was honoured to be invited to teach yoga for nearly 100 sober folks, many of whom I’ve followed online for years but had never met in real life. It was pure magic.
Here’s the twist: I’ve been off Instagram since January. If you’ve followed my Substack journey, you know I’ve been working through a process addiction to it - it started to mirror how I used alcohol. I joined AA, did 30 meetings in 30 days, and even began chairing the Internet & Technology Addicts group in Bali.
So stepping back into the social media world this weeked was complex.
In one breath, I felt lit up by connection and community. In the next, I felt my brain spinning in old patterns - dopamine loops, ego swells. It’s complicated. But as I sat in my hotel room post-event, I had a moment of clarity:
If it weren’t for Instagram, I wouldn’t be here.
I wouldn’t have gotten sober in 2019.
I wouldn’t have started Sober Girls Yoga in 2020.
I wouldn’t have messaged strangers asking, “Wanna be my sober friend?” (shoutout if you were one of them 😂)
And I wouldn’t have ended up in Arizona this weekend, six years later, as the guest yoga teacher, all the way from Bali.
For all its shadows, social media has shaped my sober story. And this weekend reminded me of that.
I’m so grateful for everyone who was there - friends from the early sober days online, current yoga students, and brand new friends I met at this event. To those who couldn’t be there: you are still such an integral part of my journey. And to Susie and Peggi, who so beautifully curated the weekend through Zeroproof Experiences: THANK YOU!
Workshop: Stilling the Fluctuations of the Mind
On the final day of the event, I led a workshop rooted in Yoga Sutra 1.2: yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ – “Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.”
I offered three doorways into union - spirit, mind, and body - each representing a path to yoga.
1. Spirit – The Path of Bhakti
I shared my sober story, the origin of Sober Girls Yoga, and the deep rupture that defined my last five months. I experienced two life-changing events:
In January, I realized I was in active addiction to Instagram - using it with the same compulsions and consequences as alcohol. So I joined AA, this time for tech addiction. It worked.
In February, I was drugged and sexually assaulted by someone I was dating. I didn’t understand what had happened until I began chanting. Through mantra meditation, clarity surfaced. Chanting helped me access memories, make sense of what happened, and begin the long journey of healing - not just mentally, but spiritually.
I once thought chanting was just a feel - good practice. But now I know: it’s a powerful instrument for recovery.
It works because the repeition gives the mind a single point of focus. It also activates the parasympathetic state, it soothes stress and boosts emotional regulation, it carries healing frequencies, and it invites devotion.
It was through chanting that my spirit came back to me. I arrived in Abu Dhabi to lead a retreat just three days after the trauma, and I felt like a skelton. But when I led chants, it was like my soul was back in my body.
2. Mind – The Five Vṛttis
After chanting, I guided everyone through the five thought patterns described in Sutras 1.5–1.11:
Pramāṇa – right knowledge
Viparyaya – wrong knowledge
Vikalpa – imagination
Smṛti – memory
Nidrā – sleep/unconsciousness
I taught how to recognize and map these spirals in real time. For example:
My boyfriend-in-waiting (Mr. Merch) said he wanted to wait until we met in person to ask me to be his girlfriend.
Right knowledge: That’s what he said.
Imagination: Maybe he doesn’t want to be with me.
Wrong knowledge: He’s letting me down gently.
Memory: Every time I’ve been abandoned before.
The goal is not to stop the vrittis but just become aware of them. And awareness of the vṛttis is the doorway to liberation.
3. Body – The Asana Practice
After chanting, and doing an intellectual excercise on the vrittis, then we embodied the practice through our yoga flow.
I walked away feeling like I had really impacted their lives in significant ways. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity.
The Launch of Yoga Sutra Recovery
After the workshop, something really exciting happened today. Someone signed up for my new Yoga Sutra Recovery - without me even starting to post about it or email about it!! How exciting! It was on the website and I’d been working on it, but I hadn’t yet put it together officially. My Yoga Sutra Recovery program is basically the new twist on Sober Girls Yoga. It’s a trauma-informed journey that blends yoga philosophy with modern recovery, over the course of 12 weeks.
It’s born from my own path through alcohol addiction, social media addiction, sexual trauma, and spiritual rebirth. And it’s built on the framework of abhyāsa (dedicated practice), vairāgya (non-attachment), and sādhanā (personal spiritual discipline).
If you’re craving a map for your recovery - one that weaves together ancient teachings with modern healing - I’d love to walk the path with you. I have ten spots in this group that will start on June 1st, meeting Every Sunday at 7:30pm EST (3:30pm PST) (7:30am Bali Time on Mondays.) As part of this program you’ll gain access to the Sutra Sangha (or if you’re already in the Sutra Sangha you’ll get a coupon to use for the program which is the value of your current membership discounted off the recovery program). You can save your spot here.
Ways to Practice With Me
I have a few offerings I want to highlight!
ONLINE:
Yoga Sutra Community (Sangha)
A weekly live study membership circle, where we explore Patanjali’s Sutras and how they apply to real life through yoga and meditation. No need to be a teacher - just curious and committed. In June we’ll be looking at the Klesha, the five causes of suffering, and meeting three times a week: 8:30 am EST Sundays, 7:30am EST Mondays, 8:30pm EST Thursdays. Join the community here.
Yoga Sutra Recovery
My new, twelve week recovery program combining yoga philosophy, yoga, meditation, and trauma healing. Includes a once a week 90 minute session with yoga, meditation and sharing and more resources. We meet Sundays starting June 1st at 7:30pm EST. Join us here.
IN PERSON:
Bali 200-Hour YTT (July 2025)
Three magical weeks in the jungle, immersing in yoga practice and philosophy. A few spots left! Sign up here.
🎆 Mexico NYE Retreat (Dec 27–Jan 3)
Ring in 2026 with me and Rory in Todos Santos. Daily yoga, meditation, reflection, joy. Only 2 rooms left! Snag a spot here.
Thank you for witnessing this chapter of my story. For being in it. For walking alongside me through it all.
Tomorrow I head off to Bali to meet my almost-boyfriend :D