Yoga and 12 Step Recovery with Nikki MyersYoga and 12 Step Recovery with Nikki Myers
Katherine Arati Maas
Host Catherine Arati Moss talks with Y12SR founder Nikki Myers about combining yoga, somatic work and 12-step recovery as relapse prevention. Their discussion shares Nikki’s lived experience, the philosophy behind “issues in the tissues”, and how Y12SR meetings support anyone affected by addiction.
0:00•17 May 2016
Yoga Meets the 12 Steps: Y12SR and the Issues in the Tissues
Episode Overview
- Yoga and 12-step work can complement each other rather than replace one another, offering a stronger base for ongoing recovery.
- Codependency, described as the disease of the lost self, often sits underneath any addiction and needs attention beyond just removing the substance or behaviour.
- Emotional pain and unresolved experiences can be stored in the body (“the issues live in the tissues”), and practices like yoga and somatic work help that energy move.
- Y12SR meetings blend a 12-step–style discussion with a themed, trauma-informed yoga practice, turning principles like “keep coming back” into felt, physical tools.
- Y12SR is open to anyone affected by addiction (their own or someone else’s) and offers trainings so yoga teachers and helping professionals can bring it into their communities.
“Hello, hi, I’m Nikki. I’m an addict. I’m an alcoholic… and I say with the exact same gratitude and grace… I am the founder of Y12SR.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Catherine Arati Moss and guest Nikki Myers gives a very grounded answer by pairing yoga with 12-step recovery. Catherine, a yoga teacher and woman in recovery, talks with Nikki, an MBA, yoga therapist, somatic experiencing practitioner and certified addictions recovery specialist.
Nikki shares openly about her past with addiction, trauma, relapse, and the moment she realised she needed **both** yoga and 12-step work: “At least for someone like me in the throes of this thing, I need both. I need yoga and it’s not an either/or.” You’ll hear how her programme Y12SR (Yoga of 12-Step Recovery) grew out of that realisation.
Based on the phrase “the issues live in the tissues”, Y12SR weaves 12-step tools with body-based yoga practices as relapse prevention. Nikki explains codependency as “the disease of the lost self”, talks about using anything as an addiction, and describes that familiar “whack-a-mole” pattern of swapping one addiction for another. The chat is especially helpful if you’re curious about how yoga can support recovery without replacing what already works.
Nikki breaks down the “five bodies” from yogic philosophy, why a good yoga class can leave you feeling whole, and how somatic work lets energy and emotion move without always needing a story or explanation. You’ll also get a clear picture of what a Y12SR meeting looks like: a universal 12-step–style discussion followed by a trauma-informed yoga practice themed around spiritual principles like surrender and “keep coming back”.
Nikki stresses that Y12SR is for “anyone affected by their own addictive behaviour or affected by the addictive behaviour of others” and talks about trainings that help teachers and therapists bring meetings into their own communities. If you’ve ever felt that recovery needs to reach both your mind and your body, this episode might spark some new ideas for your own toolkit. What extra support could your “issues in the tissues” be asking for?
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