Battling BARE's Teal Star: The #PTSD Magazine Volume 2 | Page 26

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I refused to accept that talk therapy and anti-depressants could be the only solution. I despised the therapists and the doctors for the way they treated him. I started to do research and I looked into workshops, groups, equine therapy, you name it I researched it and I tried to get him to try it. Did he listen to me? Hell no. Did he try new things? Hell no. Does that mean I should abandon my belief that Yoga can help ease the pain & suffering? Hell no! Does my husband feel better after a Yoga class or a physical activity? Hell yes he does! Does he admit it? Nope, not a chance but I proven it to be a source of healing more than once in my life, more than once in our life and I see the results in my students everyday!

At the time I had been practicing Yoga for about 12 years privately, I was studying at The Institute for Spirituality & Health in Houston, Texas and The Cooper Personal Training Institute in Dallas, Texas. I began to plateau in my workouts. I felt like I wasn’t getting any stronger, I was depressed, we were separated and fighting all the time. I moved out and I rented a beach house. I began working immediately teaching a local Yoga class. I reached out to a teacher from my past at The Yoga Haven in Galveston and she told me about a program she had been working on with the Gulf Coast Military Veteran Peer Network on a veteran’s yoga class. I began developing an Iron Yoga workout and teaching private classes at home and online. I was working with two veterans and one military wife over an 8 week period. We designed a more military friendly yoga routine using an Army PT handbook. After we got it set up I tried it in my regular classes. They loved it! The Veterans, their families, my regular Vinyasa classes! All have seen a significant decrease in stress, increased energy, weight loss, muscle gain, reduced substance abuse and better pain management, increased range of motion, helped with their insomnia and sharpened mental focus.

Ok so here is the scientific part: It comes down to the fight or flight response. When one is exposed to a high stress situation, such as combat or any other traumatic event over a long period of time, they are in a constant state of hypervigilance. The repeated firing of the fight or flight response can lead to deregulation of the system thus resulting in not only anxiety disorders and chemical imbalances but also obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, depression, substance abuse, suicide, cardiovascular disease and a number of other life altering problems.

Studies suggest Yoga to be more beneficial than other types of exercise for all of these ailments. Yoga brings back to the equation a sense of balance. It includes centering, breathing, postures, meditation and relaxation. It aids in the release of emotional issues, relaxes and strengthens the body and the mind. By creating new muscle and body memory the mind can unfreeze bad memories; the mind becomes more open and clear. It allows for a sense of balance and for one to safely express stored emotions and alleviate symptoms of PTSD for not only our veterans but their families as well.

I will admit that I have heard many veterans say “Yoda?! I’m not doing Yoda”!

They feel like they cannot do the poses, they think that it will not give them the satisfaction of the workouts they are used to in PT, they may have a physical limitation or health condition, they think it’s going to be spiritual & that makes them uncomfortable. I assure you, when you’re done with my workout you will look at Yoga differently. There are modifications to every pose so that everyone can participate regardless of physical limitations or health conditions.

We don’t chant, we don’t do anything our body doesn’t want to do. We take it one day at a time and we work! With this my students have learned to listen to their bodies, practice gentleness with their bodies and they tell me each week of new limits they have reached in their practices..