Active Duty Military, Veterans, First Responders & their Families, & Yoga Warriors Int’l
For my final project I am a writing a proposal to present to the Providence Police Department, in conjunction with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation used by the PPD Peer Support Unit, to collaborate with Yoga Warriors International, for the treatment of First Responder depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychological stress, and the stigma of mental illness, all of which are normal reactions to the abnormal situation of routinely being exposed to threats, actual or perceived, and the prolonged and/or chronic stress associated with a career in Law Enforcement. Just as YWI successfully helps Veterans get ‘unstuck’ from the moments in the past which are preventing them from living in the present, and planning for the future, through active Yoga Warriors methodology, where classes integrate concepts of traditional hatha yoga with modern knowledge of the mind/body connection, First Responders are taught that moments in their careers do not define them, their present, or their futures. The JOB can become the thing that used to take precedence; a facet of their complexity, and not their entire persona. The JOB is filled with chronic routine work environment stress, and the very nature of police work includes regular and ongoing exposure to confrontation, violence, and potential harm. Evidence based hatha yoga and mindfulness are used to prevent or alleviate symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD or combat stress (COSR), by actively taking the collaborative ‘first breath’.