Yoga Studio Created for PTSD Patients
This article originally appeared on Yoganonymous.com.
Red Barn Therapeutic Yoga just received this coverage on Columbia, South Carolina's WACH Fox News Channel, highlighting their work with PTSD patients.
Most of the yoga practitioners who come to Red Barn Therapeutic Yoga are former service men and women, some of which struggle with PTSD. Ginger Doughty, a yoga therapist, states that as service men and women return from deployment, their lives and the lives of their family members go through a major shift. To make that transition a more seamless process, she encourages family members practice yoga together.
She designs her classes in such a way that anyone can come and enjoy a practice. She does this by placing the focus on breath work, which, "creates healing in the mind and body." Doughty believes that yoga is meant for people of all ages and of all levels of mobility, and shares that as long as you can breathe, you can enjoy the benefits of a yoga class.
Destiny Chance, the reporter covering this story, interviewed three former service men on their experiences at Red Barn Therapeutic Yoga. The first to be interviewed, Snuffy Sharpe, states that he began yoga as a form of physical therapy, and stuck with it. He noticed a drop in his physical pain, and cut down on unhealthy habits, such as drinking.
The second to be interviewed, Peter, is still serving in the army. He states that practicing yoga has helped him cope with stress. It helps him avoid stress in his day-to-day life, and has helped with better problem solving as new issues arise.
The third to be interviewed is Shawn Martin, who suffered from mental and physical injuries from his deployment. He explains that his yoga practice has helped him heal through the lingering trauma, stating that yoga is the number one treatment he's received since he has come back home.
Shawn, who is now retired from the army, says that yoga has completely improved his life—and has saved him from becoming another army trauma statistic.
