{"id":13161,"date":"2023-06-01T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=13161"},"modified":"2023-06-02T06:48:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T06:48:24","slug":"vet-center-offers-yoga-classes-to-stretch-minds-and-bodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=13161","title":{"rendered":"Vet Center offers yoga classes to stretch minds and bodies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a Vet Center that offers yoga classes to stretch minds and bodies.<\/p>\n

Working a full-time job, raising a family and everything else in between, the hours and days fill up fast for one Army Veteran. It can be hard to slow down and to find time for important self-care.<\/p>\n

Every other Monday, Army Veteran Abena Ntoso joins a yoga class at the Houston West Vet Center<\/a> to help her decrease stress and to be more physically active.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I really like about yoga is that it allows you to find a sense of inner calm and peace. Yoga allows me to feel grounded within my body,\u201d Ntoso said.<\/p>\n

Layla Becker is a readjustment counselor at the Vet Center and trauma-informed yoga is one of the classes she teaches. The class is held both in-person and virtually for Veterans. Becker teaches Veterans of all ages, all levels of experience and many first timers. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody feels welcome.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\u201cClass sizes can vary and what feels super good to me when I\u2019m teaching is if I have diversity where it feels accessible and inclusive, regardless of gender, age, cultural background or medical history. Everybody feels welcome. I feel it\u2019s especially important with trauma-informed yoga. It\u2019s normalizing and validating people\u2019s experiences,\u201d Becker said.<\/p>\n

Ntoso said Becker\u2019s virtual yoga classes helped her through the pandemic and that having the opportunity to practice yoga was relaxing. By combining meditative practice with physical practice, she was able to find her calm.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>
Layla Becker leads in-person chair yoga class <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI think having gone through the service and other life experiences, yoga has made me appreciate meditation. I\u2019ve learned how important breath is. I rely on the self-care practices I have learned, and it\u2019s definitely one of the key components for me,\u201d Ntoso said.<\/p>\n

Houston West Vet Center\u2019s trauma-informed yoga classes create a safe and supported space where students can learn and practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay to start somewhere.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\u201cI want Veterans to know it\u2019s okay to give yoga a try,\u201d said Becker.\u00a0\u201cIt takes a lot of bravery just to try something different, to feel uncomfortable and not be perfect. We don\u2019t have to be good at everything. It\u2019s okay to start somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterans attending the yoga class range from Vietnam Veterans to Veterans in their early 20s, all in different physical conditions and different stages in their therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a wrong way to do yoga. As long as you\u2019re not injuring yourself, it doesn\u2019t have to look a certain way. It doesn\u2019t have to be this rigid, very specific shape. No matter what your body condition is, you can move it in yoga,\u201d Becker said. She also encourages Veterans to try something new, whether it\u2019s yoga, writing, going for a walk or trying a support group. \u201cIf something isn\u2019t working, use your voice because it\u2019s your therapy and not one thing works for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a Vet Center that offers yoga classes to stretch minds and bodies. Working a full-time job, raising a family and everything else in between, the hours and days fill up fast for one Army Veteran. It can be hard to slow down and to find time for important self-care. Every other Monday, Army Veteran […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":13163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,167],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-yoga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13161"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13169,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13161\/revisions\/13169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}