Recovery Is More Than Sobriety with Candice FurubayashiRecovery Is More Than Sobriety with Candice Furubayashi
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu talks with Candice Furubayashi about her nine‑and‑a‑half‑year sober journey, moving from burnout and workaholism into yoga, Ayurveda and counselling. Their conversation focuses on sponsorship, balance and blending holistic wellness with traditional recovery approaches.
46:34•21 Sept 2026
Recovery Is More Than Sobriety: Candice Furubayashi on Balance, Ayurveda and Long‑Term Change
Episode Overview
- Surrounding yourself with supportive people and a committed sponsor can make early recovery more stable and connected.
- Finishing all Twelve Steps, including a thorough Step Four and Five, helps uncover personal responsibility and repair relationships.
- Chronic overworking and stress can damage both mental and physical health, making rest and play essential parts of sobriety.
- Holistic practices such as yoga, breath work, meditation and tailored nutrition can support emotional balance in recovery.
- Treating recovery as your own path, with approaches that fit your personality and history, may help long‑term change feel more sustainable.
“I knew that that was going to be the last time that I did substances.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This conversation between Coach Blu and long‑term sober guest Candice Furubayashi takes that question seriously, showing how recovery can become a whole new way of living. Candice looks back on checking herself into Mountain Peak Recovery nine and a half years ago, where she first met Blu and was introduced to AA.
She talks about doing what was suggested: getting a sponsor, "doing the 90 in 90," finishing the Twelve Steps, and diving into community activities like softball and dances. Her sponsor’s tough love on Step Four and Five helped her face her past and start rebuilding her life with intention. You’ll hear how burnout from a high‑pressure marketing career pushed Candice towards yoga, an ashram stay, and training in Ayurvedic wellness.
She explains working six days a week, up to 17 hours a day, until stress literally showed up on her skin: "I ended up getting hives for the first time in my life… the doctor was like, I think that you are under too much stress." That wake‑up call led her to rethink balance, workaholism and the old dance‑fuelled belief that she always had to stay thin and keep going.
Now a substance use disorder counsellor at Watercourse Way Wellness and founder of Inspire Jewel Wellness, Candice blends yoga, Ayurveda and recovery work in what she calls her "dream job." She breaks down doshas and how food, movement and breath can support emotional stability, while Blu adds his own frameworks, from the "rule of thirds" in addiction outcomes to identifying a core issue such as neglect.
This episode is ideal if you’re sober or sober‑curious and want recovery to feel like a fuller, more holistic life rather than just gritting your teeth through abstinence. It might leave you asking: what would balance look like in your own recovery journey?
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