When you're under a constant sense of attack,
our bodies are not meant to do that.
Just feeling that sense of vulnerability for an extended period
really has an impact on the mind.
You just don't know if it's going to be you next.
I really can't complain.
I wasn't physically damaged.
I have both my arms and legs.
I came back home and was able to pretty much go on living.
I have struggled with the guilt.
When you're in an environment where you're trying to kill people,
it messes with your mind.
And of course in the military there's a lot of bravado.
That's part of the reason why it's hard for vets to get help,
because they don't want to be perceived as weak.
So there's a lot of unreported PTSD.
It's taken a lot for me to try to heal.
I started yoga after a friend suggested I give it a try.
It's taken me in another direction to where I surround myself
with ways to help heal me.
Every time I'm able to get on my mat and work towards being
in the present moment,
that's what we really try to help people with PTSD do.
Why is yoga such an incredible opportunity
for people who have PTSD and other stress-related conditions?
Because it has a direct effect on the autonomic nervous system.
Someone who's stuck in fight-flight, and they can't sleep,
they can't go off guard duty in their own mind —
you give them the right practices, and if they do them,
their ability to switch over into the rest-digest
part of their nervous system, that is going to be restored for them.
In the ’80s or ’90s, I would guess, just a tiny number of veterans
were using yoga meditation
to improve their mental and physical health.
Today tens of thousands are using yoga meditation on a regular basis
and have the services available to them.
So it is definitely on the rise.
I knew I wanted to go to grad school finally
and use my GI Bill to do that.
And then I heard about this program.
It was a master’s in yoga therapy, and one of my friends was
attending Maryland University of Integrative Health.
I just had to know about this because it was yoga and it was grad school.
I applied for the program, was accepted, and that was back in 2015,
and I'll be graduating in July of this year.
Start to let go of the distractions of the mind.
I'll be the fourth male to graduate with that degree.
Veterans that have gotten out of the military and are now
very excited about yoga meditation because of the positive effects
it's had on them,
most often their first impulse is to go give that to more veterans.
In that way, they are absolutely continuing to follow their commitment
to serve their country.
I've actually had all sorts of friends, veterans and nonveterans,
who've started to practice yoga because of me sharing about it
and my experiences with it and the healing that it's brought to me.
And it's really, really cool to see it's helping people in their own lives,
and I'm just thankful to be able to do that.