VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
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Yoga for PTSD and Polytrauma
Jesse Engle and James Brown participate in the Yoga for PSTD and Polytrauma class taught at the Omaha VAMC. The class was begun recently as an adjunctive therapy for Veterans dealing with PTSD and the results of multiple injuries.
Liz Merey danced in movies such as “Love Me Tender” and “Carousel.” She worked with Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe, Liberace and Elvis Presley. Today, Merey is helping Veterans with the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System harness the benefits of yoga to deal with the results of multiple injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Jesse Engle, an Army infantryman in Vietnam, is one of the Veterans who rolls out his yoga mat each week in the Education Conference Room at the Omaha VA Medical Center. Engle had never tried yoga, but after his third session said he would highly recommend the class to other Veterans. "I recommend it from the standpoint of just helping to calm, and to have ways to focus on something that’s not stressful. That is, you’re controlling your body, and it’s really helping from that standpoint," Engle said. Merey’s VA class, Yoga for PTSD and Polytrauma, began after two Omaha VAMC psychologists brought their heads together on the benefits of a yoga class for Veterans. Dr. Jocelyn Ritchie, a psychologist in the Polytrauma Support Clinic at the Center Mall, and Dr. Terry North, director of the PTSD program at the Omaha VAMC, had each been thinking of ideas for a class. North contacted Dr. Dan Libby, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and the VA’s Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Center, and Ritchie contacted her friend, Merey, a yoga teacher. Merey and Ritchie, a yoga novice, attended teacher training through the Veterans Yoga Project in Newington, Conn., and sat in on a class taught by Libby at the West Haven, Conn., VA. Upon their return, Merey began teaching a VA yoga class in Lincoln. Ritchie and North attend classes as participants and in their roles as mental health clinicians. The classes have expanded to include two classes in Lincoln, two at the Center Mall in Omaha, and one at the Omaha VAMC. Merey also Libby and his colleague Suzanne Manafort outlined numerous benefits of yoga reported by Veterans with PTSD including better sleep, improved self-concept, decreased anger, greater self-acceptance and improved ability to concentrate. When people experience a traumatic event they can sometimes feel very disconnected from their bodies, North said. For instance, Ultimately, this disconnection may result in them having difficulty taking good care of their bodies. Yoga can help Veterans reconnect with their bodies and learn how to be comfortable in silence, Ritchie said. “A lot of times people spend a lot of energy filling up their lives with distraction whether that’s working three jobs so they’re on the go Yoga is highly adaptable to all physical levels and a way to learn relaxation while strengthening core muscles. During her class, Merey reminds participants that yoga is a practice. Students are encouraged to go at their own pace and listen to their bodies. Engle said yoga has helped him relax during the class and outside of class where he practices breathing in stages. “I’m enjoying the dexterity it’s giving me and learning how to control the breathing and the body,” Engle said, adding that he and his wife are now looking for a Tai Chi class to join, as well.
EligibilityVeterans of any era receiving care through the Polytrauma Supprt Clinic, OEF/OIF Transitions Clinic or PTSD/PCT Clinic are eligible for the class. Veterans in Grand Island may be referred to the Lincoln or Omaha classes but should coordinate through one of the below psychologists. |
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