Page 118 - Total War on PTSD Final

118 of 837
for more than a couple of classes here and there throughout the years. When I joined the Army I hadn’t been practicing for several years and I volunteered for a unit that is more physically demanding than most. Pain that I had been able to ignore in the past was quickly beginning to affect the way I performed on runs, and I was unwilling to go on profile. Yoga at that point was still so far back in my mind that I never even considered it for pain management or correction, and so started going to a Chiropractor. Being in a male dominated profession I was willing to do what I had to keep myself pieced together enough to stay off profile and physically keep up with them, and at that time it meant going to the Chiropractor five times a week.
I went on like that for close to a month before a new program became available to the unit, Connected Warriors. I didn’t go right away, Yoga isn’t considered something that the “guys” would do, and I was very careful to keep my image of being one of the guys. When I started to hear about attendance increasing I figured that was my chance to give it a try. I was still only thinking at that time of changing up my physical fitness routine, and not wellness. When I did finally drag myself in there I discovered something wonderful, here finally was an instructor who “got it.” I had never before gone to a Yoga