Meditation to stop drinking


"Neuroscientists have discovered that when you ask the brain to meditate, it gets better not just at meditating, but also at focussing, stress management, impulse control and self-awareness. People who meditate regularly become finely tuned willpower machines."

Kelly McGonigal, Stanford Psychologist

Wise Monkey Way is a natural, practical system to help you quit drinking or moderate your alcohol intake using effective strategies and a meditation technique you will love for its simplicity. 

The online programs are designed for people who don’t consider themselves alcoholics but have reached a point where their best drinking days are behind them and want to stop repeating old patterns. 

It was created by Rory Kinsella, a meditation teacher and former hard-drinking journalist who found meditation during an early-midlife crisis and quit drinking in 2017.

Are you a high achiever who drinks for stress?


Nearly 60% of people drink to cope with stress, according to a recent study*

And successful people with demanding jobs have even more reasons to drink.

But there’s a way to cope with stress that won't sap your drive and disrupt your sleep.

We show people like you how to switch alcohol for meditation and calm their overactive minds.

Enter your email to unlock a free stress-busting meditation.

 

Download a free 15-minute stress buster

See how much calmer you will feel in only a few minutes. Enter your email to access this for free.

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MEDITATION TO STOP DRINKING


"Neuroscientists have discovered that when you ask the brain to meditate, it gets better not just at meditating, but also at focussing, stress management, impulse control and self-awareness. People who meditate regularly become finely tuned willpower machines."

Kelly McGonigal, Stanford Psychologist

Wise Monkey Way is a natural, practical system to help you quit drinking or moderate your alcohol intake using effective strategies and a meditation technique you will love for its simplicity. 

 

The online programs are designed for people who don’t consider themselves alcoholics but have reached a point where their best drinking days are behind them and want to stop repeating old patterns. 

 

It was created by Rory Kinsella, a meditation teacher and former hard-drinking journalist who found meditation during an early-midlife crisis and quit drinking in 2017.

Are you a high achiever who drinks for stress?


Nearly 60% of people drink to cope with stress, according to a recent study*

And successful people with demanding jobs have even more reasons to drink.

But there’s a way to cope with stress that won't sap your drive and disrupt your sleep.

We show people like you how to switch alcohol for meditation and calm their overactive minds.

Enter your email to unlock a free, three part mini masterclass: Stress Less, Drink Less. 

Here's what you'll get...

– A way to ditch alcohol as a stress reliever
– A solution to your mind being too busy
– A feeling of control over your drinking
 
 

Unlock free mini masterclass

Start now and see what meditation can do for you.

 
 

We won't send spam

 

WISE MONKEY WAY HAS HELPED OVER 1000 PEOPLE

 

The success rate with our training is higher than many other programs. While it's hard to get accurate figures for Alcoholics Anonymous, estimates suggest their success rate is 10-15%.

Our in-house student surveys taken after one month say on average people have made an 80% change to their relationship with alcohol for the better.

Some reduce their drinking to nothing while many are able to successfully moderate, going from several glasses of wine a night to drinking only socially. Some go from weekend bingers to establishing healthy boundaries so they can socialise without wasting the next day hungover.


All courses are taught online – there’s our 30 Day Pause for those who are trying this out and want to see what a month off alcohol is like and 100 Days to Sober Freedom, a cohort program for those ready to quit drinking for good.  

 

How strong is your desire to drink right now? 

 
Before the start of the course, participants said 6.5 out of 10, on average. One month in, the average answer was 2.4 out of ten, a 63% drop in their desire to drink.
 
 
 
 

How much has your relationship with alcohol changed?

 
We asked people: Out of ten, how much has your relationship with alcohol changed? The average answer was 8 out of 10.

 
 
 
 

WHY DO WE DRINK?

 
Alcohol is a quick fix for changing our mood and making us feel better – temporarily. It’s very effective at this – if it wasn’t there wouldn’t be a trillion-dollar industry around it. But over time, we pay a greater price for the short-term benefit.

The feel-good dopamine spikes from the first drink get smaller over time and the serotonin deficit you’re left with takes longer to pay off, leaving you feeling worse for days.

While the first drink may help you relax, the stress hormone cortisol goes up and stays up all week, even if you’re only drinking at the weekend. That’s why drinking to manage stress is like using petrol to douse a fire. Alcohol significantly increases stress levels in the days after drinking.


This is the addictive cycle of drinking – even if you’re high functioning, not drinking everyday or only having relatively small amounts. You drink, you feel better, you feel worse, you crave the thing that made you feel better, temporarily. Repeat. 


We all know this cycle – it’s subtle but pervasive. But how do we break it?

