Page 96 - Total War on PTSD

Today I am no longer in that unit, but I now fly helicopters and that can be physically demanding on a whole other level. On a recent deployment we were lucky enough to have access to a Connected Warriors class, and I can tell you I really depended on that class. The wellness of the mind is just as important as wellness of the body and in a hostile environment those things can get off kilter very quickly.
In closing, go and do Yoga, just do it. What do you have to lose? Who cares what everyone else is doing, or what they think? It’s your body, and you have to live in it. Why wouldn’t you want to be the best, happiest you that you could possibly be?” –
Melody Jackman — Aviation Chief Warrant Officer Two
Classical Definition
“Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) root yuj meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, direct and concentrate one’s attention on, to use and apply, also means union or communion. Yoga is a timeless pragmatic science evolved over thousands of years dealing with the physical, moral, mental and spiritual well-being of man as a whole.” (B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga).
Yoga is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy that was systematized in 200 BC by Pantanjali, author or representative of the Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras consist of more than 196 aphorisms covering the Science of Yoga. These are the four classic Yogas:
• Karma Yoga – right acts, selfless actions
• Bhakti Yoga – loving devotion
• Raja Yoga – meditation •
Jnana Yoga – inner wisdom/contemplation/enlightenment
The Sutras clearly delineate; its aim, the necessary practices, the obstacles you may meet along the path, their removal, and precise description of the results that will be
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