BEYOND BRAVE
In the summer of 2019, we were put in touch with some very passionate people who wanted to help veterans. We linked them together with one of the best people we know...who happens to be a veteran herself and an amazing Yoga instructor (among other talents).
After a few months of working on how they could best help veterans, they came up with an awesome Yoga & Meditation program for veterans.
This program is so important to the lives of veterans, their caregivers, and families. We are proud to help the program by collecting donations. You can donate to the program through Beyond Brave by clicking the "Donate" button below. On your PayPal donation screen or on your check, please include the word "Yoga." As with all donations to Beyond Brave, 100% of money donated using checks and 97.3% of money donated through PayPal (They have a 2.7% fee) goes directly to the Yoga program.
Yoga & Meditation - Programs for Veterans and Veteran Families
“It was an eye-opening experience that I will remember for years to come…The last few years serving in the military were some of my most stressful and painstaking days of my life…Never backed down from a fight, carried the weight of others and fought as hard as one could. It wasn't until my last few months… and my first few weeks as a civilian to see the damage it had done to my head and body. Racing thoughts, uneasy feelings and the overall idea that I did not know if I could handle this transition…at the Retreat it started to all fall together. The breathing techniques, basic yoga and simple meditation practices really shocked me on how successful it was. Racing thoughts came down to a moderate traffic flow in my head. My anxiety eased as did the tension within my body became more relaxed through each training.”
Facts:
· 30 percent of active duty and reserve military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan – approximately 730,000 men and women, with many experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression. (National Council on Behavioral Health 2019).
· A 2018 Department of Veterans Affairs report shows the total is 20.6 suicides every day. Of those, 16.8 were veterans and 3.8 were active-duty servicemembers, guardsmen and reservists, the report states. A 2014 report from the Annals of Epidemiology found that the suicide rate, among active duty personnel, was higher in non-deployed veterans than those that were deployed to war zones. The report also showed that veterans are at the highest risk for suicide three years after leaving the service.
· Approximately 42 percent of all active duty service members have children. (Urban Institute 2016)
· Military children were more likely to report depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Controlling for grade, gender, and race/ethnicity, reporting any familial deployment compared with no deployments was associated with increasing odds of experiencing sadness or hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. (Cedarbaumet.al. 2014)
· Military families often struggle with the transition to civilian life, and both the time spent in deployment and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder increase the odds of divorce. (Negrusa and Negrusa 2014)