Because addiction can often negatively impact all these areas, meditation is one practice that can help recovering addicts on their journeys to lasting sobriety. Our Southern California rehab is sharing more on the benefits of meditation for addiction recovery and why we incorporate it into some of our clients’ addiction treatment plans.
The practice of meditating tends to get thrown around in conversation, but there is so much to know about the topic. To best understand the benefits of meditation for addiction recovery, we must first clarify what meditation is and means.
The word ‘meditation’ stems from the Latin term meditatum, which means ‘to ponder.’ Through the practice of meditation, it is believed that we can seek to find a better connection with our body in the everyday moments we often take for granted or allow to pass by. The purpose of meditating is to create a stronger awareness of how our emotions influence our behavior.
There are two places from which meditation originates: India and China. India has some of the oldest written records of meditating from around 1500 BCE. In these texts, the practice of Dhyāna or Jhāna is referenced as the training of the mind, which is also referred to as meditation. China also has records of meditation going as far back as the 3rd and 6th century BC and linked to the Daoist Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher.
What started off as ritualistic practice that was more religious than medical has now become one of the main modalities of clinical care for substance use disorders. Along with yoga, guided meditation for recovery has become a growing holistic practice utilized by addiction treatment facilities all over the country to better support spiritual and physical healing. Our Banyan Palm Springs rehab is only one of several in our family that has incorporated this practice to further aid our clients.
Meditation affects numerous processes in the mind and body that can be beneficial for the average person but can also give a recovering addict access to even more tools to use in recovery. This addiction treatment therapy, in tandem with traditional treatments, has shown many promising results.
Some benefits of meditation for addiction recovery include:
Meditation is a practice. Most of our patients are first exposed to meditation in our residential rehab program and are advised to continue this practice after treatment is over. However, if you have already undergone treatment and are researching meditation in recovery, we encourage you to first start with professionally led classes or courses.
Guided meditation for addiction recovery can teach you the basics of this practice and help you find the type of meditation that works best for you. The more you engage in this practice, the easier it will get, and the more you will find its benefits enhancing your life. However, meditation is not a “one-size-fits” all practice. If you do not feel like it is benefiting your recovery, you can always investigate other holistic or ancillary practices for addiction.
At Banyan, some of our employees believe in the power of meditation and its benefits. Banyan’s National Director of Alumni Services, Dave Goloski, says, “As someone in recovery for several years, meditation has become a part of my daily routine and has helped keep me on track in my sobriety journey. In the beginning, I would only meditate for three minutes, but I started seeing unbelievable results immediately. After about two years, I can comfortably meditate for about 20 minutes. My goal is to continue increasing this time to see even more benefits of meditation in recovery. Even when I do not have the luxury to meditate for an extended period, I found that I could still get the health benefits of meditation in recovery, such as mental clarity and focus, and more importantly, the ability to pause and assess a situation before acting. This is a huge asset in stressful situations that can otherwise trigger relapse.”
At our California detox center, we believe in a comprehensive approach to treatment that focuses on healing the mind, body, and soul so that patients can find lasting recovery. Whether you are looking for healing for yourself or for someone you care about, we want to help.
Call Banyan Treatment Centers today at 888-280-4763 or send us your contact information to find out more about our Palm Springs drug rehab programs.
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