At The Anzelmo Ibogaine Center we have carefully selected various therapies as part of our detox plan and recovery program. These therapies help you on a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level, in order to make your transition into a sober lifestyle as easy as possible after your Ibogaine treatment. When a recovering addict opens up new body and mind pathways of thought, emotion and being, new vibrations are created, thus disrupting and decreasing previous addiction memory pathways.
As you remove your old habit — addiction — we want to replace it with new habits: positive and supportive techniques that you will take with you when you leave and start rebuilding your life. Kundalini yoga is one of the classes we offer at the Anzelmo Wellness Center, A recent patient, AP, 39, a plumber from Baltimore, talks about how Kundalini yoga helped him:
“Kundalini has probably been the biggest impact on me since I’ve been in treatment, other than the Ibogaine. It’s hard and it makes my shoulders hurt, but at the same time the feeling of triumph makes me leave my body,” says AP.
According to the James McCrae and his blog, Shit Your Ego Says, “Kundalini is an ancient Sanskrit word that literally means “coiled snake.” In early Eastern religion (long before Buddhism and Hinduism) it was believed that each individual possessed a divine energy at the base of the spine. This energy was thought to be the sacred energy of creation. This energy is something we are born with, but we must make an effort to “uncoil the snake,” thereby putting us in direct contact with the divine. Kundalini Yoga is the practice of awakening our Higher Self and turning potential energy into kinetic energy.”
“If I hold the kriya (In Kundalini Yoga a kriya is a series of postures, breath, and sound that affect the body, mind, and spirit simultaneously) long enough, I leave my body. And every time I leave, I go see my brother. He’s been dead since I was two and I never consciously knew him,” says AP.
“When the kriya is done I lay on my back, and I get the exact feeling I got on Toad (5 MEO DMT), which is a feeling of comfort and bliss. It’s my absolute favorite thing to do here. Kundalini is the crack cocaine of yoga. I see colors in the ceiling. I haven’t done any research, I had no idea what to expect. I don’t want to do any research. Kundalini is my go to now. I never meditated once before I came here. I’ve done vinyasa yoga, but that’s all. My outlets seem to be meditation and kundalini.”
“During the kriyas, when it hurts to the point where I want to drop my shoulders, it’s almost like I feel like they’re held up by my brother. I know it’s my brother.”
“I started out with painkillers and went to heroin. I used because something was taken from me as a kid that I wanted back. My brother. I started using ten years ago and it turned into a full blown addiction seven years ago. I came here because I knew if I didn’t quit using I was going to die.”
“I’ve already found a kundalini studio to practice in at home. It’s already in my recovery plan. It’s giving me a connection to something that I’ve obviously been missing for 37 years and seven months, since my brother died.”
“I got my first taste of how powerful Kundalini is a few days ago. I left my body for a second. And after that I was hell bent determined to get a full dose. And the next time it was absolute glory. And since then I’ve been able to meditate and slow my breathing down enough to get a little taste of it just through breath. And if it’s all in my mind, I’m comfortable with that. It’s all in my mind anyway.”
“I had a craving the other day and I talked to Lily about it and we did a meditation to Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. We just did a meditation with a chant, and it helped.”
“That’s the thing I was looking for with drugs — this feeling of bliss and comfort within my own body — and now I have it inside me. So that’s what I’m gravitating towards. Right now it’s going to be two nights a week when I get home, and it might even become more.”
“I’m a Christian, but I’m more religious than spiritual. I used to go to church but the deeper I got into my addiction, I sort of stopped. I’ve done more praying than church going. Now I think I kind of have them both — the spiritual thing and the religious thing — working for me.”
“I feel prepared to go back home. Adamantly, yes. No more using. It’s a pretty good feeling. I was using between 100 and 200 dollars a day — I spent $450,000 over ten years. Kundalini is a lot cheaper. I’m ready to get on with my life.”
Kundalini yoga is a vital step in a 10-part program at The Anzelmo Ibogaine Center. We have found that this ancient Hindu practice will not only increase vitality but is directly able to re-direct cravings into emotional balance.
The Anzelmo Ibogaine Center is an integrated clinic dedicated to healing severe addiction, deep trauma, and other challenges that life hands us. Our treatment philosophy combines the best of Western treatment modalities with ancient healing techniques and traditional indigenous wisdom.
