NAMASTAY SOBER

By Emma Stout, Community Engagement Coordinator

On Saturday mornings at Revere Beach, as the sun draws itself up out of the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll find Pete Sacco with his eyes closed and his arms outstretched in Warrior 2. Pete is the Director of Community Outreach and a yoga instructor for NamaStay Sober, an organization that helps people who are in recovery from addiction reconnect with their minds and bodies through yoga, fitness, and community. He is typically joined on Revere Beach by Executive Director Allison Burke and her dog, Rex. 

Allison Burke (left) and Pete Sacco (right) on Revere Beach.

“We offer our free beach yoga events every weekend, all summer long here at Revere Beach,” said Allison. These events are sponsored by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Grant Program. “On top of our free community events, we help people get scholarships to yoga studios and gyms to support their recovery. We also just started bringing yoga and meditation to sober homes and treatment centers.”

The organization was founded in 2015 by Nicolette (“Nico”) Longo following the death of her friend Brandon from opioid addiction. Pete discovered the organization shortly after its founding, and Allison joined in 2019 after the death of her brother. 

“I started teaching yoga, and [Nico] came to the second class I ever taught,” said Pete. “We started having brunch together after class, and then I just got more and more involved with the organization. It was very small then. We did some classes and had a few scholarships, but it’s just grown so much, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot too,” said Pete. “I'll have 11 years of recovery [in June 2024].”

This sense of hospitality and community that Pete felt – even in the early days of NamaStay Sober – is reflective of NamaStay Sober’s core tenant: community. 

“We believe that through connection, we can overcome addiction together,” said Allison. “It’s really about bringing together like-minded individuals, building community, and having a support system in place so that we can help people on their journey to recovery.”

Pete Sacco teaching Saturday morning yoga on Revere Beach.

“We also make sure that the places we partner with have the essence of being all-welcoming and all-inclusive,” said Allison. “Recovery or not, starting at a new gym is challenging. If you’re new to yoga and new to recovery, that can be a very intimidating space.”

One way that NamaStay Sober relieves these pressures is by having NamaStay “hosts” – volunteers who have already gone through their program who help those new to recovery or NamaStay Sober. “It’s really important to have someone there with you to usher you in and invite you into the community,” said Allison. 

Their community-driven approach eliminates barriers to entry by making both the recovery and yoga spaces less intimidating and more accessible.

“The first step is the hardest step of any journey . . .  Am I really going to do this? A very approachable first step is yoga with your friends, and then you can segue into more. But that first step is difficult,” said Pete. “Going to my first meeting, I was terrified. There were hundreds of people. But people gave me their names and numbers, and I just kept going back.”

“We want to showcase that the circumstances don’t have to be perfect to just show up. It doesn’t matter where you are in your recovery process,” said Allison. “Some people show up who don’t know whether they have a problem or not. We also have people who are not even remotely sober, but they take Friday nights off so that they can show up Saturday morning to yoga.” 

Their approach also makes recovery – and conversations around it – more accessible by destigmatizing addiction. 

“With it being open to all, it opens up a conversation so that we can start to destigmatize this,” said Allison. “A lot of times it’s isolating and people don’t want to talk about it. I know that for myself, when my brother was struggling, there were certain people who I didn’t think I could talk about it with because they’re going to have a really negative, judgy reaction.”

“But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hosted a class and someone comes up to me after and says that they’re struggling, or that their family members are struggling,” said Pete. “It’s almost every week. I love that with these events, we keep them open to everyone, because everyone has been touched by this disease.”
Hosting their yoga classes on the beach not only makes this space accessible, but it also fortifies the mind–body–spirit connection that is essential to both yoga and recovery. 

“When things were going on with my brother, I could come down to the water,” said Allison. “The ocean is just so calming … just sitting there with your eyes closed and feeling the sun and feeling the sand in your toes, it just brings you right back. You realize you’re going to be okay.”

NamaStay Sober currently holds 35 scholarships for people in recovery. Thanks to the compassion and dedication from Allison, Pete, Nico, and their community members, NamaStay Sober has built a thickly-woven web of care and support for those touched by addiction. 

Yoga on Revere Beach is open to everyone. You don’t need to be sober or struggling with addiction. You don’t even need a mat. 

You can join NamaStay Sober every Saturday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Revere Beach across from the Police Barracks until the end of September. For more of their events and to apply for sponsorship, you can visit namastaysober.org.