Los Angeles: Celebrity Rehab

According to VH1's new reality show "Celebrity Rehab", celebrities love to party but they just don't know when to stop. Enter Dr. Drew Pinsky who thinks the solution is to plunk a group of b-list stars into a Pasadena, California facility and give them all the support, therapy and yoga they need to stay sober.
It's the typical watch-a-train-wreck form of entertainment but Pinsky seems like a decent guy. And who can resist seeing a couple of porn stars thrown together with Brigitte Nielson, Daniel Baldwin and Jeff Conaway as they share group therapy, reveal their sad childhood tales and deal with the struggles of addiction?
Here's a clip from this week's episode featuring Los Angeles-yoga teacher Sara Ivanhoe as she helps Grease and Taxi star Jeff Conaway get relief from the debilitating back pain that has put him in a wheel chair.
For her part, Ivanhoe told me she's passionate about working with addicts and originally found her path to yoga while dealing with the substance abuse of her ex-fiance. A big part of her yoga and addiction plan involves breathing and working with apana vayu because she says, "coming off of any substance is not just a matter of will power. Drugs and alcohol are in your body....(and yoga) is an effective tool to cleanse and detoxify the body of addictive substances."
If you miss the show, no worries, it runs all time. Or set your digital recorder and see the first four episodes back to back.



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Comments
Hi,
I was hoping to get some direction on help with yoga for severe lower back pain and leg pain. It has gotten worse and I need to get off the painkillers. I have MS, Neuropathy, degenerative disc disease, joint disease. Yes, I am a mess but I can walk and am active with housework to the best of my ability but only for minutes at a time.
I watched the episodes of Celebrity Rehab where I learned of Ms. Ivanhoe, the yoga instructor. Is there a DVD I can start with? Please help, I am in a lot of pain. Thank you so much.
Elvira Hernandez
queenlatina102@yahoo.com
Posted by: Elvira Hernandez | March 28, 2008 11:55 AM
Dear Elvira:
Thanks for posting on the Yoga Journal blog. I emailed Sara Ivanhoe and am waiting to hear back from her regarding DVD recommendations. Hopefully she will post her response on the blog. But I would also say any gentle/restorative beginning class (on DVD or at a studio) would be a good way to start. If you tell me where you live, maybe I can help you find a teacher that can work with you.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Stacie
Posted by: Stacie | March 29, 2008 5:26 PM
This is fantastic site. Yoga is good for health. Regularly yoga keeps away doctor.
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george
Addiction Recovery Hawaii
Posted by: george | July 14, 2008 6:20 AM