Path of Power Veterans
For veterans and their families who are currently or have recently transitioned into civilian life
The Path of Power (POP) for veterans is a non-clinical, integrated and comprehensive program to assist in making the transition to a meaningful and fulfilling civilian life.
Overview
With a focus on education, hands-on techniques, experiential exercises, and guided reflection, this program assists veterans to better understand the mind-body connection and how it impacts other areas in their lives. The intention is to empower veterans with tools and techniques to healthily process and stabilize their own emotions, recognize and change mental patterns, constructively work through inner and outer challenges, effectively process and heal trauma, and provide options for constructive problem solving. The POP fosters personal growth, assists with more successfully maintaining and creating family relationships, builds a local community of veteran support, and provides essential coaching for the changes that come with transitioning into civilian life.
The POP has 9 parts, is taught over 3-9 months, and includes the following components:
Warrior Mind: In this section the focus is on recognizing personal mental patterns and building techniques that assist in elevating thoughts and mental clarity. These techniques include a combination of mindfulness and meditation practices that are proven to work.
Warrior Body: In this section the focus on the body’s response to trauma and ways psychosomatic stress manifests in the body. Veterans will learn a combination of movement techniques (yoga, self defense, adaptive sports) to clear imprints of trauma, balance the parasympathetic nervous system, and reduce the effects of long-term stress.
Warrior Emotions: In this section the focus is on how the mind-body connection affects emotions, and how a combination of physical movement, reflective tools, creative outlets and mindfulness techniques can restore inner balance and emotional stability.
Warrior Spirit*: In this section the focus is on finding deeper meaning in civilian life and the journey they have taken. Helping veterans identify personally meaningful activities that mindfully connect to nature, family, pets and children, they develop a deeper sense of connection to life and a larger perspective of their place in it.
*My approach to the spirit is non-sectarian and non-denominational. It includes all individuals regardless of their cultural or religious background. I do no belong to any church and I do not espouse any particular religious doctrine. My approach is based on the energetic and spiritual dimensions of life all of life, which includes the belief that we are all part of nature. My approach is grounded in life experiences showing that individuals who practice spirituality (regardless of type) are more resilient than those who do not. You are supported in whatever spiritual connection you may or may not have or desire as long at it includes tolerance, kindness, openness, understanding, inclusiveness and peace.
Using the tools learned thus far, the purpose of the “Relationships” sections is to create an internal and external environment in which the individual can thrive. Tools for each section include:
Relationship with the Self: Applying mindful awareness to notice personal destructive patterns at their onset and ways to change them; developing habits that elevate self confidence and esteem; recognizing red flags and triggers and ways to address them before they manifest in undesirable or harmful ways; improving self talk to create a healthy somatic response; finding healthy physical outlets for emotional responses.
Relationship with Family: Developing reflective and compassionate listening skills; learning ways to balance compassion for the self and others in relationship; applying emotional self regulation techniques to avoid scapegoating; building capacity to allow, notice and communicate emotions in healthful and elevating ways; increasing the ability to identify options and solutions for constructive problem solving.
Relationship with Community: Identifying personal strengths and ways to nurture, support and apply them in the community; Developing creative ways to build community including noticing the effect in-person events, social media, gaming and technology have on community building; Noticing how communal activities energize or deplete a person and creating healthy ways to balance social, family and personal time.
Relationship with the World: Developing regular intervals to reflect on the impact one has on the world; creating vision boards and goals to track progress of one’s unique and authentic journey; fostering deep personal self inquiry for developing meaning in life; creating purposeful celebrations for personal, world and life events and achievements.
Personal Power: This last section focuses on authentically applying and purposefully integrating all of the skills and tools learned into a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. This last section also focuses on a review of the entire POP program, skills learned, and allows for a large open forum to ask question. Identifying a plan of action and milestones to transform remaining challenges, gaps and transitions that need to be made will be part of this program.