SHAIR 190: The Yoga Recovery Lawyer with Suzula BidonSHAIR 190: The Yoga Recovery Lawyer with Suzula Bidon
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
Attorney and yoga teacher Suzula Bidon shares how heroin, meth and federal prison led into a deep 12‑step journey, law school and creating Recovery Yoga Meetings®. The conversation covers depression, grief, spiritual awakening and why she now believes that structure and discipline are the keys to real freedom in sobriety.
1:56:47•2 Oct 2018
From Federal Prison to Recovery Yoga Lawyer: Suzula Bidon’s Story
Episode Overview
- Even serious legal consequences and prison time may not stop addiction; a genuine internal shift and loss of denial often precede lasting change.
- Spiritual connection can begin very simply, by recognising there is something bigger than oneself and then acting through steps, service and honesty.
- Medication assisted treatment, therapy and practices like EMDR and yoga can be legitimate, life‑saving parts of recovery rather than reasons for shame.
- Working the 12 steps with a focus on patterns, personal responsibility and letting go of old stories helps release long‑held guilt and shame.
- Building daily structure, discipline and routine creates real freedom in sobriety and supports long‑term emotional and spiritual stability.
“Discipline is freedom. I lived my whole life thinking the less responsibility and the less discipline I had, the more free I was. And that is absolutely wrong.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober when prison, trauma and lifelong depression are all part of the picture? This conversation on The SHAIR Recovery Podcast follows attorney, yoga teacher and recovery advocate Suzula Bidon as she talks through a journey that runs from heroin and meth to federal prison and, eventually, a life built on service. Growing up isolated in the woods with hippie parents, Suzula never felt comfortable in her own skin.
Alcohol and tobacco led to heroin, meth and multiple overdoses, plus a federal conspiracy charge that carried a ten‑year mandatory minimum. Even that didn’t stop her using. Her turning point came in a county jail cell, when she realised, “This is my life. This is a pattern,” and made a deal with a higher power she didn’t yet believe in to give recovery everything for five years.
From there, she walked through treatment, the 12 steps and some brutal consequences – including 18 more months in a maximum‑security federal prison for relapsing on supervised release. Inside, she decided to become a lawyer so she could push for better drug policy and less shaming of people with addiction.
You’ll hear her break down each step in very practical language, talk openly about depression, EMDR therapy and medication, and share how yoga and spirituality helped her rebuild from the inside out. Her Recovery Yoga Meetings® use movement to embody principles like surrender, honesty and service, making both yoga and recovery feel less intimidating and more human.
As she puts it, “Discipline is freedom… structure is what gives you freedom.” If you’ve ever felt beyond hope because of your record, your past or your mental health, this story might challenge what you think is possible – what would it look like to give your own recovery that same full‑on commitment?
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