Dr. Gabor Maté, looking reflective (image via jonathandickinson.ca)

Physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté has collaborated with the Kundalini Yoga community to launch Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery in Vancouver, BC. The innovative four-weekend program “utilizes ancient Kundalini Yoga techniques coupled with an advanced nutritional and dietary approach aimed at balancing brain chemistry and glandular function,” according to The Vancouver Observer.

Dr. [Sat Dharam] Kaur, the originator of the program, says, “We are creating a research based program that can be implemented in treatment centres across the country. The Kundalini Yoga practices in the Beyond Addiction program help to nourish one’s relationship with one’s essential spiritual identity and develop inner strength in a supportive group setting so that the compulsion for an external substance or behaviour is relieved.”

A team of researchers, headed by Julia Wilson, will evaluate the effectiveness of the program and publish the results of their study. This will be one of the first research studies evaluating the effectiveness of a Kundalini Yoga based recovery program on substance abuse and addiction. (via The Vancouver Observer)

The course is intended for people who are trying to overcome addictive behaviour, for health professionals and for certified yoga teachers. Apparently the course includes “Kundalini Yoga, breathing techniques, meditation, relaxation, self-reflection, lifestyle and dietary guidelines, stress management, hydrotherapy, naturopathic detoxification and nutritional and herbal supplementation.”

Dr. Maté’s most recent book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction (2008) has established him as of the most celebrated thinkers in the field of addiction and drug policy. He works out of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, one of the most impoverished and drug-affected neighbourhoods in North America.

The program in Vancouver runs until April. Two more Beyond Addiction trainings will happen in Toronto this year.