Photo By Melissa Peterson | Holly Middleton (right), yoga instructor, teaches vinyasa style yoga Sept. 14, 2016...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- “There’s no judgment; there’s no competition; and there’s no expectations.”
That’s how Wendy Wilmunen, Joint Base San Antonio yoga instructor, begins every yoga class she instructs.
Wilmunen, who started yoga in 2001, said yoga allows people to “find that quiet” within themselves, which can be especially beneficial for service members performing in high-stress environments.
“That’s what you’re trying to get,” Wilmunen said. “To find that quiet place to go, ‘I can take this. I can breathe in. I can take this moment, and I can breathe into the next moment.’”
Wilmunen said she tailors her yoga practice to the same style as her favorite instructor, Shiva Rea.
“She [Rea] talks about vinyasa being a fluid movement,” Wilmunen said. “It’s movement with the breath, and there’s a beginning, middle and an end. And it’s yours.”
Harold Cherry, JBSA yoga instructor, decided to pursue his instructor certification five years ago after attending one of Wilmunen’s yoga classes. Cherry said he would introduce yoga as a part of the physical fitness curriculum at basic training.
“They’ll [trainees] do a lot better job after that morning class,” Cherry, who retired after working 22 years in the Air Force and 18 years in civil service, said. “Everything about you will feel good. You’ll feel good about being around people, so the mission is going to come easier.”
But there is added value to yoga beyond the mental benefits, Cherry continued.
“I’m in love with yoga because of what it does to my body and what it gives me,” Cherry said. “Yoga is about taking it easy, no pain, breathing and relaxing.”
Yoga can also help individuals who focus more on strength training, Cherry added.
“We’re talking about stretching those ligaments out, stretching everything out and then you bulk it up,” Cherry said. “Weightlifters are going to feel a lot better after they do a session of yoga.”
Although class attendees follow the direction of the instructor, the experience of each person doesn’t have to be the same. Each pose can be modified based upon age, experience or physical limits, Wilmunen and Cherry agreed.
“There’s no restrictions, anyone can do it,” Wilmunen said. “You just have to find the correct modification. Everyone can be in the same class and doing their own practice.”
Wilmunen compared the journey of practicing yoga to a river, a metaphor she learned from Rea.
“The water in the river may be flowing the same way, but it’s not going to hit the same spots,” Wilmunen said. “It’s always a fluid journey, so you’re never going to have the same thing, but it’s going to be kind of the same path.”
Just as Wilmunen begins every class in the same way, she ends it the same way too: “Namaste.”
“From everything that’s good inside of me or my inner light, to all that’s good inside of you or your inner light,” Wilmunen said. “It’s one last connection.”
Classes are $3 to attend. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own yoga mats.
To view a monthly schedule of various fitness classes, including yoga, offered at each JBSA location, visit the 502nd Force Support Squadron website at http://www.myjbsa-fss-mwr.com/.
(Editor’s note: As designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, September 2016 is known as National Yoga Month, which is designed to educate individuals about the benefits of yoga.)
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2016 16:11 |
| Story ID: | 213499 |
| Location: | UNIVERSAL CITY, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 682 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Yoga provides stress release for service members, by SSgt Lauren Parsons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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