bit of a time bomb, waiting to go off. john had survived the attack, but his fight was just beginning. a suggestion from a friend would introduce john to an age-old practice that would change everything for him. i take prilosec otc each morning
pentagon. your lips sealed,nergy. my father, my grandfather, uncle and other people being in the army, so. a graduate of west point. the united states military academy. john served in the army, first in germany during the cold war and saudi arabia during the first golf war. nearingly a decade in the field, john was stationed at the pent at that gan in washington, d.c. you come in, you do turn on your computer, go to meetings, you are coordinating, working on projects. i would have never have guessed that something would happen there. on september 11th, 2001, john went to work like any other normal day. at 9:37 a.m., a hijack passenger plane struck the western side of the pentagon as part of a coordinated terrorist attack
natural flight or fight response. symptoms include flashbacks, depression, for john, the weeks and months after 9/11 were ri struggle. especially as night. i was thrashing around. i was crawling out of my bed in sleep, reliving the event. and then it just plays throughout, you know, you have, you feel like there a wet blanket over you. out of the 125 people killed inside the pentagon that day, 26 of them worked on john s team. along with the ptsd, he says, survivor s guilt weighed heavily on his mind. in the physical recovery and mental recovery, so as you become more physically resilient, you re able to maybe mask things a little bit. one of the doctors said, you know, you west pointers are very good at putting things in boxing and then putting it on a shelf. so ptsd can be something of a
at the pentagon. the very place that started this entire journey for him. i have 40 to 50 people that come every thursday at noon. i think it s a big statement. when you look at someone who is working at the pentagon to give you give you an hour of their time, i think that s a big statement. inhale, rise up. john says his class is a mix of active and retired military as well as sieve inn i i willians. the va estimates as many as 20% returning from iraq and afghanistan are suffering from ptsd. downward facing dog. so in a move to cut down on prescription pain medications, the u.s. veterans health administration, incorporating yoga into alternative therapy programs to treat ptsd. it worked for john. i was excited about it. i think, you know, one of the things out of 9/11 and, you
kicking in. it s a safety mechanism for our bodies when we feel threatened or in danger. john thurmond felt that way on september 11th, 2001. he survived the terror attack, but the trauma stayed with him. john found a way to manage his posttraumatic stress disorder. he s helping others do the same. i exhale pull forward, inhale, reach your arms, and gaze up to the ceiling. exhale, stand. inhaling, arms up. this looks like your typical yoga class. students focusing on their practice. the teacher, providing instruction. then release, counter twist to the right. but this isn t just any class. john thurmond isn t just any instructor. welcome to noon yoga at the