Episode 129: Yoga Vibes, Natal Charts and Non-Traditional Recovery Pathways with RickiEpisode 129: Yoga Vibes, Natal Charts and Non-Traditional Recovery Pathways with Ricki
The Recovery Pod
Stephen and Ricki talk about her yoga-centred, spiritual recovery path and her work supporting pregnant and postpartum women using harm reduction. The episode blends practical discussion of MOUD and stigma with humour, crystals, reiki and a gently shifting view of NA.
1:05:59•9 Sept 2026
Yoga, Crystals and Harm Reduction: Ricki’s Non‑Traditional Road to Recovery
Episode Overview
- Harm reduction can be safer for pregnant people than abrupt abstinence from substances like opioids or nicotine.
- Perinatal peer navigation offers non-judgemental support to women from pregnancy until their child turns one, across all stages of substance use and recovery.
- Yoga, daily meditation and spiritual reading can function as a consistent recovery routine outside traditional meeting structures.
- Inclusive spirituality that treats different religious figures as expressions of the same higher power can help make recovery more accessible.
- Tools like tarot and natal charts may influence decisions, but personal intention and critical reflection remain crucial.
“We all get there in different ways, ’cause we all got to where we were at in different ways.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Stephen and guest Ricki zooms in on recovery that doesn’t always look like meetings and badges, yet still runs just as deep. Ricki is a person in recovery with nearly five years substance-free and works as a perinatal peer navigator, supporting pregnant and postpartum women who use substances or are in recovery.
She breaks down her role in clear, practical language, talking through opioid use disorder, methadone and other MOUD, alcohol use disorder, and even cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome from high‑potency cannabis. You’ll hear how she tackles intense stigma around substance use in pregnancy and why harm reduction often makes more sense than demanding people go "all or nothing" overnight.
On the personal side, Ricki shares her non‑traditional pathway: yoga, daily meditation, crystals, reiki, natal charts and a broad, inclusive spirituality where "Buddha, higher power, Jesus, Brahma, they’re all the same." Yoga has become her weekly "recovery meeting", a space to move, sweat and feel connected, while Just for Today readings and journalling quietly draw her closer to NA ideas she once resisted.
There’s plenty of humour mixed into the serious bits: tarot readings that nearly convinced her to walk out on her marriage, Stephen’s cautious relationship with crystals, and playful back‑and‑forth about yoga shorts, tight jeans and who’s really the "older, wiser" one. If you’re curious about recovery pathways that blend harm reduction, spiritual practice and real‑world support for parents, this episode offers grounded stories rather than slogans.
It might leave you wondering: what mix of tools, people and practices could actually work for you right now?
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