BLESSINGS AND PURPOSE: THE EVOLUTION OF YOGA WARRIORS INTERNATIONAL™
Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that
everything in this life has a purpose.
There are no mistakes, no coincidences;
all events are blessings given to us to learn from.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
My dad was a WW2 veteran and Italian immigrant. In 1918 my grandmother suffered PTSD from an earthquake in Italy where she lost 12 of her siblings. Her uncle dug her out of the debris. With these personal influences in the backdrop, my interest in trauma peaked when I started meeting and teaching veterans in my classes. I responded to the students I was seeing in class each week and out of that response and my interest in trauma I began to share ways to cope with the effects of trauma.
In 2005, I founded and developed the evidence based Yoga Warriors International™ program (YWI) to help combat veterans suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and PTS (post-traumatic stress). This program is for active duty military and veterans, individuals working in high stress environments, including first responders, fire, police and their caregivers and family members.
The benefits of relaxation, positive thinking and living in the moment have been preached for decades. So, like most yoga programs, The YWI program combines movement, mindfulness and breath to produce a relaxation response. Unlike other yoga programs, Yoga Warriors is tailored for people dealing with trauma. Instructors are trained to provide a safe, non-intrusive setting that reduces potential PTSD and PTS triggers.
Based on my experience with veterans and our study in 2009, we found the YWI method works because of the pairing of positive affirmations with the neurophysiological effects of asanas (yoga postures). This pairing helps reframe negative thinking patterns developed in response to stressors inherent in troops in deployed locations and returning veterans. Yoga helps participants focus on the present moment instead of replaying past traumas or anticipating future stressors. The Yoga Warriors teachers encourage students to repeat the YWI positive affirmations three times. For example: The affirmation used while holding Mountain posture is: “I face life challenges with an open heart” and the affirmation while holding Warrior 2 posture is “I am a warrior with inner strength”. The mind mitigates the effects of the body (repeating positive affirmations) and the body mitigates the effects of the mind (practicing a yoga posture). The mind and the body meet in the middle to create a positive effect on the student. Our study demonstrates how the combination of all three (positive affirmations, yoga postures, breath work) are a powerful antidote to PTSD anxiety.
Yoga Warriors classes at Central Mass Yoga and Wellness, in locations across the country and internationally are gentle, beginner type classes using the proven Yoga Warriors International™ Method. The classes emphasize emotional healing and focus on a relaxed pace in a safe and nurturing environment. Yoga Warriors is a simple, effective technique that delivers inner peace, vibrant health and relaxation.
Yoga Warriors classes are healing in action.
MORE ON THE STUDY
In 2009, Yoga Warriors International™ conducted a study with U.S. military personnel stationed in Kirkuk, Iraq, helping to improve the quality of life for 70 participants by teaching Hatha yoga in the Yoga Warriors method. The study is called, “The Effect of Sensory Enhanced Hatha Yoga on Symptoms of Combat Stress in Deployed Military Personnel”. It was published in 2012 in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. This was the first study to be done in a deployed environment. The study was ground breaking in that it was independently sponsored with minimum military involvement. This study serves as a model of how to conduct combat stress and PTSD research in difficult military operating areas. The deployed combat Casualty Research Team (DCCRT) assisted with protocol format and the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) coordinated the security review and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) held the Institutional Review Board (IRB). It was a group effort.
Yoga Warriors provides training to registered Yoga Teachers and mental health professionals from around the country and increasingly, the world so they can offer Yoga Warriors classes or apply the guiding principles during clinical applications.
To date, over 500 teachers have undergone YWI training.
THE BLESSING
I am aware that it was not a coincidence that Yoga Warriors came to fruition. I am aware that it was not a coincidence but a blessing that the veteran who encouraged me to teach them had come to his first yoga class at CMYW on the evening of 9/11.
As Kugler-Ross so eloquently says it, It was blessing that was given to me to learn from.
As I share the Yoga Warriors method, I continue to meet so many wonderful men and women who serve our county!
If you are a yoga teacher or clinical worker interested in becoming certified to do this work you can see our upcoming certifications here. Yoga Warriors Training
If you are coping with PTS or PTSD and looking to take part in a Yoga Warriors Class our schedule is here.
Namaste,
Lucy