Recovery and YogaRecovery and Yoga
Katherine Arati Maas
Katherine Arati Maas shares her journey from years of alcohol misuse and depression to sobriety supported by yoga and meditation. She explains how yogic practices and a simple daily ritual help her reconnect with her true self and find balance in recovery.
0:00•7 Jun 2016
Recovery, Relapse Warnings and the Yoga Class Moment That Changed Everything
Episode Overview
- Yoga is presented as a practical, accessible "science of self-realisation" that supports physical, emotional and spiritual balance in recovery.
- Katherine shares a clear turning point in a yoga class where a simple cue led to an inner message to "stop" drinking, marking the start of her sobriety.
- She explains that stopping alcohol does not fix everything; it exposes underlying depression, fear, control issues and self-judgement that still need care.
- Regular meditation and gentle asana, even for just a few minutes daily, help calm intense emotions, develop intuition and create more even-mindedness.
- She encourages starting a small daily ritual—such as conscious breathing or one or two postures—focusing on intention rather than length or perfection.
“"For a single moment, I was offered such clarity in my mind and in my life... every cell of my body just saying, stop."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This candid conversation follows host Katherine Arati Maas as she "flies solo" to share how yoga and meditation became vital tools in her alcohol recovery and self-rediscovery. Speaking directly to women in recovery who are tired of pretending everything is fine, Katherine unpacks what yoga really means beyond stretchy trousers and sweaty classes.
She walks through the eight limbs of yoga in plain language, linking ideas like non-violence, truthfulness, breathwork and meditation to everyday recovery work and that elusive idea of balance in body, mind and spirit. Katherine then takes you through her own history: growing up in the American Midwest, early binge drinking and food as comfort, years of depression, stagnation and feeling powerless in relationships and life choices.
She’s honest that from the outside things often looked "more or less okay", while inside she was "barely surviving". A turning point comes in a yoga class shavasana, when the teacher says, "you know what's good for you, you know what's bad for you, just take care of yourself" and, as Katherine recalls, "every cell of my body just saying, stop." From that moment, sobriety begins—and so does the harder work of facing the feelings alcohol once buried.
You’ll hear how daily meditation (even five or ten minutes), gentle asana and yogic ideas like karma yoga (service) and bhakti yoga (devotion) have helped her loosen the "death grip" of control, soften self-judgement and taste moments of genuine joy not based on substances or achievements. She offers simple suggestions for starting a tiny home practice and stresses that it’s the intention, not perfection, that counts.
If you’re curious whether yoga and meditation could support your own recovery, this honest, down-to-earth story might be the nudge to roll out a mat—or just sit and breathe—for yourself.
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