Kundalini Yoga for Addiction Recovery in Leeds | Men's Recovery Yoga Classes

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If you are in recovery from alcohol problems, drug misuse, or any other addictive behaviour, Kundalini Yoga can be one of the most powerful tools in your long-term recovery toolkit. At Start Recovery, specialist addiction counsellor and qualified Kundalini Yoga teacher Mark Franklin offers recovery-based Kundalini Yoga classes specifically designed for men in recovery in Leeds and West Yorkshire.

Book a recovery yoga class at Kundalini Yoga Leeds →

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Why Yoga for Addiction Recovery?

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One of the most common misconceptions about addiction recovery is that once you stop drinking, using drugs, or engaging in addictive behaviours, you simply get better. You don't — not instantly. Recovery is a process, and that process takes time, commitment, and the right tools.

Kundalini Yoga is one of those tools. Over the last decade, Western science and medicine has increasingly aligned with what Eastern traditions have known for thousands of years: that yoga and breathwork produce measurable, positive changes in the brain. MRI and brain scan studies now confirm changes in brain states during meditation and yoga practice — changes that are particularly significant for people recovering from substance use disorders (SUDs), alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and other addictive behaviours.

For people in recovery, Kundalini Yoga offers:

• Nervous system regulation — working directly with the body's stress response system, reducing anxiety, hypervigilance, and the physiological craving states that drive relapse

• Breathwork for urge management — pranayama (breathwork) techniques that interrupt craving cycles in real time

• Mental clarity and focus — building the cognitive stillness that early recovery often lacks

• Body reconnection — reintegrating body awareness after years of numbing through substances

• Community and routine — the structure of a regular practice and the grounding effect of being around others on a similar journey

• Shame reduction — moving from self-criticism to self-compassion through somatic and meditative practice

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Recovery-Based Kundalini Yoga for Men in Leeds

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Start Recovery's recovery yoga classes are designed exclusively for men who have had problems with alcohol, drugs, or other addictions. The classes integrate ancient Kundalini yogic technology with a deep understanding of the addiction recovery process — building on the foundations of early recovery rather than replacing them.

These are not standard yoga classes adapted for recovery. They are classes built from the ground up around the specific physical, emotional, and neurological needs of people in recovery — drawing on over a decade of specialist training with some of the world's leading recovery yoga teachers.

Classes are available via Kundalini Yoga Leeds.

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Mark Franklin — Addiction Counsellor & Qualified Kundalini Yoga Teacher

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Mark Franklin is the founder of Start Recovery, a specialist addiction counselling practice based in Adel, North Leeds (LS16). He holds a Level 4 Diploma in Alcohol and Substance Misuse Counselling, a BSc (Hons), and has been working in addiction services since 2012. He is also a published author of Sober Days: How to Train Your Earworm and Stop Drinking Alcohol and a BBC Radio Leeds guest specialist on addiction.

Mark's yoga credentials are equally extensive — and deeply personal. His path into recovery yoga began several years into his own sobriety, when he discovered the work of Tommy Rosen and the Recovery 2.0 programme. Working through Tommy's daily Sadhana (daily practice) videos over many months gave Mark a way to engage his body in recovery that nothing else had.

Mark's Kundalini Yoga training and experience includes:

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• 2018 & 2019 — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: 3HO Kundalini Yoga Men's Camp, training alongside world-class teachers and beginning to understand the true healing potential of yoga and breathwork in recovery

• 2021–2022 — Teacher training with Guru Singh and Brett Larkin: completed in July 2022, qualifying as a fully certified Kundalini Yoga teacher

• November 2022 — Nosara, Costa Rica: intensive week-long recovery-based Kundalini Yoga retreat, training directly with Tommy Rosen and Kia Miller — two of the world's foremost recovery yoga teachers

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Mark continues to maintain a daily practice and uses breathwork and somatic awareness to track subtle changes in the body — both in his own life and in his work with clients in Leeds.

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The Science Behind Yoga and Addiction Recovery

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Kundalini Yoga's effectiveness in addiction recovery is not simply anecdotal — it is increasingly supported by neuroscience. The same principles that underpin Start Recovery's counselling approach — Polyvagal Theory, neuroplasticity, and the role of the autonomic nervous system in craving and relapse — align directly with what a consistent yoga and breathwork practice addresses at a physiological level.

When a person is in active addiction, their nervous system becomes dysregulated. Stress responses are chronically elevated. The brain's reward circuits are hijacked. The capacity for self-regulation — the ability to pause, breathe, and choose a different response — is severely diminished. Kundalini Yoga works systematically to restore that capacity, through breath, movement, meditation, and sound.

For people in early or ongoing recovery from alcohol problems, drug misuse, or gambling addiction in Leeds, this makes recovery yoga not a luxury but a genuinely valuable clinical complement to counselling.

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Kundalini Yoga for Recovery: What to Expect

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Start Recovery's recovery yoga sessions are:

• Men only — a deliberate choice, creating a space where men in recovery can be honest, open, and present without self-consciousness

• Suitable for all levels — no prior yoga experience is needed; sessions are designed around accessibility, not performance

• Trauma-informed — all sessions are led with an understanding of the shame, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation that often underlie addiction

• Complementary to counselling — designed to build on the cognitive and emotional work done in individual addiction counselling sessions

• Grounded in lived experience — led by someone who has been through addiction and recovery himself, and who has trained at the highest level in recovery yoga​

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Frequently Asked Questions — Recovery Yoga Leeds

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Do I need to be in recovery to attend?
No — However, some classes and kryas are specifically designed for men who are in recovery from drug problems, alcohol problems, or other addictive behaviours. They are not general yoga classes but anyone can join.

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Do I need prior yoga experience?
No. Classes are suitable for complete beginners and are built around the needs of people in recovery, not advanced practitioners.

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Are the classes connected to addiction counselling at Start Recovery?
Yes and no. The yoga classes are offered separately via Kundalini Yoga Leeds but are designed to complement individual addiction counselling. Many clients engage with both. If you are not yet in counselling and would like to explore that alongside yoga, contact Start Recovery here.

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Why Kundalini Yoga specifically?
Kundalini Yoga places particular emphasis on breathwork, nervous system regulation, and mental focus — making it especially well-suited to the specific challenges of addiction recovery. It is more therapeutically targeted than many other yoga styles.

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Take the Next Step

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Whether you are newly sober, well into your recovery journey, or looking for additional aftercare support in Leeds, recovery-based Kundalini Yoga can be a transformative addition to your life.

Find out more and book at Kundalini Yoga Leeds →

Or, if you are looking for individual addiction counselling in North Leeds alongside yoga, contact Start Recovery here. Initial consultations are £59 for 30 minutes and are available within two weeks of first contact.

Start Recovery — Specialist Addiction Counselling and Recovery Yoga in North Leeds | Kundalini Yoga for Men in Recovery | Drug & Alcohol Aftercare Leeds | LS16 | West Yorkshire