Discovery Is Not Recovery

Welcome to another LLWS deep dive!

Let's dissect and uncover the difference between DISCOVER AND RECOVER.

For starters, everything we talk about at LLWS is related to discovery in one way or another. Ayurveda, Yoga and Tantra are all deeply connected to discovery, and specifically self-discovery.

What is Discovery? Discovery is KNOWING. It is the physical and mental practice that helps us peel back layers of beliefs, limiting beliefs, habits, and stress responses. The roots of Yoga are based in discovery, so that we can uncover our true nature.

What is Recovery? Recovery is DOING. Simply put, it is Behavior Change. Recovery is the active, daily work needed for healing anything. The roots of Yoga are also based in recovery. Yoga gives us the tools needed to discover and recover so that we can live life to our fullest potential, if we choose.

The classic yogic formula for transformation is KRIYA YOGA. This is described in the Yoga Sutras as an active, practical system for self-realization.

It completely coincides with the concept of recovery.

It combines 3 explicit components.

They are:

Tapas - discipline, effort, commitment, daily practice, desire to actually want to do it.

Svadhyaya - self-reflection, self-study, observing the mind without judgment.

Ishvara Pranidhana - surrender to a higher reality, untangling the ego, aligning action with acceptance.

The formula has to be the right amount of all of these combined.

It doesn't work when we do self-reflection, but no action.

It doesn't work when we go full speed ahead with effort, but with no self-study.

It doesn't work when we surrender without understanding that things don't just happen. Surrender is an ACTIVE state of awareness. Anyway, you catch my drift here. These are just examples of how we can get confused because we think we are doing recovery, but

doing real recovery requires all of these components.

By The Way...Yamas and Niyamas(Tapas, Svadhyaya & Ishvara Pranidhana) are popping up again...it always comes back to the foundation.

DISCOVERY OPENS THE DOOR.

RECOVERY TAKES STEPS THROUGH THE OPEN DOORWAY.

LET'S LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RELIEF AND RECOVERY.

In discovery, we learn to identify our triggers or bad habits. We can actually name the trauma or pain. This gives us awareness and insight that we never had because we can actually see patterns and behaviors. This is huge, but our work doesn't end here. Many of us get stuck in the trap of thinking that, "We are DONE," because we have discovered our pain points. This is the BIGGEST difference between Western and Eastern approaches to our mental health. Western mental health can get us to this stage. However, Eastern mental health says, "Ok, now let's get to the deeper layers." Remember, the East understands the MIND is in every single cell of the body. So, discovery is just 1 step.

In recovery we work on changing daily actions, thoughts and behaviors. We put new practices and habits in place and work on maintaining consistency. This is a rebuilding phase of life. It's all about ACTION.

People often think they are seeking recovery, but what they are actually seeking is relief. We want to know, "What is Wrong" with us. We want to feel relief. We want connection.

We want to be seen, heard, and understood. These are all normal things for humans to feel loved and alive. When we receive these things, our needs are met and we feel relief. This has the potential for a lifetime of "RELIEF MANAGEMENT."

WHAT IS RELIEF MANAGEMENT?

Relief management is seeking relief from our acute feelings and/or circumstances. There are great relief management techniques like breathwork and pranayama, exercise, rest, a warm bath, a day off, and seeking professional support. It's the need for instant calm. There's so much available to help us feel relief, and we need to feel relief for sure!

There's also not so good relief management techniques like binging on anything, self-harming tactics, over medicating, or overeating. These are things that can feel like relief, but actually cause us more pain and confusion in the long run.

WE OFTEN CONFUSE RELIEF WITH RECOVERY

WHY?

Both relief and recovery make us feel better. Relief, is the quick fix that we need to soothe the immediate pain or problem. When the pain stops, or the problems subsides, the brain sends a message of resolution. Hence, the phrase, "Problem Solved." By the way, this signal doesn't take the nervous system out of "Flight or Flight," it just takes us out of acute discomfort.

Recovery is the deep work that drills down to the root cause of the issue. True recovery is not easy and can be tiring. Relief is fast and easy. We can all see why many people choose relief over recovery. However, the long term consequences of relief without recovery can lead to a host of other issues. For starters, it has the potential to form another habit. Since we have established our "Go To" relief mechanisms we can defer to them, as needed, often on auto-pilot. Autopilot is the key word here.

WHY?

There's no self-accountability. We aren't moving the needle in any direction. Then, when the day comes, that something shifts, or our "Go To" doesn't work, we say to ourselves, "How did this happen?" "I was doing good for so long, and I feel like I'm right back where I started from."

So, we start the process of finding new relief mechanisms.

AND THE CYCLE CONTINUES.

This can easily happen to anyone. Remember, as long as we get relief, the brain says we are OK, and as long as we get that message, we carry on, and on, and on, and on...And around and around we go. Most of us either accept this as their fate, and live life in this loop, or don't have the stamina, self-trust, or interest to get themselves past this loop of RELIEF AND REVERT. We have to remember relief is temporary.

Without BEHAVIOR CHANGE, we stay in Discovery and Relief mode, often confused with or disguised as Recovery.

So, where does this leave us?

Let's look at bridging the gap between Relief and Recovery.

Relief isn't a bad thing, in fact, it's a great thing!

When we use relief as "ESCAPE," this is where things can get muddy.

Relief doesn't make our problems disappear, it just soothes them for a bit, and this is an important part of our self-care practice.

What if we approach this using relief as a guide for self-discovery, and self-discovery as a guide for recovery. We need relief to take the edge off of life sometimes. When we consciously choose relief like breathing, yoga, self-reflection time, or quiet time, we give our nervous system a chance to finally take a break. When the nervous system can slow down a bit, we can start to hear our inner voice, and we can drop our armor. When we can drop our armor we can start to discover the deeper layers of ourselves. When we start to discover the deeper layers of ourselves, we begin to recover. When we begin to recover, we start to form new habits, new ways of being, and feeling.

We also need to embrace the DEEP layers of self-care. This goes hand-in-hand with recovery. American marketing has done an impeccable job at marketing self-care, and it's caused a lot of confusion. There's surface self-care, which is what we are being SOLD as "A Solution" to all our problems, to relax and check out.

Not in all cases, but certainly in some.

The DEEPER layer of self-care is about BOUNDARIES.

Saying NO, when your body or mind is telling you it can't handle more.

Setting time for self-reflection.

Allowing yourself what you NEED vs. what you "Should" do, because it's the thing to do.

Getting clear on Need vs. SHOULD will help set these deep self-care boundaries.

A simple example is going out when your head is aching, because you SHOULD be out.

The most important piece of this equation is to get very clear with your intention.

Relief with the proper intention is different than relief with disconnection.

Don't overthink this! Don't overcomplicate this! Don't make this harder in your mind!

This is easier than we think. The hardest part is deciding to do it.

So, let's do a little recap:

Discovery is not Recovery

Relief is not bad. Relief is good.

Relief can help us with Recovery, but it is NOT Recovery.

Relief without Self-observation gets muddy.

Recovery needs time, effort, self-study, and surrender.

Recovery can happen with Relief techniques, awareness and behavior change.

Deep self-care is about protecting your vital energy, which we know as OJAS in Ayurveda.

Be aware of what you are doing.

Be aware of why you are doing it.

Be aware of how you are doing it.

Be aware of when you are doing it.

MOST OF ALL, REMEMBER THAT WE ARE ALL HERE TO LEARN AND GROW TOGETHER!

EVERYTHING IS A PLAY!

Every single human on this planet is capable of doing this!

~ Leelah Lakshmi ~

The Journey of Self-Discovery