“The Brain is a river, not a rock.” -Dr Fred Travis
Dr Fred Travis of the Center For Brain, Consciousness & Cognition shows what happens over 8 successive days of a patient who does meditation. He shows the effects of chronic, high stress on the brain. Note: the subject is a neurotypical male who has meditated since he was five. Not representative of a veteran with either PTSD or Trauma, but still, an interesting talk.
Live Through This: A blog about suicide survivors
Suicide: We feel the desperation, the cures that didn’t stick, their guilt and pain. While it’s tempting to gloss over suicide and cut straight to the tinkly music and let WarRetreat be a narcissistic yoga blog, it really doesn’t interest us. Because even if we’re on the mat, even if we’re feeling great, we know the white elephant in the room is suicide. More veterans have died by their own hand than were lost in combat. And no amount of downward dogs can make that go away. Not talking about it hurts. It’s akin to consigning someone’s life to a bin of shame. Everyone deserves better.
Over the weekend, another veteran committed suicide. I say another, but the truth is, several probably did. We just don’t know about them. But this one, like the late Clay Hunt, was a veterans advocate who volunteered for Habitat For Humanity, Team Rubicon, and with wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. No one can ever accuse Neil Landsberg of not reaching out. The photo shows a young, vigorous man helping others. Volunteering probably made him feel complete, it gave him hope. Helping others was normal. But what couldn’t be captured on the camera was the trench he couldn’t get out of. Eventually, Neil took his own life.
No one in the military family is immune to suicide. Veterans, spouses, family members. Sometimes the weight just gets so heavy, circumstances become so hard, tiredness takes over every muscle and bone, and we wonder how to go on? Most find a way through it. But others get stuck in a series of dark corridors and they can’t find the light. Then they take their life.
The white elephant? Grab your paintbrush and start coloring him in as we talk about mental health, erasing the stigma, and yes, suicide. We have to get beyond the point where we’re assuming that someone who is busy is doing okay. Maybe they’re not. And we also have to learn not to kick ourselves when tragedy happens. People who are busy, who seem involved in a lot of things, are often the best at hiding their emotions. If you’re starting a program for veterans, the only advice I can give you is to love yourself as much as you’re going to love the people who come to your classes. Only if you do that can you weather the ups, downs, and the tragedies.
Check out a blog about suicide survivors. Live Through This is the painted elephant.
Dear Mystery Veteran,
My name is MSgt Chris Eder…and I’m just shy of 23 years active duty service to THE United States of America as a Combat Correspondent in the Air Force. Since 9/11, I have found myself in some interesting places. Sometimes by myself, sometimes with people I had never met, and sometimes with people who I love(d) as a brother or a sister. I want to make it perfectly clear that anything I say is not meant to “one-up you,” try to be better than you, or try to compare to you. Rather, I want to provide perspective and insight as we both wear combat boots and serve as warriors & protectors of the USA!
I know exactly how it feels not to sleep. For many years, I just told people I was a “morning” person. That was maybe less than half true…as I really do enjoy being up before anyone else. Hot showers, fresh coffee, etc. But the truth was…I couldn’t sleep. I used to spend as many hours as possible working. People thought it was because I was a hard worker. OK…they were right! However, as I have learned over the years…working hard is also an unhealthy coping mechanism. Avoidance! It is hard to tell something is wrong when you continue to out-perform everyone!
In 2003, I found myself traveling throughout Iraq by any means possible. I was equipped with a 9mm, no ammunition, a flak vest I think my dad wore in Vietnam, and my camera gear. For a short period of time, I called the Al Rasheed Hotel home. That is until Oct 26, 2003 when insurgents attacked it with 68mm and 88mm rockets. Under Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz was in the hotel that night. Check the story out, Sec Wolfowitz is wearing my flak vest! Things got worse after my second deployment to Baghdad during the “Surge of Operations.” Damn…the insurgents had our location dialed in! 20+ attacks a day seemed “normal” for so long.
So…why yoga? Hell…why not? What is the worst thing that can happen? I started yoga back in 1999 because of a pinched sciatic nerve and a diagnosis of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. I instantly was hooked! During my 2007 deployment to Iraq, I was actually teaching 5-6 classes a week. Anyone…and I mean anyone… can do yoga. I introduce to you Lieutenant Colonel Tom Bryant.
Lieutenant Colonel Bryant, US Army is my friend/mentor and hands down the best person to ever come from Alabama. LTC Bryant is the last person I thought would try yoga. He is a typical Southern conservative, “Roll Tide!”-preaching, family loving, church going, hunting/fishing military kind of guy. He would often poke fun of me when we worked together about how I taught and practiced yoga. Tom recently sent me a Facebook message:
“Are you sitting down? You should.
Last night I did yoga. And since I’m deployed, you know I wasn’t drunk or high. It lasted 20 minutes, was cal
led relaxation yoga or something like that. Really just seemed like a lot of stretching to me, but this Japanese guy with a ponytail on the video kept talking about “seeing your breathing” and “step mindfully downward on your heels” and a bunch of other platitudinal crap I didn’t understand. But the stretching stuff was cool.”
