FAQ-- Mindfulness & Yoga- from Noel Ross

Why Mindfulness & Yoga?

-What is it that I do?

-How did I get here?

-Why this community?

-Thoughts on our backgrounds

What is it that I do?

Short answer– I teach people how to stop just living in their heads. Whether mindfulness or yoga, that is true. Often we are so controlled by our thoughts we don’t know how to check in with exactly where we are and what we’re doing.

Long answer– I’m here to guide you in how to tap into what is actually going on within and around you. With Yoga we look at your form through many series of movements, we talk about proper breathing and why that matters. We look at posture, daily standing and sitting habits and incorporate habits that will truly support a healthy you for the rest of your life. I give you tools and sequences that you can use anywhere– long after you hire me. With Mindfulness, I’m doing the same thing but with noticing more tools and habits that support your overall wellbeing. I’m teaching you breathing, visualization, journaling, movement, affirmation work, and more to figure out what works for you, the individual, to be more present. Using techniques that are supported by scientific studies- I educate you on how the brain works through life with basic neuroscience so you can learn how to observe yourself, self reflect, keep what habits you like, and shed the ones that are no longer serving you. We are here to keep you in choice about what works for you to build a sense of safety, community, and dignity. These supports and education are terribly needed in our community, and my goal is to make this a widely available service to do so.

How did I get here?

Short Answer– As a human with a wide variety of my own jarring experiences-- mindfulness and yoga was vital to my healing journey and building my coping tools for this lifestyle. I trained in yoga, trauma sensitive yoga, mindfulness, yin yoga, trauma sensitive mindfulness, how to work with traumatic memory, and more to curate offerings for this community.

Long Answer– My childhood was rough. My first marriage was, in turn, rough. Before getting married a second time I knew that I needed to figure out why I kept making these terrible decisions for myself. Starting with learning about psychology, codependency, identity and more I felt okay. I had done yoga, but the end– the 'savasana' was jarring for me. I felt uncomfortable at first. Eventually I found peace in it, and with that I just had more questions than answers. Finding an encouraging therapist with a background in yoga helped me immensely. From the work I did with my therapist I started on my journey in healing which turned into a deep passion for helping. I certified in everything I could find to support this journey to come from a place of solid education while being able to relate to those around me. From this I have created free, military supported Mindful Community Groups and solid, reviewed, and necessary individualized Mindfulness Coaching for the Military Community.

Why the Military Community?

Short answer– We need it.

Long answer– My experience has mostly been with the Navy, so I’m mostly going to speak from this point of view. The sailors that I meet and have worked with often leave home to find a sense of independence or to run away from something going on at home. The problem with both of those is that while the military offers an incredible opportunity, it also is offering so under a very distinct and necessary form of stress. If they decide to bring their high school sweetheart, the spouse may have dreams about what it’s all going to look like that are often not founded in the reality of the situation. Even if you think you’re going to do a job that is employable everywhere, like a nurse, if you move overseas, you genuinely may not be allowed to do the job for a variety of reasons. If you’re leaving near the seaside of China, or in the middle of the Middle East, you’re acutely aware of world news and America’s part in it adding a level of stress you may not have foreseen. The reality of it all, and how the news portrays it all back home, you find, are vastly different things.

There are so many things out of your control, and so many things that are surprising and unexpected it becomes overwhelming for the nervous system to keep up with. If you live in fight or flight, you’re more likely to come down with illness, addiction problems and more. Simple mindfulness measures and learning how to be aware of your body’s tension can be just enough proactive work into ‘emotional grittiness’ that you can rest, even in the worst or most unpredictable situations.

Ps- Thoughts on all of our different backgrounds:

The military community are often typecast into a certain belief system, which can often be seen as unfriendly to the idea of meditation, mindfulness or directly opposing the idea of yoga. From my standpoint, if prayer, church, or any belief system supports you, then that’s where we can work. Breathing and observing your thoughts is not against any other belief system. Moving slowly and paying attention to form is not against any belief system. If you do go to a yoga class and they’re using Sanskrit, its mostly because there is a different between ‘cultural appreciation,’ and ‘cultural appropriation.’

If you ever go to a class and it makes you uncomfortable, find another one. Yoga is so widely available, it’s okay to shop yoga classes. They are no where near “all the same.” Shop your classes just like you would gyms, schools, churches, community centers, therapists, or anything else. If it’s truly not for you, that is okay too. For some people it’s running, CrossFit, Judo, walking, or something else. The thing I really care most about is that you’re taking care of yourself and finding what supports you.