 

HOW DOES MEDITATION CURB THE URGE TO DRINK?

 

Alcohol is a successful mood-changer but with unwanted side effects – hangovers, lack of energy, increased blood pressure, heart and liver damage and mental health consequences.

Meditation is a healthy alternative because it is also a mood-changer, but without any of the negative side effects and with many other positive ones improved sleep, lower stress, better memory and focus.

People have been successfully using meditation for thousands of years to feel happier, more relaxed, more engaged with their lives and more comfortable in their skin. 

And once you’ve learned, meditation doesn’t cost you a thing. Think how much money you’ve literally poured into the toilet with alcohol over the years. 

Meditation naturally increases the feel-good hormone serotonin and decreases the stress hormone cortisol to leave you feeling calm and in control of your behaviours more of the time so you’re less likely to need a drink. 

Happy and relaxed people don’t need to drink to block out their day or to become a different person to socialise with their friends.


The meditated version of you will be more awake, more conscious. And when you’re awake, you won’t continue to sleepwalk through your old behaviour patterns from one day to the next, one year to the next.

Alcohol destroys neurons in the decision-making part of our brains – the neo-cortex. Meditation actually thickens the cortex, giving you more brain power in the part of your brain that makes wise decisions, rather than leaving things to the primitive, more animalistic part of your brain.

WHAT IF MY MIND IS TOO BUSY TO MEDITATE?


A busy mind isn’t a barrier to meditation – it’s a clear sign that meditation is exactly what you need. Saying your mind is too busy to meditate is like saying you’re too unfit to exercise. Meditation will help you clear your overly-busy mind, but it’s a process. It won’t happen instantly, just like you wouldn’t expect to get a six-pack from one session at the gym.

Once you take “clearing your mind” off the list of what makes a successful meditation, you can start to get the real benefits. We don’t meditate to clear our minds of thoughts or become perfect meditators.

We meditate because it makes us feel calmer and more in control of our behaviours and decision-making outside of meditation.

We meditate to uncover and get to know the wise part of ourselves, the part that knows that drinking this much alcohol stopped being a good idea long ago. 

IS IT TIME FOR A CHANGE?

 

  • How would it feel to wake up rested, energised and excited about the day ahead?
  • What would your life look like if you invested your spare time in something that nourished and expanded your spirit, rather than numbed and shrank it?
  • What if, as part of your reset and exploration of your relationship with booze, you could naturally and easily release it from your life by doing it the Wise Monkey Way?
  • How excited would you be to learn that the initial kick of alcohol  the temporary increase in serotonin and dopamine – is something you can get naturally, so you don’t need alcohol to make you feel relaxed and happy?

This is for you if...

  • You have an open mind and are prepared to try new things
  • You are willing to invest at least 15 minutes a day working on yourself
  • You’re functioning pretty well all things considered but want more from life
  • You’re ready to change but don’t have the tools and systems to make it happen
  • You’re willing to drop any preconceptions about meditation and how good you’ll be

This is NOT for you if...

  • You’re looking for a quick fix without putting in any effort yourself
  • You want to get something for nothing 
  • You’re not prepared to look at your habits and why you do what you do
  • You want to drink as much as you do now, without the side effects
  • You’re in active treatment for alcohol use disorder, unless agreed in consultation with a doctor 
Quit alcohol meditation online
Quit alcohol meditation online app

WHAT DO YOU GET WITH THE WISE MONKEY WAY?

 

  • You learn a simple meditation technique that will give you a new way to relax 
  • Be empowered to break old habits in just 15 minutes a day
  • Gain greater awareness of your drinking
  • Use our system to ‌build a solid foundation, so you need less alcohol
  • Develop better self-control
  • Experience less desire to drink
  • Experience greater calm, peace and reduced desire for alcohol, or no desire at all

30 Day Stress Less Challenge

Start Here

  • Effortless Meditation for Professional Overthinkers
  • Overcome Your Drinking Triggers System
  • Daily Motivational Emails
  • Mindset Barrier Removal
  • Bite-Sized Daily Lessons
  • Access to optional live meditation and group coaching sessions
  • 2 for 1 Accountability
  • Bonus 30-minute one-on-one session with Rory when you get to 30 days 

 

100 Days to Sober Freedom

Register now for next cohort

  • Effortless Meditation 
  • Weekly workshops and group coaching sessions for 14 weeks
  • 3-6 weekly group meditations (depending on time zone)
  • Pocket Mentor for People with Full Calendars
  • Expert Panel for structure & accountability
  • Awareness Amplifier Workshop Series
  • Go Deeper with Live Meditations
  • Times suitable for wherever you are in the world – click through for more details
  • Next cohort starts late 2024 – register now.

