Chris Grosso – Ep. 5 – Tommy Rosen

Tommy Rosen is a yoga teacher, writer, and addiction recovery expert who has spent the last two decades immersed in yoga, recovery and wellness. Tommy has certifications in both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. He is one of the pioneers in the burgeoning field of Yoga and Recovery and has over twenty years of experience assisting others to holistically transcend addictions of all kinds.

Tommy is the founder of Recovery 2.0: Beyond Addiction Conference and also leads the Recovery 2.0 #MoveBeyond Coaching Program. He presents workshops annually at Esalen, and Kripalu. Tommy’s first book, Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life was published by Hay House in 2014. Tommy and his wife, noted yoga teacher, Kia Miller, live and teach in Venice, CA.

Episode Outline:

A False Sense of Ease – Tommy talks about his experience with addiction and how it began during his childhood with sugar. He also discusses his feeling of dis-ease and discomfort and how as he got older he needed stronger substances to mask those feelings, ultimately leading to drugs and alcohol.

Thriving Rather Than Surviving – Tommy talks about addiction, meditation, Buddhism, and elaborates on the following quote from his book, Recovery 2.0: “While you may not be a fall-down drunk, addicted to painkillers, a gambling addict, a chronic pot smoker, anorexic, or addicted to porn, you likely struggle with addiction in other ways such as workaholism, overeating, shopping beyond your means, or engaging addictively with technology such as video games, texting, and Facebook. If you don’t believe you suffer from addiction in any way,

chances are you know and care about someone who does.”

The Gift of Desperation – Tommy and I discuss rock bottoms, the ways they can be used as a catalyst in our awakening and healing, and how our bottoms don’t need to consist of ending up in jails, emergency rooms, psych hospitals and more.

From Recovery 1.0 to 2.0 – Tommy discusses the stages of recovery and need to go beyond just staying sober, which he breaks down in his book in two parts, Recovery 1.0, or the beginning/the surrender, and Recovery 2.0, dealing with the issues underlying drug, alcohol, sex, food and other substance addictions.

Integral Health – Tommy talks about the importance of dietary lifestyle for both those in recovery and those not and how it healthy eating creates ease for our bodies, and ourselves, and plays a role in the addictive thinking we experience. He also walks us though how we can implement a healthier shift in our diets and overall wellbeing.

Ayahuasca By Any Other Name – Tommy addresses sustainable, long term health and wellbeing, as well as the expansion of consciousness, but how psychedelic’s can be a risky endeavor for those in recovery. He also talks about the importance of yoga and meditation and how with them, he feels no need for en external substance to deal with internal issues, but in an open and non-authoritarian way.

Recovery 2.0 Conferences – Tommy talks about the FREE online Recovery 2.0 conference that runs from June 12th-18th and what attendees can expect.

Recommendations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Integral Recovery: A Revolutionary Approach to the Treatment of Alcoholism and Addiction by John Dupuy

Music:

The Best Of The Grateful Dead

Krishna Das – Kirtan Wallah

Bob Marley – Anthology