Growing up in Sydney Mines, N.S., Ryan Gillis started using drugs at the age of 13. 

Now, at 29 years old, Gillis is drug-free and devoted to yoga, a new passion he says has helped him stay sober.

“I became an IV drug user at 21. I ended up on the street out west in Fort Mac. I was dying. I tried to get clean,” says Gillis, who contracted Hepatitis C.

Gillis spent years in and out of jail and recovery houses. He had periods of sobriety, but they didn’t last long. 

“Nothing ever worked until I got honest about my life and admitted…you know…I have the disease of addiction.” 

In October 2012, Gillis joined a 12-step program and started receiving treatment for liver disease. Then he decided to take a friend’s advice and try yoga. Gillis says what started as a physical practice became much more.

“It was recommended that I try yoga. It was very healthy for the body to get rid of toxins,” says Gillis. 

“It made me feel empowered. It made me feel that I was doing something good for myself…self-love and honouring my body and doing things to contribute to my health, mind, body and spirit.”

Psychologist Dr. Rebecca Boehm says yoga can be beneficial for recovering addicts.  She says the positive physical aspects replace addictive behaviour as an important step toward recovery.

“For example, you know, working on breathing.  Lots of times there is anxiousness or urges or those kinds of things, so yoga’s a great kind of stress management tool,” says Dr. Boehm of Capital Health Addiction Services. 

“…we talk about a circle of support, and also a circle of care…so supports are those informal people that are going to be supporting recovery like family and friends and anybody else”.  

For Gillis, that support has come from the yoga community.

“The unconditional love and compassion, and the understanding and the empathy and all those things that come with this are, you know, it’s what I’ve been looking for my whole life, and I just thought I had found it through drugs.”

Gillis was recently recognized as an inspiration for others at the ‘Courage to Give Back’ awards.

“Fifteen months ago I was on the street and I never thought this life was possible, but it’s overwhelming,” says Gillis, who now says he has two passions – yoga and sharing his message of hope with others who are living with addiction. 

“I’m grateful. Really, what I want to do is just show other people that they can do it too.”