Lu Blue on sober yoga and the importance of movement

Often when we think about change, it’s very head-based. We think very hard about things. We forget that both our use of substances and some of the reasons that lead us to alcohol actually rooted in our bodies. So getting better acquainted with how we feel, can be a really important part of us changing.

This week’s podcast guest, Lu Blue, runs the yoga movement Sober Yoga. They describe themselves as a recovering addict, and Lu’s fascinated with how the body is such an integral part of healing and recovery. They talk to Dru Jaeger about the importance of not relying solely on the mind to make real behavioural changes – it’s about movement, too.

More about Lu Blue and Sober Yoga

Lu Blue is the owner of Sober Yoga, a yoga company that integrates mind-body practices to aid healing from trauma, addiction recovery, and relapse prevention. Lu’s approach is professional and playful, reminding us that Sober Yoga is a way to reconnect with our whole selves while changing our drinking.

I guess the key to anything, really, is that self-compassion and patience, and developing your practices of behavior, mental and physical.

The practise of yoga is not only an active way to live, for Lu, but it’s also part of actively participating in recovery. It’s pushing beyond the boundaries of a sedentary drinking life and making the couscous decision to move. Sober Yoga is so much more than just fitness and strength training. It’s a somatic process that allows those attending Lu’s classes to develop new skills in self-exploration and healing.

Easy ways to get moving

Lu gave Dru a little private consultation during this chat, as they do with all of their clients at Sober Yoga, to help assess their level of movement. Lu shared some tips on how to ease into getting moving as part of our everyday routine. Here are a few of their pointers:

• After being on the computer for a few hours, stand up, roll your shoulders forward, then back, and rotate the neck circumference.
• Do some gentle side bends, exploring how that feels down the side of the body. So do each side of your body, feeling into the ribs.
• If you’re out on a long walk, stretch your hamstrings from time to time – find a nice rock and place your heel on it for a few moments and stretch the leg before you sit doen for a cup of tea.
• You don’t need to touch your toes: if you’re stretching into your calf, and you’ve opened out your shoulders, and you’ve rolled your shoulders down, found a little bit movement, lubrication, fluidity, mobility into that area that’s been sitting and stagnant, then the job’s done!
• The hardest bit is letting go of what it says outside of yourself, the ‘you should be doing this, it should look like this’. It’s about exploring what feels right for yourself.
• Realistically, if you did these little stretches for five minutes, three times a day, you would feel it by the end of the week. It’s easy peasy, really, it just takes practice and mindfulness.

Catch up with Series 3 of the Club Soda podcast

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