Hampton Roads Veterans Suffering in Silence

Local Yoga Warrior program helps “unfreeze” bad memories or gently unlock rigidly held memories

Hampton Roads has one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the United States with approximately 83,000 active duty military personnel, according to the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. The US Department of Veterans Affairs reports that about 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF) have PTSD in a given year. These numbers are even higher for those that served in Desert Storm. Many in our community are suffering in silence due to what they witnessed while protecting our freedom and a local yoga studio wants to help.

Garden of Zen Yoga Studio located in Yorktown, Virginia has announced the beginning of a Yoga Warrior International Class designed for military personnel, veterans, and first responders, including caregivers and family members.

Why it works: Military, Veterans, First Responders and others who have experienced very intense periods of terror and trauma, may get stuck in a constant state of “flight or fight”. When they are away from the traumatic experience, that fight or flight response may not turn off, making the transition to “normal” life very difficult.

Yoga Warrior classes can help “unfreeze” bad memories or gently unlock rigidly held memories in ways that normal talk therapy might not. The feelings may be too complex for words or the person may find it difficult to talk about their feelings. The speech center of the brain often shuts down during trauma leaving the right brain to record the event in visual images or as other isolated sensory events – they may literally not have the words to speak of the trauma. Encouragement to “talk about it” can start a tailspin of flashbacks, nightmares, and overwhelming anxiety.

Yoga Warrior International™ classes were designed in 2005 for Military and Veterans, and have shown documented success in reducing anxiety, improving sleep, increasing the ability to focus, and improving mental health and quality of life overall for those who participate regularly in the classes.