#91 – Liz McKean: The Phoenix

#91 – Liz McKean: The Phoenix

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation with yoga teacher and recovery advocate Liz McKean gives a very down‑to‑earth answer. Liz shares how she went from being the "good kid" who didn’t drink at all to a high‑functioning party girl whose whole life quietly revolved around alcohol. On the surface she had jobs, relationships, and success; underneath, crippling anxiety and panic disorder were running the show.

She describes that first drink at college as the moment she thought, "I found it… I don't ever want to not feel this way," and how that promise slowly twisted into something that "turned against" her. After years of starts and stops, short bursts of sobriety, and the belief that a sober life would just be a long, joyless punishment, yoga cracked things open.

On the mat, she began to feel small flashes of "maybe I deserve to be happy" without a drink in her hand. The turning point comes with The Phoenix, a sober, active community where the only cost to join an event is 48 hours without substances. Liz talks about pushing herself through what she calls "the heaviest door you'll ever open"—that first class—and being stunned that, for once, recovery felt welcoming, light, even fun.

High‑fives, laughter, people proudly wearing the word "sober" on their shirts: this was a new kind of party. Now, as National Virtual Programme Manager for The Phoenix, Liz helps run free online and in‑person activities ranging from fitness and yoga to meditation, dance, poetry and social clubs. She and host Brett Morris chat about different paths to recovery, why some people don’t click with 12‑step groups, and how community can turn shame into pride.

If you’ve ever feared sobriety means boredom, this conversation might have you asking a different question: what might freedom actually look like for you?