Trauma-Informed Yoga with Veterans
In this series on Seva, or service yoga, we are highlighting people within our community who use yoga as a tool to be the hands and feet of Christ. As Christians, we are called to yoga not only as a means of personal transformation, but also as a path to transform the world. Seva is one such way.
Earlier this year, I interviewed Amy Secrist on her work with veterans near her home in Mansfield, OH. If you’d like to observe or experience a typical class, or know someone who might benefit from this practice, follow Veterans Yoga on Facebook.
Top image courtesy of Yoga Joes
Describe the religion of your upbringing and/or current church practice.
I grew up Catholic in Western Pennsylvania going to mass each week, and attended Catholic school through the 8th grade. I've attended weekly mass my entire adult life until March 2020. For several years I have been taking part in an online Franciscan-inspired community and have been looking for that same welcoming spirit locally.
What initially brought you to yoga? How, when & why did you start practicing?
When I was 19 (1996) I saw an announcement at my local art center for yoga on the lawn. I was intrigued! My teacher trained at Kripalu and introduced me to the concept that we are human beings, not human doings. All of it felt right to me: the asana, pranayama, dharana, dhyana - all the limbs!
Why did you decide to teach? Describe your yoga training and credentials.
I decided to attend teacher training in 2000 to deepen my understanding of Yoga. I happened to get my name on a mailing list after attending a local yoga workshop at the area YMCA. A few weeks later I received an old-fashioned paper newsletter announcing a teacher training program only an hour's drive from my home. I had never considered teaching, only gaining knowledge, resources, and understanding; and a training like this seemed the best way to go about it. Once I arrived at orientation, the lead teachers asked what kind of yoga I wanted to study. I had no idea there were different kinds of yoga! My choices were hatha or ashtanga. I certified at the 200 hour level in Ashtanga at Yoga on High in Columbus, Ohio. Since then I have continued to practice and study and recently certified in EMBER yoga (mindfulness based emotional resilience), which is a 100 hour trauma-sensitive training at Yoga on High. This is part of my advanced 300 hour certification that I will complete in July, 2021.
Describe your typical week and class schedule. Are you teaching other classes besides yoga for veterans?
There was a time when I was teaching 3 - 5 classes a week, but by 2019 I chose to focus on only 2. When the lockdown orders came in March 2020 I started recording and posting practices on Youtube, and teaching a couple classes a week on Zoom and Facebook Live. Currently I am only teaching the Veterans class.
Please describe the unique needs of this group or population, and how yoga might be of help.
Active military service members and veterans have the same needs as the general population of yoga students (we are all human!). What makes this group unique is that they are coming from a similar perspective, mindset, and training, as well as similar past and present experiences. Some of these experiences include traumatic events and/or high stress situations that induce physiological changes in the body. This would be true of other groups, as well, such as yoga for cancer survivors, yoga for recovery, yoga for kids and teens, or yoga for runners, to name only a few. Trauma and stress exist on a spectrum, and some members of these groups will have experienced circumstances that leave a semi-permanent imprint on the nervous-system, but not everyone.
Yoga practices like breathing, postures, and meditation can help metabolize the unresolved energies of stress and trauma that can get "lodged" in the body. Many yoga practices, such as extended exhalations, restorative postures, and loving-kindness meditation can act as self-regulating tools, and when practiced in a safe-enough environment can encourage the nervous system to get "un-stuck." When practiced regularly, these skills can "rewire" the brain-body connection toward homeostasis.
Additionally, one of the main benefits of practicing yoga in groups (like the ones mentioned above) is the presence of community. A sense of belonging can mitigate feelings of isolation and all kinds of "alone-ness." Community is important in fostering a space of relative safety, support, and connection, which are all factors in nurturing post-traumatic growth and resilience.
“This class has done more for me than all the mind meds the VA has had me try.”
What attracted you to this group / teaching?
The Veterans Yoga group invited me to guide some yoga practice for them. The founder had attended a few of my "yoga on the lawn" classes at the art center and asked if I'd consider teaching their members. I remember offering a tentative "yes, if you need someone." Time passed and I was approached again when their current teacher had moved out of state. I had no idea what a blessing they would be in my life when I agreed to give it a try. Their invitation drew me into what I now consider to be my dharma, or vocation. What sweetness, right?
How long have you been teaching yoga to this population?
I've been teaching for about 4 years. Our Veterans Yoga group in Mansfield, Ohio is supported by the Richland Veterans Mentor Program, and was conceived and initiated by the current secretary, Vietnam veteran, Dale Warren, who worked to make sure these classes would be free to all who might benefit. Veterans Yoga applies the term "veteran" broadly to include current active duty, reserve service members, and our local 179th Air Lift Wing personnel, as well as their immediate family members and/or support persons.
Do you need and/or have special training to work with this population? Perhaps a background that makes you particularly well-suited to teaching here?
