More than most, servicemembers and their families live under an umbrella of stress. Their lives are filled with frequent moves and recurrent challenges related to living in a military family. Those battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) suffer in a different, yet no less real, way. One effective tool to combat this stress is through the practice of yoga.

Yoga is an "anecdote to the stresses of contemporary society," said Joanna Cashman, RN, E-RYT, MFA, founder of Radiant Health Yoga and owner of the Wild Arts Studio in Olympia.  Radiant Health is a style of yoga that "emphasizes the therapeutic and neurodevelomental benefits of yoga practice to cultivate overall wellness." It was developed and designed by Cashman, a registered nurse who has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years.

One of the classes she offers at Wild Arts is Yoga Nidra, a practice that "promotes healing and regeneration at all levels," she said. The style has been adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat PTSD, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, sleep disorders and chronic pain, she said.

Cashman's Yoga Nidra workshop, which is offered monthly, includes a lecture, journal writing and an extended period in savasana pose, which essentially is a prone position where participants learn to let go.

During the class, participants practice stillness, training the body to rebalance its nervous system and go parasympathetic, which is the "only time the immune system works optimally," Cashman said. "It takes an investment of time and attention." Participants bring awareness to different levels of the body, such as the physical body, the breath and thought patterns, to learn to identify less with the "emotional mind and more with the timeless, changeless spirit," she said. The practice helps train the mind to become more aware, and "feel negative emotion without judging," she said. It can also help curb impulses and agitation.

Effective not only for servicemembers suffering from PTSD or anxiety, Yoga Nidra can help train family members and caregivers to "have insight and empathy," Cashman said, "which can help keep families together."

"The key is that there is no right or wrong experience or way to experience it," she said. The next workshops are Feb. 26, March 26 and April 23. The session lasts two hours and costs just $20.

In addition to the several types of yoga class offered per week (including Yoga for Cancer Survivors, Back Care Yoga and Prenatal Yoga), Wild Arts Studio also offers yoga teacher training once a year. The course, a 14-day certification intensive that provides instruction in Radiant Health yoga techniques as well as Yoga Nidra, is approved by the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) for qualified spouses. This year's training will be held July 10 to 24, with two follow-up weekends in September.  Those who complete the course are eligible to register as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT) at the 200 level and will be nationally approved by the Yoga Alliance.

For more information about the teacher training, stop by the Wild Grace Arts Studio at 507 Cherry St. SE in Olympia or call (360) 754-3983.

For more information about Radiant Yoga, visit www.radianthealthyoga.com or www.wildgracearts.com. For more information about MyCAA visit www.militaryonesource.com.