Jillian Hunsanger

Kanani’s post See The Person First, really hit home for me. Along with “what is Trauma-Sensitive yoga?” the second most common question I get is usually: “Why are you doing this work, since you weren’t in the military and you “don’t know what it’s like?”

That’s true.

There are a ton of things I will never see the way that a Veteran or a service member sees them.

But I have seen individuals I care about deeply return home from deployments, unable to re-adjust back to civilian life. I have seen them have flashbacks during movies, struggle to get sleep at night, and have listened to countless stories about what they have been through overseas.

That is why I do what I do.  Because while I will never have the first hand experience that they had, I have seen what it is like to manage the aftermath. I feel like they have given up so much for me that it is important to advocate for and support them.

Choosing to work with those who have experienced trauma is not an easy task. It is not for the yoga teachers that are looking for a glamorous, highly paying, and recognition-filled job. It is for those who love and want to help military members. That is the one piece of advice I always give to people who think they want to work with Veterans; this isn’t about you. You need to be in it for them.

The love you have to have for them needs to be the same love they have for each other.

“I’d actually throw myself on the hand grenade for them. Because I actually love my brothers, I mean, it’s a brotherhood. Being able to save their life so they can live, I think is rewarding. Any of them would do it for me.” – Miguel Cortez from  the book “WAR” by Sebastian Junger

What is trauma-sensitive?

You can’t even imagine how many times I get asked that question when explaining what I do.  Ever since I moved to Las Vegas to get a trauma-sensitive yoga program started, I’ve get asked that question nothing short of a ton.

Trauma-sensitive yoga is about befriending your body. It’s about becoming aware of your breath. It is about slowing down and tuning into yourself and nurturing yourself and acknowledging what you have been through.

Yoga in general teaches us how to get back up when life has tripped us up. Trauma-sensitive yoga incorporates that along with movement; to put it plain and simple, reintroduce us to movement!

The average person often can go through life, just going through the motions. But those who have been through a traumatic experience, such as combat, re-experience these events to a great extent. They get stuck in a place and time, not feeling sure about the present. When something negative happens, a traumatized person will tend to try and block it out and avoid it. However, avoidance can sometimes lead people to pick hazardous ways to deal with their flashbacks and feelings.

Trauma-sensitive yoga teaches us that we are not our experiences. Distress and negative feelings are a normal response to an abnormal situation. This is usually the hardest part to accept. When speaking to veterans, the common reaction is they feel their PTSD signals something wrong with them, and it’s their fault they aren’t processing their experiences “correctly”.

But there is no correct way to handle combat. Rather, there are ways that are destructive, and ways that can reshape and rebuild in a positive way. Trauma-Sensitive yoga is one of many positive ways to help people do this.

So that is trauma-sensitive yoga in a nutshell. Movements and breathing tools to reconnect with ourselves.

But words can only explain it so well, it is about getting out there and experiencing it.

Swag bags are put together! I’m pretty excited for all the participants to see their new gear…I know I would fly/drive through a hurricane for it!  Thanks to Jade Yoga Mats, Kulae, prAna, China Gel and Black Lotus Yoga Project for providing all the goodies. These include a Jade yoga mat, a baseball cap and towel from Kulae, China Gel product for sore muscles, hats and headbands from prAna, and the bags purchased by the Black Lotus Yoga Project.

Swag!

But while we are on the topic of hurricanes, Irene isn’t stopping us! The only possible changes may be moving the BBQ inside Saturday night if the weather calls for it or “creative flexibility” with the flights home. We will know more as the weekend draws closer.

We will keep you updated on here, on the Facebook page and by email, so stay tuned!

One of the main reoccurring themes of the retreat is love. Those of us that are working on it are doing so because we have love for those who work in combat situations. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences, but share a common love for those we are striving to help. When putting this Retreat together we reached out to many different companies to see if they could help us show our love to the participants. We have received such fantastic feedback from many different individuals and companies willing to donate items to show their love.

Jade Love!

The new Corporate Sponsors page has an updated list of businesses that have gone above and beyond to help out the Retreat and we really hope you’ll take a look at what they have to offer.

The participants will receive an awesome “swag bag” at the retreat which contains an assortment of items from our sponsors. Not only will our participants love the swag, we love these companies for taking an interest in the Retreat and providing these great items.

Love from Kulae!

So again, Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Jade, China-Gel, Kulae, Life Alive:Urban Oasis and Organic Cafe, The Cambridge Starbucks, Busa Farm, and the Prospect Street Whole Foods.