It's essential to have a trauma-sensitive approach and support persons in place so that there is less chance of unintended harm or re-traumatizing students. And it could depend on the unique needs and intentions of your group. When I was asked to teach I knew nothing about veterans or the military; I didn't even know anyone personally who had served. I was very candid about this, and when I agreed to give it a try, it was with the caveat that the students would teach me how to teach them. (Thank God I knew enough to know that I didn't know enough!) Graciously, they agreed and followed through on this with honest feedback, both encouraging and constructive. And I did my part in researching, reading, and studying, as well as actively seeking out training. This might not be the recommended approach these days, but with clear and open communication, it seemed to work for us. I had two members voluntarily act as support persons for the group as a whole, which allowed me to learn on the job. I could never have done that without these mentor-students.
Describe your approach to classes and teaching. Please describe a typical class.
My approach is to teach from a place of wholeness, which is to hold the perspective that no one is broken and in need of my fixing (including myself). We are all human, and I, as the teacher, am holding space to explore what it is like to be embodied (right now, today). My class is called Yoga Practices & Mindful Movement for Resiliency, which shifts the focus from trauma and places it on rebalancing and growth. Basically, I try to create a space in which students feel welcomed, supported, and seen.
Everyone will carry different experiences onto the mat with them, and we try to honor them all by offering encouragement and choice. We explore mindful breathing and moving, the relationship between the body and mind, and the ways in which a regular yoga practice can help relieve stress and uncover a sense of balance and ease in daily life, as well as in particularly stressful circumstances. We try out various breathing practices, gentle movement and postures, deep relaxation, and gratitude meditation. Everyone is encouraged to move at their own pace, take breaks, and ask questions. (Now that we're online, students are invited to submit questions via email.) Yoga Practices & Mindful Movement for Resiliency offers students the space and time to explore, remain curious, challenge themselves, be gentle with themselves, and practice gratitude.
How is this class funded? Do you get paid?
I started out donating my time. Currently, the class is funded by a grant through the Richland County Foundation. When class was held at the AMVETS, teachers were all volunteers. Eventually, I came to rent space at a local wellness studio for my other classes and asked the owner if she'd be interested in offering space and time to the veterans yoga group. Once we made the transition to the studio, the Richland Veterans Mentor Program secured the local grant to support a small group of certified yoga teachers of which I am one.
Can you provide some anecdotes about students and/or your teaching?
One learning moment I'll never forget is when I made an observation to my veterans class, expressing that I just couldn't figure something out. As students were coming in and settling into their spots, I remarked, "This doesn't happen in any of my other classes."
The students asked what I was referring to, and I explained that in my other classes students fill in all the available spaces, right in front of me, as well as throughout the middle of the room, even if no one wanted to be in the front. They make neat rows and lines and situate their mats parallel to each other. I noticed that in this class, everyone shifted and moved around to make space for each other, regardless of the angle of their mat, so they ended up in a pseudo-circle in a square room. When I wondered aloud about this, the veterans started laughing and smiling at each other. "What?" I asked, with a bewildered smile on my own face. Many of them called out together, "Because we don't want anyone behind us!"
Students position themselves facing the door
Thankfully, we'd had that talk about how I didn't know anything, so they were very kind to me and explained the reasons for this. This is a great example of not knowing what you don't know until you know it. I never would have thought to ask questions about things like this before. That's why it's useful to get training before attempting to hold space for other people.
Do you view your work with this population as answering a call to Christian service? If so, how?
If Christian service means to welcome people as they are, then yes!
Anything else you would like our readers to know?
Students have shared that the class has really been supportive. They are coming from similar experiences and there's a shared sense of community and belonging, no need to explain themselves to each other, just a knowing. Here are some of the responses we received when we asked the group for feedback: "This helps me stay calmer when I would have blown up before." "This has helped me with my balance." "I have never been so relaxed." "I feel safe here." "I should have been doing this for years."
How, if at all, has your religion and/or view of God changed for you as an adult and/or through teaching this class?
I think the opportunity to interact with people from a different life experience than my own has broadened my appreciation for humanity and has allowed me to experience human connection in a way I never would've encountered on my own. I truly feel that yoga is a gift from God, and that God has gifted me 10 fold with the Veterans Yoga group and the trauma-sensitive training I have received. I am humbled by the opportunity to share the life-giving practices I have been gifted through the mindfulness based emotional resilience program (EMBER Yoga). As I've grown throughout adolescence and young-adulthood into the person I am today, God just keeps getting bigger (Thank God), and this class has definitely contributed to that perspective.
What’s next for you?
Ha! I'm just trying to be kind to myself, my family, and others as we all navigate 2020-2021. A few years ago, instead of doing "new year's resolutions," my family came up with an intention to live by: KSFO (Kind to Self, Family, & Others). If someone shouts, "KS," we all respond, "FO!" (Kinda like the "OH-IO" popular in the Buckeye state.) Admittedly, it's usually me leading with "KS!" The enthusiasm from the rest of the family manifests on a spectrum, you know? ;)
After tending to some injuries throughout 2019 and 2020, I've been exploring lots of gentle and supportive asana and exploring the ways teaching doesn't always mean being up in the front of the room guiding vinyasa, which has served me well since going digital and teaching to a camera. I teach a lot through writing articles and personal essays, and in sharing self-discoveries with my little yoga community (as well as my own kids!). I'm trusting the Divine Flow and being ready to say yes with discernment!
Photos courtesy of Amy Secrist
