COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Free yoga classes to help improve mental health are available for military communities in southern Colorado.
11 News spoke with Comeback Yoga, a Denver based non-profit providing free, trauma-informed yoga to veterans, active duty military and their support networks. Comeback Yoga offers 40+ classes per week at military bases and offices in Colorado, Utah and Hawaii.
“We’re really working to down-regulate that nervous system, so bringing people who are constantly residing in flight, fight, freeze… trying to get them to shift down to rest, digest and rational thought,” said executive director Kelly Wulf.
Comeback Yoga’s classes are taught by instructors trained in military culture, PTS, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), trauma-informed yoga, accessible yoga, and more. Many instructors are veterans themselves.
“When they come out of the military, they lose their community. They lose a lot of their friends. They are maybe moving or whatever it is,” said Wulf. “To take that time to learn how to take a deep breath. The breath is more important than being able to touch your toes.”
During the pandemic, the need for Comeback Yoga’s services skyrocketed, as requests for classes increased by 20%.
“This breath work has taught them how to take the time to make a rational thought, instead of making a decision that they cannot take back,” said Wulf.
The free classes are offered in-person at the VA Colorado Springs, on Fillmore and Centennial, and Fort Carson, and even online via zoom or YouTube. Classes are not at yoga studios, but rather military-centric locations like bases, VA clinics, VFW posts and more.
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