Namaste Sober: Supportive and Social Sober Community 

What’s your response to the age old question “Where we having drinks tonight??” Or perhaps “It’s Sunday Funday! Where we drinking??!” Has it ever occurred to you to answer, “Nah, imm’a stay sober” (tonight)….

Nearly 21 million Americans are living with a substance abuse disorder. And more people today use opioid prescription drugs than use tobacco. Chilling statistics for sure.

It’s one HUGE accomplishment to get into recovery and begin to overcome the powerful pull of addiction, and it is yet another overwhelming task to find a network, a lifestyle, a social atmosphere where alcohol (not to mention pot, vaping, or other recreational drugs) is not front and center.

Nicoletta Longo(Nico)has been an athlete all her life, staying fit and active at a time in her mid-twenties when many, if not most, of her friends were bar hopping, clubbing and experimenting with drugs and alcohol. She lost a dear friend to t addiction and his loss irrefutably changed her life.  “He struggled so valiantly to get sober, but once he got there, there was such a lack of activities and communities he could join where alcohol or the “party atmosphere” didn’t prevail,” explains Longo. “He didn’t have a network of like-minded people where he could connect and identify as someone other than an addict.”

The devastating loss of her friend spurned Nico into action, and at the young age of 27, she started the non-profit NamaStay Sober, a Massachusetts-based charity whose mission is to aid those recovering from addiction by reconnecting their bodies and minds through complimentary yoga and fitness memberships, a practice of self-awareness and a loving community.

NamaStay’s Director of Memberships, Morgan Chase, is the living, breathing mascot for the mission of Namastay Sober. “Before I found Nico and her program, I couldn’t go three days without drinking,” she says. With Nico as her mentor, Morgan was able to blossom in her early sobriety shortly after being connected with her undeniable love and passion for the practice of yoga.

“NamaStay Sober has been one serendipitous moment and opportunity after the next – sparking a chain of grace-filled events. As the first member, I was able to practice yoga with Nico 3-4 times weekly while I was about 50 days into my sobriety. The connection not only with the community that is NamaStay Sober, but with my mind, body, and spirit, I know has been what has propelled my life from that first practice. Now, as the Director of Memberships, I’m filled with gratitude to be able to create space for my fellow members of the recovery community to access the membership opportunity NS has cultivated through partnerships with local studios.”

Nico believes (and says often) that everyone is in recovery from something. With NS, a loving and open healing space is nurtured daily through e-mails, phone calls, and coffee dates.  Formal NS meetingsare held every other Sunday through the the NamaStay Sober Community Conversation series, and monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of every month are hosted by one of NS’s partners, Brooklyn Boulders Somerville.

Becoming a member of this thriving sober community is easy, if you commit. This process has been carefully designed in order to motivate and support participants along the path of recovery. NS are currently offers yoga, boxing, and rock climbing memberships along with work/trade opportunities for inspired individuals who are willing to show up and do the work.

Namastay Sober counts among its community partners Lululemon, South Boston Yoga, The City of Boston, Everybody Fights, O2 Yoga and Brooklyn Boulders Climbing Community, to name just a few, and is always looking to expand its partnerships. Nico and her team have plans for expansion to LA, NYC and Miami in the Spring of 2019. NS events are rooted in inclusion and connection and always open to ALL. Everyone is welcome to attend NS sober social events where you can connect with like-minded individuals and engage in mindfully designed activities.  All membership criteria can be found on their website here! 

You can check out upcoming events here!