INSPIRED BEGINNINGS
In the 1930's, two reformed drunks, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith spearheaded a grass-roots movement, which would permanently alter the accepted understanding of alcoholism/addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous elevated the perception of addiction as a moral deficiency, a weakness of character, to an actual medical disease, a pathology similar to tuberculosis or diabetes.

The recovery Sutras (the articles and upcoming book), attempts to, once again, redefine addiction, lifting it from the disease model to a unique matrix of conditions best treated through a wellness-centered approach, using a holistic healing art, namely Yoga.

The current Western medical model is a disease-based paradigm. Its central strategy is to diminish, eliminate, or mask diseases and their symptoms (largely, with surgery and drugs). Yoga, a wellness-based system less concerned with treating disease, focuses on helping individuals realize their goals and improve the quality of their daily life. One traditional definition of Yoga is, 'the ability to do something tomorrow that we can not do today'.

TO EACH THEIR OWN
In Yoga, there are as many goals as there are practitioners. A Hindu's highest goal would be union with God. For someone with arthritis, running a marathon may bring them the greatest joy. An addict/alcoholic could desire to stay sober one day at a time, while his codependent wife's aim might be to focus on something other than her husband's addiction. For everyone, however, it is important to be clear about what we value, what we desire.

One of Yoga's essential tools for establishing goals, clarifying values, and healing the individual is visualization, or 'bhavana'.

According to Sutra 1:20, remembering and visualizing our goals 'smriti samadhi', creates abundant faith and confidence or 'sraddha'. The more vividly and consistently we see ourselves attaining our aims, the more we generate the energy to overcome obstacles and persevere.

It is unlikely that we will ever achieve something we cannot imagine ourselves attaining. Conversely, everything in the world (other than nature) that does exist, each building, road, movie or book, started out as somebody's visualization.

'THE SECRET' OF YOGA
In my own 15 years of coaching individuals with Yoga, I am constantly amazed at how visualization transforms people's lives. This power is vastly magnified when the bhavana is positive, concrete, and specific. Let's explore these three qualities in depth.

Positive- it is important to focus on what we do, not what we don't want. Knowing what we want to create, implement, or increase, is far more vivid, inspiring and motivating than knowing what we wish to stop, remove, or reduce. Telling a restaurant server what not to bring us (no steak, no pizza, and definitely no dessert) doesn't help them to know what to do to fill our hunger.

Addicts, and their counterparts, co-dependents, often experience great difficulty expressing their goals and needs in positive terms. Their negative disposition causes the addict/codpendent to focus on what they don't like, don't want and what doesn't work for them. This pattern is self-generating and brings out negative feelings in those they are in relationship with. Inevitably, life gets worse.

Concrete- the opposite of abstract. Today, many are able to describe their aims in airy, abstract terms (my goals are to be more 'present, 'in the moment' or have 'more energy'. Yet, they are clueless as to the events, behaviors, and actions, which their words describe. For those in recovery, (and other veterans of too many workshops, self-help books and therapies) this chronic abstractness is an obstacle to long-term sobriety and lasting joy. I have observed many recovering addicts (and Yoga teachers) speak, for years, about being 'grounded, centered, balanced, and whole', without taking to the next level of observable conditions and behaviors.

As popular as these abstractions are, (best-selling books abound with the 'the stillness of the nowness') they are disembodied mental concepts, disconnected from everyday experience and relationship. Though uplifting to read and parrot in conversation, these abstractions are undigested notions masquerading as achievable aims. Bottom line, it is impossible to achieve a concept.

Specific- Finally, the more specific and precise our visualizations, the more they will evoke the powerful emotions which fuel our actions. Knowing we want to be 'serene, present, and free' has none of the excitement, the juice of visualizing ourselves 'doing an hour of Yoga in the morning sun in Chennai, sipping a latte at a cafe in Florence, or running from a lion on a safari in Kenya'.

More practically, positive, concrete, and specific goals suggest strategies, illuminate choices, and allow us to chart our progress (or lack thereof) on the path. (How will you know when you're halfway 'centered'?)

BORN TO BE HAPPY
Actually, visualization is an inherent ability of every human being. Ask any healthy eight-year-old child what they would like to be when they grow up. Their answer will be positive, concrete, specific, and highly enthused.

Just as Yoga asana helps us reclaim our original stamina and flexibility, with guidance and practice, we can rekindle our ability to visualize a lovable future. Choosing, focusing, and sustaining attention a specific object 'citta vritti nirodha' is the very definition of Yoga. (YS 1:2)

Whether it comes naturally or as the result of practice, one thing is true. The more positively, concretely and specifically we see the conditions which we desire, (earning 250k per year writing children's books, having six friends to laugh with 2 nights each week, or marrying a smiling dark-haired partner who says, "I feel blessed to have met you" everyday), the closer we are to actually having them in our lives. (YS 1:21)

Increasingly, visualization is even being used in Western Medicine. (Many doctors encourage patients to envision successful surgeries.) Whatever the healing modality, visualization is an essential tool for maintaining long-term vitality and joy. And any addiction is less likely to take root in a life, which looks exactly like the one we envisioned for ourselves. This simple, powerful technique can be an important tool for the addict in recovery or for anyone looking for a happy tomorrow. I can hardly wait