In 1991, Gwen had a moment of clarity that would lead her to recovery, but in 2001, she found that she needed more after hitting an emotional bottom. So she started to use other wellness tools to bring her body, mind, spirit, and recovery into alignment. By 2013, she realized her recovery had been changed from taking this four-folded approach. Gwen felt drawn to share her experience, strength, and hope with others in recovery, bringing yoga to those looking for more. Today, Gwen teaches those in recovery and friends of those in recovery breathwork, personal exploration through the chakra system, yoga, meditation, tapping, and more.

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Gwen brings the language and principles of the Twelve Step recovery program into chakra-balancing yoga practices. Through her classes, Gwen holds space for people to find a deeper connection to a “Higher Power” (Spirit), the chakra system, and their recovery.

Balancing Breath, Chakras, and the Twelve Steps of Recovery 

Gwen was introduced to yoga through the practice of the 4-4-8 breath. She has endeavored to intensively study, practice, and educate yoga for recovery and the chakra system. Gwen’s approach focuses on chakra balancing all levels of students and recovery programs in a safe and supported environment.  

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Steeped in more than 30 years of Twelve Step recovery, Gwen imparts her experience with addiction and the feeling of physical detachment in the body while teaching and training Yoga4Sobriety. “I come from an authentic, heart-centered place that promotes safety and comfort,” says Gwen. Yoga4Sobriety classes and teacher training explore the chakra system in the body and how that relates to the Twelve Steps of Recovery.

Igniting Passion for the Practice of Yoga in Recovery 

Gwen intends to ignite a passion for the practice and study of yoga within each student she encounters. “We’re on a path to enlightenment and spiritual awakening. In Yoga4Sobriety, we take a mindful approach to exploring how we think and feel physically and emotionally without judgment,” explains Gwen. 

Spreading the word through Teacher Training

Gwen is constantly moving, shaking, educating, and expanding in new directions in recovery. Gwen developed an intensive, multi-tiered Yoga4Sobriety training program to encourage yoga instructors, healers, therapists, counselors, and ministers to become part of the solution in Twelve Step recovery. The Yoga4Sobriety teacher training program is designed to educate and guide teachers and healers to support those in recovery in a deeper understanding of their bodies as they learn to handle raw emotions. The training bridges chakra-based poses and exercises with the language of Twelve Step recovery.

Karma—Experience, Strength, and Hope

Gwen shares experience, strength, and hope through Yoga4Sobriety.  Yoga4Sobriety offers instruction for all folks in recovery and families and friends in the community and at treatment centers. “It’s my love for sharing my experience, strength, and hope. It’s giving back. It’s karma.”  

Gwen has brought the Yoga4Sobriety program to the criminal justice system, facilitating multiple classes at the Bo Robinson Treatment Facility in Trenton, NJ. She has also taught Y4S classes at treatment facilities throughout New Jersey, including Summit Behavioral Health, Lifeback, Advanced Health and Education, Banyan Treatment Center, and Phoenix Behavioral Health. She currently teaches exclusively at Footprints to Recovery in Hamilton, NJ.

Before launching Yoga4Sobriety, she founded Twelve Beads in 2003, inspired by her prayer and meditation practice. Gwen spent ten years designing and marketing a unique line of jewelry and prayer beads for those in Twelve Step Recovery.  

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