JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Yoga-based breathing techniques that are helping military
veterans and active-duty members relieve stress and achieve mental and physical
relaxation will soon be offered to service providers from Joint Base San
Antonio helping agencies.
Facilitators from Project Welcome Home Troops, a program of
the International Association for Human Values humanitarian organization, will
present the Power Breath Workshop for veteran service providers Oct. 22-24 at
the JBSA-Randolph Military & Family Readiness Center, 555 F St. West.
“The workshop is a unique opportunity for military and
civilian providers,” Paashka Prowell, director of media relations for Take a
Breath Texas, San Antonio chapter of the International Association for Human
Values, said. “The audience we want to reach at all JBSA locations includes
mental health and wellness personnel, military and family readiness center
personnel, Sexual Assault and Prevention Response program coordinators,
chaplains, casualty division personnel, medical group personnel and other
providers supporting our military community.”
All providers may attend the workshop at no cost since the
fee has been waived, she said, but attendance is capped at 50.
Prowell said the breathing techniques taught at the workshop
are based on the breath forms of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga.
“It’s a series of breathing techniques in a certain
sequence,” she said. “It helps calm the mind and body.”
Because breathing and emotions are so closely linked,
learning the techniques help practitioners manage their emotions, Prowell said.
“For every emotion, there’s a corresponding breath pattern,”
she said. “You can change your breathing patterns so you’re not in an anxious
or depressed state.”
Army Lt. Col. Robert Carter III, a Power Breath Workshop
facilitator who is a manager for the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research’s
tactical combat casualty care research program, said the techniques have been
used in the civilian world for the last 30 years and for military service
members and veterans in the past decade.
Carter said the course helped him overcome insomnia and
hyper-vigilance related to his eight-month deployment in Afghanistan, where
rocket-propelled grenades were daily occurrences.
“I had an immediate calming of the mind,” he said. “I slept
like a baby.”
Carter said the breathing exercises helped him become more
aware of his body, enabling him to feel “a lot of lightness and less tension.”
He continued doing the breathing exercises on his own,
improving his attention span, and, after a year, was cured of Crohn’s disease,
an inflammatory bowel disease.
“These conditions are stress-related,” Carter said. “I did
something that clearly reduced my stress levels and contributed to the healing
process.”
Carter said the breathing techniques help practitioners
“experience calming of the mind and a deep meditative state effortlessly as
compared to most meditation techniques.”
He said it’s not necessary to try to clear the mind,
concentrate or watch the breath.
“Just start the practice without making an effort and the
mind settles into deep meditation,” Carter said.
Prowell said research has shown that the SKY breathing
techniques are effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, insomnia and
other sleep disorders, post-traumatic stress, pain and alcohol abuse while
increasing optimism, clarity, focus, and quality of life.
Prowell said she believes practicing the techniques has made
her less irritable, less judgmental and easier on herself.
“I’m not as anxiety-ridden,” she said.
Prowell said the three-day workshop for veteran service
providers is a modified version of the typical five-day program. The next
five-day Project Welcome Home Troops Power Breath Workshop is planned for Nov.
12-16 at Friends Meeting of San Antonio, 7052 N. Vandiver Road. Workshops are
offered at no cost to active-duty military, veterans and survivors.
Prowell said 96 people have graduated from six Project
Welcome Home Troops power breath workshops in San Antonio since the program was
launched here in March 2014.
“I’ve seen people physically and emotionally changed during
the course of a five-day workshop,” she said. “They look different, more
refreshed. They come in looking withdrawn and now look revitalized.”
Gina Ramirez, JBSA outreach/resiliency, said the October
workshop should benefit providers.
“As it relates to the benefit of our helping agencies on
base, it’s a great tool for us to learn how to reduce our own stress and
anxiety levels, help us with an overall sense of well-being and improve clarity
and focus,” she said. “Knowing these techniques will allow helping
professionals to be more effective in their positions to provide care to our
military families.”
Sept. 18 is the deadline to register for the Power Breath
Workshop for veteran service providers. Workshop hours are 4-7 p.m. Oct. 22-23
and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 24.
For more information, contact Prowell at 512-763-7376 or
Ramirez at 652-2448.