Even Yogis Drink Too Much Sometimes—Here’s What to Do About It
There’s a weird pressure in the wellness world to always seem balanced. You’re supposed to rise early, drink matcha, speak in measured tones, and breeze through 90-minute flows without breaking a sweat or snapping at anyone. But behind the curated Instagram posts and ethically sourced incense is real life, and real life can get messy. Especially when it comes to alcohol.
Women in yoga aren’t immune to overdoing it with wine, mezcal, or whatever’s in the pretty bottle with the nice label. In fact, the combination of high expectations and the constant pursuit of peace can quietly push some women deeper into habits they don’t even recognize as problematic until they’re exhausted, anxious, or just not feeling like themselves anymore. And the truth is, you can teach headstands and still struggle with drinking. You can lead meditation circles and still wake up hating how much you had the night before.
No one talks about it enough, but it’s more common than you think—and it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you're human. Here’s what’s really going on, and where to go from here.
Wine Culture Doesn’t Skip the Studio
Yoga studios tend to feel like sanctuaries. Soft lighting, essential oils, people showing up barefoot with reusable water bottles. But outside the studio, the same cultural messaging hits everyone: wine equals relaxation, cocktails are a reward, and you “deserve” a drink after a long day. That narrative doesn’t magically disappear because you can hold a crow pose for a minute and a half.
In fact, many women in yoga end up stuck in a strange middle space. You’re working on being mindful, staying present, and cultivating awareness—and yet there’s this private tug toward alcohol when things feel too intense or too empty. You’re the one friends assume has it all together. You’re probably the one telling others to take deep breaths and honor their energy. So when your own drinking starts feeling heavier than you’d like, it’s easy to talk yourself out of it. It’s not that bad. You’re still doing yoga. Still functioning.
The trouble is, alcohol has a way of numbing the very intuition you’ve spent years trying to sharpen. And when you start feeling distant from yourself, your practice starts to feel more like performance than peace. That disconnect can lead to shame, and shame tends to keep you pouring.
There’s Help That Actually Feels Supportive
The good news? There are tools made for women who’ve been there. Not just in a clinical sense, but in the real, lived-in, feminine experience of drinking. You don’t need to check into a sterile facility or label yourself in a way that doesn’t fit. You just need something that meets you where you are, and helps you get where you want to go—with grace and without judgment.
One resource worth knowing about is a women's detox for drinking that’s designed specifically for this kind of struggle. It’s not about shame or punishment. It’s not about hiding in secrecy. These female-only spaces are created for women who want to untangle their relationship with alcohol while staying grounded in everything else they value.They’re tailored, gentle, and deeply supportive—often with a focus on whole-body healing, hormonal balance, emotional repair, and nervous system regulation. And that matters more than people think, especially when your life is already centered on healing others.
You don’t need to hit some kind of dramatic rock bottom to seek support. You don’t need to be anything other than ready to feel more like yourself again. These programs often include access to coaches, functional medicine practitioners, and yes—other women who’ve been through the exact same thing and come out the other side with clarity, energy, and actual joy.
The Identity Conflict No One Prepares You For
What makes this harder than most people expect is the identity whiplash. You’re supposed to be the centered one. You teach balance, you live for alignment, you lead retreats where people find themselves again. So when you feel off-kilter, there’s this temptation to keep it quiet because it doesn’t fit the story everyone’s bought into.
But being a yogi doesn’t mean you’re immune from the very things you help others through. In fact, being sensitive, intuitive, and deeply aware of energy can make you more likely to use alcohol as a buffer. You feel things intensely. You absorb tension from clients. You work odd hours and spend a lot of time managing other people’s emotions. It makes sense that you'd reach for something that dulls the edges, especially when wine is offered up as the most socially acceptable way to cope.
And then there’s the wellness trap—the idea that you can green juice and breathwork your way out of everything. Sometimes you just can’t. Sometimes you need real support, and a plan that goes beyond positive affirmations and magnesium supplements.
Where Sobriety and Stillness Meet
Getting honest about alcohol doesn’t mean giving up on the parts of your identity that feel nourishing. It doesn’t mean becoming someone else. If anything, it’s the opposite—it’s peeling back the noise and reconnecting to your own voice in a way that might’ve gotten lost somewhere between your mat and your wine glass.
When you stop numbing, things get louder before they get clearer. That’s normal. What’s also normal is crying in savasana for a few weeks straight, feeling weirdly antsy during meditation, and wondering who you even are without that nightly drink. You might get angry. You might get bored. You might feel 13 again emotionally. That’s not failure. That’s detox.
The good part is that yoga doesn’t abandon you in the process. In fact, how yoga helps becomes deeply apparent during this stretch. Breath becomes medicine. Stillness becomes clarity. Movement becomes trust. The practice doesn’t judge you for where you’ve been—it just offers you something steady to hold on to while you figure out where you're going next.
Redefining What Balance Actually Means
Balance isn’t about pretending you never struggle. It’s not about avoiding discomfort or looking perfect while your life quietly unravels. It’s about recognizing when something’s off and choosing to face it, even if it’s awkward or vulnerable. Especially if it is.
The most powerful thing you can do is let go of the idea that because you’re a yogi, you’re supposed to rise above human stuff like craving, habit, or emotional overload. Being spiritual doesn't mean being numb. It means being willing to feel—and being brave enough to shift when you know something’s not working anymore.
You’re allowed to want something different. You’re allowed to ask for help, take a break, find a detox that works for your body and your mind, and come back stronger without hiding what happened. You don’t lose your credibility. You deepen it.
Time to Reclaim Your Peace
You don’t need to stay stuck in the loop. You don’t need to fake calm or pretend your glass of red is just a “ritual.” If it’s no longer serving you, that’s enough of a reason to make a change. There are people who get it, support that’s made for you, and a path forward that’s rooted in everything you already believe—healing, growth, and returning home to yourself.
You’ve guided others through so much. Now it’s your turn. Keep the incense, keep the breathwork, keep your playlists. Just know you don’t have to carry this part alone. There’s another way, and it’s waiting for you.
