The Benefits of Boxing During Substance Addiction Recovery
Life can box you into a corner; however, don’t let being in the corner keep you from maintaining your determination to meet or exceed your goals. The truth is, you don’t always know what is coming next, and you can’t tell if the future will knock you down. Whenever life throws punches, your response determines your next step. Like life, substance addiction treatment and recovery include the unexpected. How you respond to the unforeseen determines how you protect yourself, such as employing self-care methods is like boxing. You take a stance and build from there.
Finding Your Life Stance
In boxing, there are a variety of stances. All of them are productive, but some work better than others, given the circumstance. A boxing stance aims to expand your strength and diminish your weaknesses. Ultimately, finding a stance that best fits your personality, abilities, and life skills would benefit your defense. Think of substance addiction treatment as your boxing lessons. When you enter substance addiction treatment, you are new to the program. Throughout your stay, you are encouraged to discover what makes you stronger and what doesn’t. Participation in individual, group and holistic therapies builds layers of knowledge and experience that guide you to firm, healthy coping skills. Treatment, like boxing, teaches you the skills needed to protect or initiate steps to increase your well-being.
You may notice that over time, your stance changes, and that’s normal. As you grow and become stronger, your strengths and weaknesses evolve. Every person experiences moments of growth and setbacks. Use the lessons you learned while finding what increases your strengths. Take steps to build, rebuild, and heal.
The Benefits of the Right Boxing Stance
Your feet are your source of stability and agility. Like substance addiction treatment, the stance you take will give you the power to defend and counter any punches thrown your way. Whether you have a solid bearing or experience in substance addiction treatment, a good stance will provide:
- A healthy capacity to preserve your sobriety while guarding weak points.
- Range and balance. Once you learn essential life skills, you must have the capability to use those skills to guide you through both good and bad times.
- The importance of flexibility and security acquired through therapy. Like you, boxers discover how to respond to life by engaging in various defensive positions. For example, when you’re in recovery and encounter a trigger, you need to know how to avoid falling into old habits. The skills you learned, like meditation, help you find your center. You can use one or more holistic therapies to counter and respond to situations.
Self-care sits on the foundation of finding what makes you strong while simultaneously moving forward. Boxers need firm footing and coordination to avoid punches. An aftercare program paired with a strong foundation is the best defense to avoid getting knocked down.
Stability Is About Placement
One of the essential parts of a strong foundation is proper foot placement, which is treated in the esoteric sense of substance addiction treatment. What you learn in therapy determines your advantages and disadvantages when completing your treatment program. Foot placement determines your mobility, offense, and defense; everything starts from the ground up. The lessons you learn in a treatment program guide you to assess and adjust to whatever life throws at you.
Learning a variety of holistic therapies or life skills is critical to recovery. You need to know how to adjust yourself to engage in the active maintenance of your sobriety. If you decrease, increase, or modify the width of your boxing stance, you move into a perspective that will protect and defend your being. Self-care relies on your ability to move from one holistic therapy to another to preserve your mental and physical health.
Engaging Yourself in Self-Care
Boxers recognize the importance of using their whole body during a fight. If you go through a detox program and transition to substance addiction treatment, you will learn to blend healthy mental and physical activities to defend your well-being. Protecting your health is self-care. While you’re in therapy, you realize your foundation is necessary but so is your upper body. A boxer who is defending and motivated to reach their goal will employ their upper body. They relax their shoulders and arms while their elbows are in, hands up, and chin is down. Their shoulders are slightly pivoted away from their opponent, their stomach us protected, and their front arm covers most of their body. Their backhand is up, ready to deflect any jabs that come from the side.
Now, think of the individual, group, and post-care sober groups as your response to substance use disorder. You prepare yourself for what may come from all sides. No matter how long you are in recovery, taking care of yourself by finding balance is key.
Substance addiction recovery is like boxing. Both rely on finding your footing and building a solid foundation. As you increase your knowledge and skills, you adjust your stance and employ new skills in your practice. Over time you incorporate upper body movements similar to life skills that help protect and guide you through life as it throws curves at you. Alta Centers Inpatient Rehab is a durable foundation for your substance addiction recovery, and your detox experience is how you find your stance. We help you find your footing and guide you to recognize what works best for you. Our location, nestled in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California is serene and luxurious. While you’re in our care, you can sink into treatment, preparing yourself for a sober lifestyle going forward. Alta Centers wants to show you a fulfilling life without alcohol or drugs is possible. We are here to answer any questions you have. Call (888) 202-2583 to begin your journey to recovery.
