Can Yoga Combat Increasingly High Veteran Suicide Rates?

Unfortunate new data compiled by the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and released in February 2013 indicates that the suicide rate amongst military veterans has increased to roughly 22 deaths per day – up from the rate of 18 deaths per day the department has observed in the past.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki commented on the startling results of this survey, saying, “We have more work to do.  We will use this data to continue to strengthen our suicide prevention efforts and ensure all veterans receive the care they have earned and deserve.”

However, the best way to strengthen veteran care and benefits remains the subject of heated debate.  A few of the steps taken by the VA thus far to improve access to mental health care for veterans include:

• Increasing the staffing of its crisis hotline, which the agency says has been instrumental in suicide prevention efforts.
• Expanding its staff of mental health clinicians by 1,600.
• Training as many as 800 peer-to-peer specialists who can reach out to veterans who have not yet received the mental health benefits needed to cope with the realities of combat, warfare and reintroduction to society.

But could there be an even simpler solution to the issue of increasingly high veteran suicide rates?  It’s possible that the practice of yoga could hold at least part of the answer.

Interestingly, a study of 536 Isha Yoga practitioners revealed that their experiences with the method led to substantial improvements in emotional health and well-being:

Specifically, of these 536 practitioners:

• 91% reported greater inner peace
• 87% reported improved emotional balance
• 80% reported greater mental clarity
• 79% reported increased energy levels
• 74% reported improved self confidence
• 70% reported improved concentration
• 70% reported increased productivity

Beyond this, practitioners who reported specific mental illnesses noticed surprising gains in their ability to reduce prescription medication or stop its usage altogether:

Of those suffering from clinical depression, 87% reported an overall improvement in symptoms after participating in Isha Yoga, while 25% were able to reduce their medication and 50% were able to stop taking medication entirely.

Similar results were observed in sufferers of both anxiety and insomnia.  Of the anxiety patients taking part in Isha Yoga, 86% reported an improvement in symptoms, 28% were able to reduce prescription medications and an additional 50% were able to discontinue prescription usage altogether.  Of insomnia sufferers, 73% reported seeing improvement in their conditions through Isha Yoga, while 40% were able to reduce drug usage and 30% were able to stop entirely.

So while it’s certainly short-sighted to say that the tremendous problem of veteran suicides could be eliminated entirely through the practice of Isha Yoga and the Inner Engineering program, these data points present a compelling argument for at least including yoga and other alternative medicines in the discussion about how to best treat US veterans who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts.

Considering that the cost of making yoga and meditation classes available to US war veterans will be substantially less than hiring and training qualified mental health clinicians, it’s definitely an avenue that’s worth further exploration!