Yoga Therapy and Addiction (PSYCH402)

Required reading: In the Realm of Hungry of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate.

Materials to bring: standard yoga props (2 blocks, 2 blankets (or 1 blanket and 1 bolster), and strap).

Course Overview

This course offers yoga therapists the foundational and applied knowledge to understand, assess, and support individuals navigating addiction and recovery. Through the lens of yoga, Ayurveda, neuroscience, and mental health principles, students learn how to offer trauma-informed support in both individual and group environments.

Gabor Maté's work in In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts frames addiction not as a moral failing but as a response to pain — and yoga therapy's role is to offer an alternative pathway to the same states (regulation, belonging, relief) that the addictive substance or behavior temporarily provides. Students learn how cravings and trauma imprints affect physiology and behavior, and how practices can reduce compulsive patterns, support mood regulation, and restore agency.

Complementary tools — CBT-informed strategies, journaling including Pratipaksha Bhavana (Yoga Sutra 2.33), sangha (community), and 12-step referral literacy — support long-term planning, relapse prevention, and stigma-reducing care.

Asynchronous Students — Project Instructions

Select a case study from class or create a composite profile of an individual in recovery (no identifying information).

Complete the Yoga Therapy Assessment & Planning Form. Include:

• Addiction history, current stage of recovery, and any co-occurring conditions (including trauma, mood disorder)
• Client goals and your therapeutic priorities
• Yogic and Ayurvedic rationale — guna assessment, ojas considerations, dosha patterns — for your overall approach
• Practices selected (asana, pranayama, meditation, relaxation, lifestyle) with short-term and long-term focus, including Pratipaksha Bhavana as a journaling tool
• Lunar/langhana practices chosen for the grounding and down-regulating emphasis appropriate to recovery

Submit a 1–2 page clinical reflection. Include:

• How your plan supports recovery across body, breath, mind, and behavior
• Specific considerations for relapse prevention, including how sangha and 12-step referral literacy factor into your long-term planning
• Observations from your simulated or actual practice delivery, including what felt steady and what felt uncertain
• How you would coordinate care or refer when needs exceed your scope

Upload your completed form and reflection via the Pillar Project Template Form link.

*Page numbers given in lecture might not match up with the numbers in your source material if you are taking this course asynchronous