VA connecting with Veterans through yoga classes, whole health program
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – The Whole Health program at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff continues to grow, giving Veterans more options in their health care.
Yoga classes are one of the newest offerings, helping Veterans to find a more balanced and peaceful state of mind and body.
Currently, one-hour classes are held on the medical center campus twice a week.
Veteran reaction to the yoga classes, says VA Recreation Therapist Caleb Campbell, has been overall positive.
“This is something Veterans have been asking for, and VA supplied it. They are really looking forward to seeing how it grows and where it goes from here,” he says.
For Marine Corps Veteran Joshua Frye, the yoga classes have proven especially valuable, particularly after seeing limited success while undergoing physical therapy.
“It’s a full-body workout, where physical therapy focuses on one area. This works my whole body out and gets all my injuries all at once,” says Frye. “I had back surgery and it’s helping that out, and I’m getting my core engaged. Plus, I’m starting to lose weight as well.”
The yoga classes, Frye says, also have helped him deal with his PTSD. “Coming in here and being able to relax and breathe helps out,” he says.
Navy Veteran Joseph Hall also has found relief through VA’s yoga classes.
“Physical therapy helped a little bit, but my spine is degenerating, so they put me in here to see if I can stretch,” Hall says. “It definitely helps.”
In the coming weeks, Campbell says, the yoga classes will be further expanded, giving patients more options to attend.
"We’re changing it, and we’re going to start offering it five days a week,” Campbell says of the free program available to all Veteran patients. In addition, Tai Chi classes also will be held daily.
One of the biggest changes, Campbell says, is both classes will be available remotely via internet.
“In the near future, we’ll be having telehealth while we have our sessions here,” Campbell explains. “A patient could go to any of the community-based outpatient clinics in our catchment area and join from those spaces. It’s also simultaneously going to be done over VA Video Connect, so if they want to do it from their own homes and have internet access, they can join that way.”
VA employees also will have an opportunity to participate in abbreviated yoga classes, Campbell says.
“Employees are going to start having it on Wednesdays during their lunch breaks, so it’s going to help promote everyone’s health here at VA,” he explains. Classes are expected to last between 15 and 30 minutes.
Veterans interested in attending yoga classes, Campbell says, can ask their primary care team for a consult for whole health or recreation therapy.
“I’ll set up an assessment with them, where we go over their health information, set goals of what they are looking to get out of their health and what kind of program would best match them. If yoga turns out to be something they would like to do after their assessment, they can sign up for it and start taking yoga classes at the VA,” he says.
Veterans seeking information on yoga classes and other whole health programs, including guitar lessons, art classes, and more, are encouraged to call the medical center at 573-686-4151, extension 59269, for more information.