I recently received an e-mail from a combat vet with PTSD.  He wanted to make sure that the yoga locations who haven't had a single vet ask for free classes not to worry.  Using himself as an example, he said that his PTSD made it very hard to go into a room full of strangers and especially a new environment like a yoga studio.  He thinks that over time, more vets will ask for yoga as their symptoms become more manageble.  He also gave me a big Thank You to the yoga community.  It was really a "wow" moment for me because although I served 5 years in the Navy I dont have any  combat experince or PTSD.  I never considered being in a room full of strangers as a reason that a vet wouldn't  take free yoga.  I've heard the typical ignorant comments like yoga is just stretching or it is for girls.  This recent vet opened up a new scenario to me.  He asked that I mention this in the blog so that yoga teachers wont get discouraged.  Typical combat vet, thinking of others before himself.  So, there you go, the yoga teacher (myself) became the student.  As long as there are war vets I want Yoga For Vets to be around so when a combat vet with PTSD decides that he or she is ready to take a yoga class, they will be able to find one on our website.

Shanti (Peace),

Paul

Yoga For Vets is getting a lot of new teachers sign up to offer 4 or more free yoga classes lately. So many that I estimate we will top 400 different locations and teachers before the end of 2011. This blog post mentions Connected Warriors with good reason. While they are not officially partners with Yoga For Vets, the teachers who get certified by Connected Warriors are offering free yoga to vets also and because of that, we list their names and locations. I am pointing them out because they reflect a trend in the right direction by the yoga community. One of our goals is to get the entire yoga community to offer at least 4 free classes to our vets. Connected Warriors is helping to make that happen and I wanted to use this blog to personally tell them thanks and how grateful I am for their service to our deserving military. You can see their link under the resource section of our website as well as other great organizations who help our vets with free yoga.

Please dont think this is a time to sing Kumbaya or give Hooaahs because we have a long way to go. In fact when I recently posted an artlcle on our Facebook page which mentioned a Marine drawdown in Afghanistan starting in 2012 a military spouse quickly posted a response that tersely said: Now our work really begins. That comment reminded me that like a marathon runner who doesn’t run fastest in the beginning of the race, neither should we. Yoga For Vets is handled by me and only a few other people who lend their advice when they have an opportunity so sometimes the pace of our growth seems slow to me. However, I expect this organization to keep going for a long time so that someday when we are no longer at war EVERY vet who wants to take free yoga knows where and when the next class is. Seems simple, just like a troop drawndown. Shanti (Peace), Paul

This website is all about the combat vets but a close second are the yoga teachers who want to help say Welcome Home.  Recently, I asked all yoga teachers to support not just the vets but Yoga For Vets also by donating a portion or all of the money collected on Veterans Day so we can continue to grow.  The financial response was as I expected, mixed.  See, the fact is, some teachers who are listed at our website still have not been contacted or approached by a single vet despite being listed for years  so some teachers on Veterans Day held special classes where the turnout yielded not a single vet. To them I say it was a great effort and intention, despite the outcome.  Others had very nice turnouts of both vets and civilians alike.  The point I am trying to make is we are doing just fine.  Vets don’t need to take yoga for us to be successful, vets just need to know that we exist, we care and they can have free yoga classes if they wish.  In the next year we are going to grow tremendously, mostly due to word of mouth.   We are quickly approaching 400 listings from around the U.S. but when you think of how many yoga teachers there are, we can easily go into the thousands.  If you are a yoga teacher inspired by what you are reading, sign up.  If you are a vet reading this, tell your military friends to check us out.  Lastly, to the people reading this who simply fall into the category of "I care" please spread the word or make a donation to us. I will end this entry with a recent e-mail I received that includess the teacher and studio location.  I think Beth is a great example of the caring spirit of yoga teachers who despite having no military background can really have a great effect on our deserving combat vets. She deserves credit here on our website as does that Vietnam vet who attended her class despite being a little unsure but stayed till the end.  Enjoy.

“My name is Beth Jones.  I teach yoga at The River Studio in Hallowell, Maine where I offered two free yoga classes to veterans and their families on Veteran's Day.  While I teach veterans in Trauma Sensitive Yoga classes, too, this felt very special and very sacred.  As we centered and quieted down the breath to begin, we brought hands in prayer to our hearts and concentrated on why we were there, who we were practicing for and we prayed for those who were being deployed.  It got very still and very focused in the room.  Only two veterans were there.  The rest were non-veterans who made the effort to attend and make donations.  A Vietnam veteran who wasn't sure he should be there had the most beautiful practice.  Though he was in true physical pain, he made small, careful movements, with mindful breaths.  And then I caught him smiling.  That right there--that made my day.”  

Peace,

Paul

Haha.  Did that title get your attention?  Of course I am not going to rant.  It is not my style...anymore.  Well, okay, a small rant.  I hate when yoga teachers tell me, I just found out about you.  The reason this is bad is because that means there must be combat vets who don't know about us either, not to mention we have been around for a while.   Vets who might want to take free yoga might not even know we exist.  Oh well, eventually, the whole United States will know that free yoga is available to our combat vets.  Until, then I will need help from you to spread the word about us.  Here are my top three suggestions to easily spread the word about Yoga For Vets:

1)Facebook. tell 20 or 2000 of your closest friends about Yoga For Vets and our FB page www.facebook.com/yogaforvets

2)Call your Aunt or Uncle.  Most family members know at least one combat vet.  Ask them if they know about Yoga For Vets and direct them to our site.

