Veterans benefiting from 'Yoga Warriors'

PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER (l to r) Lynn Stoller and Lucy Cimini hold a yoga pose. Marlborough - Everywhere we turn, there is another story about U.S. veterans returning from the war in Iraq with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to the Department of Veterans Aff airs, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can occur after being faced with a life-threatening or traumatic event.

Four years ago, Lucy Cimini, founding director of the Central Massachusetts Yoga Institute (CMYI) in West Boylston, decided to try to offer some relief from the eff ects of PTSD and developed a class for veterans. She called the class "Yoga Warrior" and off ered it free of charge. PTSD soldiers who have participated in the program describe it on the CMYI website as "therapeutic because it is not therapy: there is no analyzing, no talking, no remembering."

After witnessing the program's success, Marlborough resident Lynn Stoller partnered up with Cimini. Stoller, who has a background in occupational therapy and yoga, and Cimini are using the "Yoga Warrior" classes to study the eff ects of yoga on returning veterans with PTSD.

Stoller explained that one of the more detrimental effects of PTSD is that soldiers have a hyperactive "flight or fight" response.

"This was entrained in the soldiers' minds [so that they would] be battle-ready," she said.

This response, which is essential on the battlefield, leaves returning soldiers with difficulty regulating their responses and returning to a normal sensory input. As a result, Stoller explained, soldiers will try to control this response by avoiding situations - like crowds - that could trigger it.

"Trying to control sensory input often ends up limiting their world ... They cannot turn this off when they come home," Stoller said.

The abnormal behavior, according to Stoller, is caused by the fact that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is out of synch. Functions of the ANS are performed without conscious control, except through breathing.

Because yoga is centered on connecting the mind and body in the present moment through breathing, it can help reset the nervous system.

"Through breath, it reconnects the mind and body in the present moment," Stoller said. "... Working with these breathing patterns can help reset the ANS. I have discovered that yoga can help give some relief."

Because of the success that Cimini has had over the years with veterans in West Boylston, Stoller is in the process of organizing a "Yoga Warriors" class in the Framingham area.

"These vets are returning from war with significant problems," Stoller said. "I do not feel like our society is adequately addressing it or are prepared for what is coming down the road."

To off er this program, Stoller and other instructors often volunteer times and rely on minimal grants to off set some of the costs. Because of the positive results that have been achieved, Stoller and Cimini are working to have yoga classes approved as a health benefit for veterans.

"We have Vietnam veterans still dealing with PTSD and now we have young troops returning home with it," Stoller said. "... This is an extremely important cause."

For more information about the classes opening up in Framingham or in West Boylston, contact the CMYI at 508-835-1176 or visit the website at www. centralmassyoga.com.