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Got a question?


Do you have a question or would you like to set up a quick call with Rory to discuss which program is best for you? Get in touch through our contact page – we'd love to hear from you.

 
CONTACT US

Rory will lead you through a journey that people find it life-changing. He teaches a simple meditation technique that will give you a new way to relax and empower you to break habits.

The technique works in just 15 minutes a day. If you have tried other methods and are still drinking more than you want, why not try this?

Rory has helped over 1000 people escape the alcohol trap and can help you too.

  

WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY ABOUT THE WISE MONKEY WAY

 

‘I do not feel like drinking. I am sleeping better and am very happy.’

 

‘The meditation has helped me overcome cravings and react differently to stress.’

 

'Game changer and a life changer’

 

‘I am more relaxed and haven't had a drink for over three weeks and not missing it.

‘I have tried and failed on many occasions to stop drinking. I finally feel I have cracked it by taking this course.’

 

‘After many years of drinking, I seem to connect with these sessions and now three weeks without a drink.’

 

‘I would recommend this to all who have suffered years of misery and wanted to quit but couldn’t.

‘No one is more surprised than me to find that I haven't had / needed / wanted a glass of wine since day one of the program.’

 

‘I wasn’t sure whether I was just taking a break from alcohol or completely quitting. It’s starting to feel like quitting now.’

 

‘This eased my cravings dramatically.’

 

One of our course participants told us:

“I hadn’t realised how much stress I was carrying until I started the course. Within a few days, I noticed an inner spaciousness, which felt like a comfortable gap between me and my thoughts. I became less reactive to life, less stressed and there was a natural pause if I thought about drinking.

This was enough to stop me from acting on my impulses – with alcohol, situations, people and life. My desire for alcohol just fell away. I’m so grateful for Rory and this course. Meditation is a powerful catalyst for change.”

READ MORE REVIEWS

WHERE DO THE MONKEYS COME INTO IT?

 

Each morning we wake up with a certain amount of Adaptation Energy that gets depleted through the day as we’re forced to deal with things going wrong or unexpected events – we miss the train, the client pitch goes badly, one of the kids is sick.

When we run out of Adaptation Energy, we often fall back on old and unhelpful coping mechanisms, like drinking. Rory refers to Adaptation Energy as our store of Wise Monkeys. The more we do to stockpile Wise Monkeys, through things like meditation, the more we will be able to cope with whatever the world throws at us each day. 

The Wise Monkey Way or not about abstinence for abstinence sake or gritting our teeth – it’s about turning you into the kind of person who is happy and relaxed and naturally doesn’t need alcohol like you used to.

It turns you into the Wise Monkey version of yourself where doing the right thing becomes much more natural and effortless.

With a curriculum built on proven systems and strategies, Rory guides you to reach a place of peace with alcohol. 

It is the world's only meditation-centred program for changing your relationship with alcohol.

Using our methods, you will:

  • Build a solid foundation, so you need less alcohol
  • Learn how to relax using a simple meditation technique that actually works
  • Break habits
  • Gain more awareness of your drinking
  • Build better self-control
  • Lessen the desire to drink
  • Feel calmer
  • Develop resilience
  • Gain emotional balance
  • Reduce anxiety and stress
  • Improve focus
  • Improve memory
  • Increase creativity
  • Find a sense of inner peace

CLICK HERE TO START IMPROVING YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW. 

CLICK HERE

MEET YOUR GUIDE

 

My name is Rory Kinsella. I want to help you change your relationship with alcohol.

I’m a journalist, musician and a meditation teacher. Born in the UK, I now live in Sydney, Australia, where I have taught Vedic Meditation since 2016. 

I was always an enthusiastic drinker. I was high functioning, but paid a heavy price for my drinking. My goal was to navigate my early midlife crisis when I realised the music and partying days weren't sustainable into my 40s and 50s. Meditation was the tool that helped me cope with my over-thinking mind, which in the past I tamed with alcohol. I wasn’t overtly looking to quit drinking – it happened naturally as a byproduct of the meditation.

My courses have helped many hundreds of people to address their unhealthy relationships with alcohol. The results have been incredible and humbling. Read what former students say below. 

Saying cheers to five years alcohol free with a delicious glass of... water!
Saying cheers to five years alcohol free with a delicious glass of... water!

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Any information on this website is not to be taken as a substitute for medical advice. If you are concerned about withdrawal symptoms or other adverse reactions to stopping drinking, please consult your doctor.

We are based in Sydney, Australia and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we teach – the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation – and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.