Day 25: Is Alcoholics Anonymous Actually Just Yoga?
Hear Me Out....
The more time I spend immersed in the AA world—attending twelve-step meetings and reading the literature—the more profound connections I see between what the 12 Steps is, and what I teach as a yoga philosophy teacher. The language may differ, but the principles are remarkably similar, revealing universal truths about human suffering, human transformation and spiritual liberation.
The starting point of the 12 Steps is admitting we’re suffering, which is also the starting point of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Patanjali says, “Atha Yoga Anusasnam” or - yoga is now. I like to add, when I’m teaching it: ok - now it’s time for yoga. You’ve tried everything else, and it hasn’t worked. Now, let’s try yoga. Patanjali also teaches us how our mind causes suffering with the vrittis, and the five causes of human suffering (the Kleshas). Suffering is also the starting point of the Buddha Dharma.
AA, like yoga, requires a commitment to a higher power. In yoga philosophy, this is ishavara pranidhana. It’s one of the three practices of kriya yoga and one of the five niyamas.
And AA also, like yoga, offers prayer and meditation as a solution (step 11). This is a constant recurring theme throughout Patanjali’s Sutras, and also the Bhavagad Gita, and the Buddha Dharma. Meditation is the solution in all of these texts.
Last night, while teaching a section of the Yoga Sutras to one of my groups nearing the end of the text, we discussed the concept of karma. Karma, as explained in the Sutras, is the residue of actions—positive or negative—that we accrue throughout our lives. However, the way this karma manifests depends on our intention and expectation. Negative karma arises from actions rooted in selfish or harmful motives. When we harm someone by accident, and are unaware of it, we don’t acquire negative karma. (Because or else, how would we know?)
Take this recent example from my life: I was in a classroom, and two girls were whispering to each other while the speaker presented. I assumed they were being disrespectful and chatting idly. My irritation grew, and I even caught myself glaring at them, thinking, “Why would you come to a class just to talk through it?” In my mind, I’d already judged them harshly.
Later, I learned that one of the girls was translating the presentation for the other, who didn’t speak English. They weren’t being disrespectful—they were offering a selfless act of service. Their intentions were pure, and their action accrued good karma. My reaction, however—rooted in assumption and negativity—generated negative karma. This illustrates how karma is not just about actions, but the emotional and mental residue we carry with us.
Nishkama-karma is a concept that comes up in both Patanjali’s Sutras and in the Bhagavad Gita. It’s about acting with zero motivation - just performing our duty - and not seeking any outcome. This is the only way in which we can stop acquiring karmas and move towards kaivalya or liberation.
In Chapter 2, Verse 47, Krishna says:
"You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."
Similarly, Buddha Dharma emphasizes the role of intention in shaping karma. The Dhammapada states, "Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows, like a shadow that never leaves." This reinforces the idea that liberation is not about perfection but about the purity of our intentions and the mindfulness behind our actions.
As I was teaching this lesson last night for my Yoga Sutra Study students, it started to occur to me - wow - this is basically what they’re doing in the Twelve Steps! In the Twelve Steps, we engage in practices that mirror the yogic path toward liberation. We take inventory of ourselves (Step Four), acknowledge our wrongs to others (Step Five), and seek to make amends (Steps Eight and Nine). This process is essentially about clearing the karmic residue that prevents us to find freedom, much like the yogic goal of releasing samskaras—mental impressions or patterns that bind us to suffering.
Reflecting on my own sobriety journey, I’ve realized that for the first five years, I dismissed AA. Some of the language didn’t resonate with me: the term “alcoholic,” the seemingly outdated gendered language like "To the Wives," and the emphasis on apologizing. Influenced by books like Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker, I saw AA as incompatible with modern feminism.
But now, I wonder if this dismissal is leading women away from a profound spiritual practice. I agree that harm can happen in the rooms of AA, but harm can happen in the rooms anywhere. I’ve been harmed in yoga spaces. I don’t think we should “throw the baby out with the bathwater” because some people have caused harm in the rooms of AA.
And just as I’ve adapted the language of the Yoga Sutras—for example, using “cleanliness” instead of “purity” for saucha, or “commitment” instead of “discipline” for tapas—I see an opportunity to reinterpret AA through a lens that resonates with feminist values. Both systems offer the freedom to adapt ancient wisdom for the present moment.
AA meetings often remind me of the sangha, the spiritual community described in Buddha Dharma. Sangha provides a space for mutual support and collective growth, much like AA’s fellowship. Both embody the principle of interdependence, acknowledging that we cannot overcome suffering alone.
This realization has deepened my appreciation for AA. It is, in essence, a practice of yoga. It’s a room full of people actively living out the philosophy I teach—examining themselves, seeking liberation, and striving to act with intention and integrity. Meanwhile, many who "do yoga" focus solely on the physical poses, missing the profound philosophical underpinnings.
AA, like Patanjali’s Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, and Buddha Dharma, offers a roadmap to freedom. The practices of the twelve steps cultivate mindfulness, self-reflection, and a connection to something greater than ourselves. At its heart, it is about aligning our actions with higher principles, dissolving the ego, and working toward freedom—freedom from addiction, suffering, and the karmic cycles that bind us.
You guys….
I think AA is actually …
Yoga.
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