by Katlyn Beck

When most people hear the word addiction, they think of AA meetings and rehab centers, when in reality, addiction reaches far beyond the realms of drugs and alcohol. The truth is most people suffer from some form of addiction, whether it be working too much, drinking too much caffeine, or spending too much time on their cell phones. Addiction is deeply rooted in our everyday lifestyles, and anything you lose control of can become an addiction. It can even take the form of mental illness such as anxiety or depression.

What many people don’t realize is that addiction is not always as obvious a problem as one might think. In fact, it often starts small, such as a coping mechanism or a small habit that we keep doing over and over again until we become so reliant on it that we’ve forgotten how to stop. We, as people, get messages from our environment about how we should be and how we should behave, and we develop a dependence on these problematic habits and coping mechanisms in a misguided attempt to avoid and relieve pain; as a result, we tend to cut ourselves off from our authentic selves.  

A Yoga Village, in Clearwater, offers the course, Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery, to help everyone, from licensed professional to the average person, understand what it means to overcome addiction. Developed by Sat Dharam Kaur, ND and Jivan Joti Kaur, PhD, this is a 16-module, nine-day course, presented in three-day segments over five months, from November 15 to 17, 2019, January 17 to 19 and March 13 to 15, 2020. The course offers CEUs for members of the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.

Beyond Addiction helps people gain an elevated understanding of their inner selves through the practice of yoga and meditation. However, you don’t have to have an addiction to gain benefit as this course is for anyone wanting to gain knowledge and understanding of how to heal themself and others from addiction and addictive behaviors.

Founder of A Yoga Village, Sunder Luber, certified Kundalini lead trainer, Beyond Addiction trainer, E-RYT 500, will be leading the course along with Karampreet Hehr, Kundalini yoga practitioner, RN, PMHN, hospice RN. Beyond Addiction seeks to utilize the teachings of Yogi Bhajan to not only take back control of your life, but transform it for the better. Attendees employ Kundalini yoga and meditation to restore unity to mind, body and spirit. The course utilizes yogic techniques joined with naturopathic therapies and neuroscience to help restore the nervous system, frontal lobe of the brain and adrenal glands, and also assist in developing neutrality and clear subconscious patterns to manage reactions to people and events and enhance communication skills.

Beyond Addiction also features videos of Gabor Maté, a Hungarian-born physician who specializes in treating addiction, to expand the capacity for cultivating more self-compassion. Maté states in his book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, “It is impossible to understand addiction without asking what relief the addict finds, or hopes to find, in the drug or the addictive behavior.” Beyond Addiction seeks to provide attendees with the tools necessary to heal and harmonize the physical body with the spirit.

When asked about the course, licensed clinical social worker Dianne Young states, “This was the best course I’ve ever taken because it helps people get to the root of their addictions and gain insight and understanding.” Upon completing the course she received 72 CEU hours (above the requirement) necessary for continuing education for her license. She goes on to say, “There is no judgement, just connecting with others so you feel supported and not alone. Beyond Addiction helps you feel like you belong to yourself, your own authentic self.”

Let Beyond Addiction assist you in taking the first step toward finding power in your self-actualization, self-realization and recovery, opening your mind and heart to the possibility of rediscovering your true self and living beyond addiction.