By editor Matt Rosenberg,

Do you feel like a slave to drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, or any other addictive behavior. Your not alone. Almost all people have some form of mental or physical addiction. The first step in breaking an addiction is becoming aware of it. The second and very important step to breaking a habit is to take action.

Here is an example of the steps for breaking an addiction:

Find the Trigger:
Become very aware of the times and places when you get the cravings. Is their a trigger? ie stress
Try to hold off on indulging in the addiction until a later time. It may even be only a few minutes later, but it is important that you break the chain of patterning.

Restrain from Behavior:
Quitting cold turkey is an option, but a slower weening off of the addiction is also a possibility. For example, in quitting coffee, begin to drink maybe only one cup instead or multiple cups a day. One can also find an alternative for a brief period of time such as tea, but remember the goal is not to replace the addiction with another but to break the addiction.

Allow the body to Rest:
The body will often have withdrawals from the addiction and feel tired. With coffee, the body has been used to artificial stimulation for an extend period of time and when the stimulation has been removed, it will likely crash. For this reason it may be helpful to take a week off from work or maybe even a leave of absence, especially if the triggers are at work. It is also recommended to go to a Retreat and Renewal Center. That will allow one to rest and likely detox.
Some recommended centers include Kripalu in MA and Mount Madonna Institute in CA.

Begin to Detox:
It can also be helpful during this time to engage in a detox of the body. Remember to take it slow since a detox can be pretty intense because all the stored toxins in the body get released into the blood stream for removal. For this reason drink plenty of water. Also cutting out processed foods and eating more raw foods(fresh fruits and vegetables) will aid in the cleansing of the organs. The Raw Food diet is also important for providing much needed nutrients and minerals to the body.

Changing Routine:
It can also be very helpful to break the daily routine during this process. As mentioned above taking a week off from work or leave of absence. It will be easier to break daily habits, when you are not in your daily routine. Spending even only a few days at a retreat center like Kripalu can be helpful. It can be especially helpful because centers like Kripalu have education of nutritional eating and all level yoga as part of the stay.

Breaking addictions can be challenging. Some addictions are connected to deep repressed traumas as a way of coping. It is pivotal to have patience and compassion towards yourself in the process.
If you fall of the horse, remember “Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”. Confucius