3)Email your Ashram.  Okay, this applies only to  yoga teachers.  Email the friends you graduated with and and tell them you support Yoga For Vets and ask them if they will too.

Now the the Rave part of this entry.  We are growing!!  I  just had a studio in New York City sign up and last week a yoga teacher extended a generous offer to help.  She is listed on our site and she will help me organize and promote an upcoming fundraiser. She also agreed to be a guest blog writer and her entry will be posted here soon.

Have a great day everyone.  If you see a vet, tell them Welcome Home for me.

Shanti,

Paul

I am gearing up for Memorial Day weekend.  I just made a funny pun if you are a race car fan.  Get it?  Okay, race cars have gears.  Now do you get it?  The 100th running of the Indy 500 is this Sunday, so is a Formula One race in Monaco and a NASCAR race too.  I digress.  I always party and do family things on Memorial Day weekend and I hope you do too.  I like to think that the Americans that died in combat would want us to.  However on Monday, my focus shifts (another nice racing pun, eh?) to the day that was set aside by Congress as a national holiday.  On Monday, I usually attend a Memorial Day ceremony at a local cemetery where role call is made by the living to account for and remember those who never returned from combat.  It is very moving. Between the bugler playing Taps and the jets flying over in Missing Man Formation, you are forced to remember the meaning of the saying, "All gave some, some gave all."  This year is the first year I will add to that tradition.  As the director of Yoga For Vets, I encourage all yoga studios to either close or offer a reduced class schedule on Monday the 30th as a symbolic gesture that we remember and honor those war vets who never returned.  I own a yoga studio here in Panama City and will not close but instead offer only two classes out of the normal five.  The teachers who will teach the two classes selflessly agreed to teach the class for free to anyone who is a veteran, an additional way of getting people to think about our vets on Memorial Day.  Studios around the country have already agreed to do the same such as Chakra5 in Los Angeles. It is not too late for you. If you want to start your own tradition this Memorial Day that honors the fallen, I'd like to hear about it.  If you feel detached from the military, then try to remember a person who never returned to life in America, try to appreciate the freedom we have in America, the freedom to watch racing all day Sunday or to work at a Food Bank, or practice yoga.  It is your choice what you do this weekend, but please, on Monday make sure you remember what day it is and why.

Thanks and Namaste'

I hope this doesn't sound like an infomercial but since I have no salary and Yogis Anonymous didn't pay me a dime I don't mind bragging about them without any ethics concerns.  I had a great conversation with the people at YA the other day and it went something like this.  Me:Do you want to help Yoga For Vets?  Them: Of course.

Yogis Anonymous is a website that streams live yoga classes from their studio in California.  They are offering free 3 month web access to all of their classes both live and recorded to all U.S. war vets.  The really cool part is if you are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and have Internet access, you can view and follow a live yoga class where you are.  That means if you need a meditation class to help relax, you got it.  A tough class to work your muscles?  You can find it at all at YA.   See more about our friends by clicking on the Resources tab on our website.

In other news, I had a Iraq war vet take a class at my studio the other day.  She casually said she was only on bases during her deployments.  "Only on bases" is what stood out to me. As if random mortar attacks and suicide bomber threats don't count as much as a person on foot patrol or secret missions.  To me, she is just as much as a war vet as anyone who deployed. I'm happy to say that she took the free class (her first yoga class) and thought it was great.

Finally learned how to make a blog entry on our new website.  Bryce over at Fresh Ink has been patient and helpful as I make the transition from the old, tired  website to this new and high speed website.  I expected a few glitches but so far, no major problems.  This has been the theme since I started Yoga For Vets.   When there is a problem, it gets small very quickly.  I emphasised when there is a problem because so far, this grassroots project has had very few negative issues.  I hope that vibe is felt by our vets.  If they do have big issues, I want Yoga For Vets to help make them smaller.  As our testimonials from war vets point out, yoga can help some really big problems.  However, I am always very quick to point out to skeptical war vets that yoga isnt a magic pill that brings happiness, health and joy...but it might.  Seriously, as our organization grows and more vets experience yoga for themselves, I hope yoga teachers and our vets will visit Yoga for Vets for information and inspiration.  They are all but certain to experience no problem Mon.

Today begins a new chapter in the history of Yoga For Vets. We are launching our newly redesigned website. I am also beginning my new role as a blogger. Return here often as you will get to read the words of someone who is sometimes flying by the seat of his pants and sometimes focused and calm. I am trying to grow Yoga For Vets into an organization that every war vet and yoga studio knows exist. After more than 3 years in existence I know many war vets who have used our site to find free yoga classes near them. However, many more have told me "I didnt know something like this even existed." It is my goal to make sure that someday all war vets return and receive our welcome home gesture of providing 4 free yoga classes where they live. This is truely a grassroots effort and I rely on the support of strangers and friends alike to spread the work about our website to war vets and yoga teachers they know. Finally, the words I least like to say, "Donate to us if you can." It is needed very much at this pivital point in our journey.

Thank you for reading my blog. Subscribe or return often and leave a comment to cheer me on or say hi. 

Shanti (Peace), 

Paul