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Yoga Helps Veterans to Relax

June 24, 2010 - When people are in pain, they will try almost anything offering the possibility of relief; traditional remedy or not. The Memphis Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center provides therapeutic yoga classes specifically to veterans in search of alternative methods of relief from what ails them. Local veterans attending these classes report yoga helps to relieve their stress and pain.

Demetria Montgomery teaches a weekly yoga class. She highlights that one of the benefits of yoga is finally being able to block out outside stress and have some "me" time; this is the time in the week where yoga practitioners do nothing but spend time with themselves. This time becomes valuable because of the impressive stress release yoga provides. Montgomery also claims to have found the calm from the yoga she has been searching for since she left the military.

Montgomery left the military suffering from both physical and mental problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Following the failure of different forms of therapy, she finally discovered the benefits of yoga. Montgomery found what many other veterans suffering from PTSD have found: therapy and medications are limited in their benefits. The key to her recovery has been yoga.

The yoga sessions are free for every veteran enrolled in the VA. Referrals from primary care providers are required, however. Providers are brought in and explained the benefits of yoga so that those providers go back and encourage their patients to participate in yoga sessions. The yoga practiced in these sessions is more general in nature as it is more focused on relieving stress than teaching difficult poses.