Q&A with Tommy Rosen
Stick with the Winners!
Tommy Rosen is an internationally renowned yoga teacher and addiction recovery expert who has spent the last 3 decades immersed in recovery and wellness. He holds advanced certifications in both Kundalini and Hatha Yoga and has 28 years of continuous recovery from addiction.
Tommy is the founder and CEO of Recovery 2.0, where he has created the Recovery 2.0 Global Community, the Recovery 2.0 Online Conference series, the Recovery 2.0 Group Coaching Program and the Recovery 2.0 Coach Training.
Tommy also leads retreats and workshops internationally and presents regularly at conferences spreading the message of “Don’t just survive, THRIVE.
Tommy’s first book, Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life, (Hay House) was published to International acclaim and continues to transform the lives of readers across the globe.
Q. If you are in recovery, what was your Drug of Choice? When did you stop using?
A. Cocaine mostly and Heroin was there so I could thankfully sleep.
Q. Have you ever been arrested and if so, for what?
A. I was arrested when Ii was 14 years old for writing graffiti on a subway train in NYC. Later in 1994, I was arrested for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act on an airplane. It’s a long story, but basically I made a very poorly timed joke on an airplane. I was 3 years sober at the time.
Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice or a wicked twist of fate?
A. I believe addiction is a part of the human condition. Everyone faces it in one form or another. However, some of us face it in ways that require a massive spiritual and psychological overhaul to survive it. I write a lot about addiction being a Dis-Ease, or a condition characterized by distance from ease.
Q. Do you log on to ZOOM 12-step meetings? How often? Do you share?
A. Yes, I do online meetings. We have our own Recovery 2.0 meetings everyday, so I mostly attend those. https://r20.com/meetings.
Q. Have you added anything to your Tool-kit to help keep you sober during the pandemic?
A. Yoga, Meditation and service are the trinity.
Q. Where did you grow up?
A. New York City.
Q. From what school or teacher did you learn the most?
A. I learned the most in my life from 3 main teachers: 1) Grateful Dead, 2) 12 Steps, 3) Guruprem Singh Khalsa
Q. If you had an extra million dollars, which charity would you donate it to?
A. Musicares, American Wild Horse Campaign, Sacred Rok.
Q. Do you have any children?
A. Too many to count. Well, God Children that is.
Q. Have you started any new projects because of the quarantine?
A. I’m offering Online Live Yoga Classes. So fun. Ask me about Funky Friday. Also, I have started composting and gardening more than ever.
Q. If you ever retire would you prefer to live by the ocean, lake, river, mountaintop or penthouse?
A. I would have to have two homes – one in the mountains and one by the sea.
Q. What is your favorite hotel or resort? A. Andaz Hotel in New Delhi. We go there on Stopovers on our way to Rishikesh. Best Brunch in the entire world.
Q. What is your biggest or littlest pet peeve?
A. Tea brewed with lukewarm water. That will never do. Also, people telling other people what to believe.
Q. Who has had the biggest influence on you throughout your life?
A. It’s hard to name just one. My parents forever. Grateful Dead from 1983. Bill W. from 1991 on. My wife from 2000 on. Guruprem and Kundalini Yoga from 2003 on.
Q. If you were giving a dinner party for your 3 favorite authors, living or dead, who would they be? (choose 4 if you think one might be too drunk or stoned to attend.)
A. Patanjali, Herman Hesse, Paolo Coelho, Ann Rice
Q. What books are you reading now?
A. See No Stranger by Valerie Kaur; A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (again).
Q. What is your FAVORITE Radio show, news show, podcast?
A. Radio: Tales from The Golden Road on the Grateful Dead, Channel on Sirius XM Radio. Podcast: Rich Roll.
Q. What is your FAVORITE APP?
A. STRAVA
Q. Are you binging on any TV series? If so which ones?
A. Not at this moment. I have enjoyed a wide variety of programming from National Park Series to All of Ken Burns’ Work to Game of Thrones.
Q. Which movies have you watched the most?
A. Three Days of The Condor. The Sting. Limitless. Rounders. Bourne Ultimatum.
Q. Who is your FAVORITE Director?
A. Paul Greengrass. Todd Phillips.
Q. Who is your favorite sober celebrity? A. Bradley Cooper
Q. What is your FAVORITE Band/composer/musical artist?
A. Grateful Dead, Aykanna, Jaya Lakshmi and Ananda
Q. What is your FAVORITE Broadway musical/play?
A. Up Jumped Springtime starring Colman Domingo.
Q. What is your FAVORITE City?
A. Boulder, CO.
Q. What is your FAVORITE Museum?
A. The Met.
Q. What is your FAVORITE Restaurant?
A. Gjelina’s in Venice, Los Angeles
Q. What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
A. Meditate.
Q. What is the best piece of advice YOU’VE given?
A. See Recovery as winning the lottery.
Q. What is the greatest risk you have ever taken?
A. Getting Married.
Q. What is your biggest regret?
A. My mom seeing me relapse before she died.
Q. What is the proudest moment in your life?
A. Being honored at the International Yoga Festival by Swami Chidanand Saraswati. Finishing my book, Recovery 2.0.
Q. What is your favorite Weekly News Bulletin?
A. Is this a trick question?