Even this staunch yoga antagonist found yoga to be at the very least, “cool!” There is a good chance what you think Yoga is…is not at all what it really is. Yoga can be whatever you want it to be…killer workout, awesome stretch, or a time to reset and restore your batteries. For me, I *try* to start every day with 15-30 minutes of meditation and yoga. I also end each day with some grounding breath work to help clear and prepare my mind for sleep. Trust me…I know it sounds fruity, crazy, or even esoteric…but IT WORKS! I’ve been practicing yoga since 1999 and teaching since 2007. I often wonder where I would be today without yoga. I see my brothers and sisters-in-arms who share *our* nightmares, panic attacks, alertness, relationship issues, memory problems…the list can go on forever. I know just how tough my life is…and wonder how much tougher and often debilitating it would be without yoga in my life.
Lastly, I’d like for you to stop breathing for 20 minutes. What…you can’t? You think you might die. I agree! So…public math here…if I can increase both the quality and quantity of your breath…would that not increase the quality and quantity of your life? Check out this free sample from Suzanne Manafort:
Register now for the NCIRE conference on trauma, June 20, 2013, in San Francisco.
The Brain at War provides insights into the most recent research and innovations with the hope that they will catalyze decades of discovery and scientific advancement focused on the healthy brain and mind. As hundreds of thousands of men and women return from service, the United States faces a moral imperative to meet the needs of a skilled, youthful generation of Americans who may be vulnerable to the long-term consequences of combat duty. The decisions we make today will reverberate in the lives of American Veterans, their families and the nation at large.
NCIRE’s sixth annual The Brain at War conference convenes a diverse and dedicated gathering of physicians, scientists, representatives from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, academia, policy makers, community leaders, students, and Veterans for a series of intensive discussions and presentations providing new and exciting thinking and approaches to health care innovation
When those of us from the military family say, “We went to war, while America went to the mall,” we’re not exaggerating. While the tarmacs welcoming home soldiers from war were sparsely attended, the malls remained packed. It used to be –back in the prehistoric dinosaur days, that we bought less, and what we had lasted for years. At some point, shopping became a past time. People buy things they don’t need to fill a void that used to be filled through family, friends, hobbies, sports, church, and cultural events. We went from buying when we could afford it, to buying on credit. Savings -even the concept of it, disappeared, and in its place were cheaply made goods stacked in closets and piled in rooms as though they were a pirate’s lair. We didn’t question where the goods were from, as much as whether it was cheap enough to toss into a cart along with the paper towels, treating the goods as though they were another disposable.
Sadly, what also became disposable were American jobs and American workers. Today, when the unemployment rate is high for everyone, the number of post 9/11 veterans without jobs is rising.
In raw numbers, 203,000 post-9/11 veterans were unemployed in February. One year ago that number totaled 154,000. -Bill Briggs, NBC News, March 8, 2013
Unemployment isn’t just a financial crisis -a job helps with one’s self-identity. For veterans, who are out on their own and missing the camaraderie of their peers, employment is part of wellness.
So we’re asking yoga-doers everywhere to be mindful about how much they purchase, and to know the source. Buy less. Be picky about where things are from. Because we know the way to keep communities health and happy is to keep locals employed. That yoga mat? The pants? Block? Search for products made in the USA.
Watch this Vimeo from Verve founder Christian Griffith.
UPCOMING RETREATS WITH HONORING THE PATH OF THE WARRIOR
By Dyan Ferguson, Founder, Honoring The Path of The Warrior, and US Army veteran
Honoring the Path of the Warrior is pleased to announce our two upcoming retreats:
Both of these events combine nature and engaging physical activities with meditation, Sensory Awareness and mindfulness practices. The intent is to provide Veterans with connection, community and tools that support them in using their strengths and experiences to find a meaningful and productive path in civilian life.
I really can’t put into words what this trip meant for me, but I can say that this was easily one of the most meaningful and special experiences in my life. I got more out of this 4 day trip than I did in the entire 5 months that I was in the [...] PTSD program.”
“I just want to take the time to say thank you both from my complete and whole heart for what you two have given me this weekend. I’m speechless cause the gift you both gave me was HOPE. And I really can’t remember the last time I truly had it. The act of pulling a trigger from a man made weapon on another human being has shattered my person. You both have given me the hope and energy I need to some how find a way to try to put my shattered soul back together.”
All events are nondenominational and are completely free of charge to veterans. We do, however, welcome contributions from veterans and members of the broader community so that other veterans may attend future events. Please support us as you are able: Honoring The Path.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion” -The Dalai Lama
By CJ Keller
Veteran, USMC
Wisdom is the sound application of knowledge. It is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply judgments and actions that serve optimal outcomes.
How can we cultivate or tap into wisdom through yoga? Wisdom often requires control of one’s emotional reactions and control of the senses, so that universal principles of reason and morality prevail to determine our actions. Our practice, whether in a physical posture, breath control or meditation, facilitates presence and grounding in the moment. This grounding enables a yogi to draw upon judgement from a more objective place, where the mind is calm and freed from emotional barriers of stress and anxiety. A quiet mind can listen to the authentic inner voice that we all posses. Ultimately, this is the voice in line with your values and this is the voice that guides your actions.
CJ Keller, Veteran, USMC
The mindful movement, breathing and relaxation techniques used in SFHW’s yoga teachings, allow us to be lifted from the fog of our senses and from our selfish and often misguided desires. As brothers and sisters bound by the honor and pride of military service, we can use our unique knowledge from training and combat, combined with a focused mind to make better, wiser choices for good in the world. Mindful yoga fosters connection, sharpens intellect, and strengthens knowledge of self and others. This wisdom is a compass for our actions, leading us to happiness and compassion for ourselves and those we serve.
