EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A 25-year combat veteran is offering trauma-informed yoga classes for the Borderland’s military community, but she’s trying to extend her reach so that more people join her classes.
Isah Kushma explains why her approach to yoga is important for healing.
“Mental health is very important for everybody, not just our veteran community. It really should be viewed the same way other health care services are viewed. It is a part of who we are, our mentality, our mental state is a part of who we are. Things do not always work the way we expect them to work. So it is always good to tap into a mental health provider to just help you reset and get back on track the same way you would if you broke your ankle or you know, anything like that,” Kushma said.
As a wellness coach and yoga instructor, Kushma offers a variety of fitness classes in person and online. But as a veteran herself, that is where her passion lies, helping the veteran community with meditation, breathwork and practicing self-command.
Her yoga instructions are based on the training of the Veterans Yoga Project, which teaches evidence-informed and clinically tested yoga methods.
Kushma described how these yoga methods have helped her:
“I deal with lots and lots of anxiety and just being able to know how to tap into my breath and how to trust myself more. Because sometimes my mental health provider is not always available and I can’t just call them at any time or at 2 in the morning when I’m having an anxiety attack,” Kushma said.
In addition to helping reduce anxiety, Kushma said her yoga methods can help people manage stress better and even sleep better with guided rest.
Kushma hosts her yoga classes Thursday nights at the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Endeavors, located at 1390 George Dieter in East El Paso.
The Cohen clinic offers a variety of services for veterans and active members alike — including in–person and virtual therapy, case management, support groups, medication management, and life skills and wellness events.
“I know how difficult it is to find mental health services here. We fill the gaps, so we’re able to get clients in within a couple of weeks, and there’s very little waiting time. So if you need to get any mental health services, you can give us a call and we’ll get you in,” said Amanda Green, intake coordinator at the Cohen clinic.