How West Coast Recovery Utilizes Red Road Curriculum

At West Coast Recovery Centers, we follow the dogma of “walking the red road." This means following the seven sacred Lakota values and working constantly toward having a purpose and getting into recovery. Walking this path is a deep and meaningful personal commitment to live your life purposefully. Following the Red Road curriculum doesn’t mean striving for perfection, it just means walking ever forward in progress. To walk this road means to follow these seven sacred values that were given to the Lakota people by the White Buffalo Calf Pipe Woman. These values help embody what the journey to recovery should be. Focusing on these values and moving forward helps to keep your mind on the future as opposed to the past. Having purpose and guidance means that you won’t have to be lost in your journey. Spirituality can help give this guidance and purpose and can be integral to the long-term success of our clients. We are supported by the Native American communities of San Diego and work to provide cultural and spiritual activities to enrich your recovery journey.

What Is the Red Road Curriculum?

The Red Road Curriculum is based on Seven Sacred Lakota values, which highlight a way to live a life walking constantly toward recovery and well-being. These values are as follows:

#1. Wóčhekiya – Prayer

This means living with a connection to a higher power and maintaining a connection through prayer. Living with a focus on a higher power also means living a purposeful and meaningful life.

#2. Wičákha – Honesty

Honesty is an integral part of addiction recovery, as you need to be honest with yourself to move forward. Additionally, honesty is also the base of all healthy relationships, between yourself and others.

#3. Wahwala – Humility

Humility is the ability to be humble and help us understand our place in the world. It is the ability to learn and connect with others and understand that mistakes are part of the recovery journey.

#4. Waúnšila – Compassion

Compassion allows us to build a deeper connection and understanding with those who are struggling like us. It also will give you the ability to forgive yourself and be gentle with yourself in recovery.

#5. Waóhola – Respect

Respect is important in recovery, in learning to respect your body, and also the world around you. Further, respect helps to build solid relationships and a foundation for your drive in recovery.

#6. Wawokiye – Generosity

Generosity means offering help and kindness without the expectation of reciprocation. Moreover, generosity helps to fill our lives with gratefulness and passion. It also helps us be good members of our communities.

#7. Wóksape – Wisdom

Wisdom helps us make better decisions in life by giving us the knowledge to make informed choices. Meanwhile, wisdom in recovery is understanding where you have come from and using it to make yourself better.

The Importance of Spirituality in Recovery

Spirituality can be an integral part of recovery. According to the journal Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, "Scientific literature strongly supports the notion that spirituality and religiousness can enhance health". Spirituality and religious experiences help to give purpose and guidance to our lives. Having a spiritual focus doesn’t have to be organized religion but can be a drive to do better by your higher power. Spirituality gives us the focus that we need to stay true on our path to recovery. Having a connection to a higher power helps you to make guided decisions and have a purpose. A higher power doesn’t need to be God but can be a connection to your inner self and a commitment to do better for yourself. Purpose gives you something to lean on when things are difficult or when you need support.

Red Road Curriculum as a Treatment Guide

At West Coast Recovery Centers, we offer many different forms of treatment for our clients. For instance, we use the idea of walking the red road to help give a focus to our clients. We believe that the Red Road curriculum will provide a guideline that allows people to learn a healthier path and the strength and purpose to walk it. Spiritual ideologies like the wisdom of the Lakota people allow us to provide new thoughts in the field of addiction recovery. We have partnered with the Native American communities in San Diego to provide a culturally enriching experience to our different clients. This allows us to offer activities such as Pow Wows, Inipi ceremonies, and Sweat Lodges. These activities help to center the mind and body on recovery and wellness. Our clinical staff are also trained to explore this, and we have weekly groups run by Native American counselors. Offering these different programs and experiences allows us to focus on spirituality and purpose for our clients. This will give people the things they need to fall back on throughout their recovery journey. The Red Road curriculum is a way for us to use spirituality and the ancient wisdom of the Lakota people to offer a new way to think about recovery. Walking the red road means constantly moving forward and working to better yourself. This is done by relying on the seven sacred values of the Lakota people to lead your life and keep walking forward. Walking this road doesn’t mean that you have to live perfectly or without mistakes, it just means that you keep walking forward. If you are interested in how we integrate the Red Road curriculum into our programs, call West Coast Recovery Centers today at (760) 492-6509.