Photo by Kevin Goode/Paraglide Haili Barber performs a twisted crescent lunge pose, during Thursday’s yoga class, at Dahl Physical Fitness Center, on Logistics Street. She said that taking part in yoga has help her during her transition to Fort Bragg.

For many on Fort Bragg with hectic, stressful lives, relaxation means zoning out in front of the TV at the end of the day or snatching some extra sleep on the weekend.
Unfortunately, this does little to help reduce the damaging effects of stress on the mind and body.

For a growing demographic on Fort Bragg, combating stress comes in the form of teaching the body to relax through proper yoga techniques.

The class, taught by Samantha Savard, yoga instructor and Family member, runs Monday through Thursday, 10 to 11 a.m.,at the Dahl Physical Fitness Center and is a home to many who are newly stationed here at Fort Bragg.

Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of those practicing yoga is to attain a state of perfect spiritual and physical insight between the mind and body.

“It’s stressful being in the military environment,” said Savard.

“We have all these things in our daily lives to worry about, like deployments, kids, jobs and cooking dinner, but when you come here on the mat to practice your yoga, it’s really about giving back to yourself and forgetting about everything else,” explained Savard.

“A quote that I often say in yoga is ‘the more selfish you are in your yoga practice, the more giving you can be in other areas of your life,’” said Savard. “That’s just to remind you to bring your focus inward and don’t worry about anything else so when you go out into the world, you are prepared to deal with stress and give back.”

A lot of people new to Fort Bragg use the yoga class as way to help ease their transition.

“Back home I did a lot of yoga so when I came here, one of my main goals was to find out where I fit in,” said Haili Barber a Family member. “When I first got here, it was a huge culture shock for me and taking part in yoga here really helped me.”

During yoga, students are put in various positions of comfort and discomfort while Savard instructs them to focus on relaxing various muscle groups.

“One of the things I love about yoga is that it’s all about being comfortable in an uncomfortable situation,” said Kimber Hunt, another Family member. “I love that it calms you down and really teaches you to let things roll off your back,” she said.

“I won’t miss a class. I’d rather miss work before I’d miss a class and I never miss work ever.”

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