Yoga offers incredible benefits to first responders, both physically and mentally. The practice helps to build strength, flexibility, and resilience, enabling them to better handle the physical demands of their job. Additionally, yoga helps to reduce stress, improve focus, and promote emotional well-being, which is crucial for those in high-pressure situations. Responder Resilience interviewed Wendy S. Hummell, a retired Detective, podcaster, and Sheriff’s Office Health and Wellness Manager. Wendy shares her expertise in yoga, mindfulness, and resilience to provide the support and resources responders need to thrive in their careers and beyond.
Wendy continues:
There's a quote that says something like, "Listen to your body when it whispers, so you don't have to hear it when it screams.” Our bodies are very smart and innately want us to thrive. Often, we don't give ourselves the space and time to listen to things our body is telling us, about physical issues or emotions we’re trying to suppress. We live so often from the neck up that it makes us kind of “disembodied”. That's why I like yoga so much. It gets a bottom-up and top-down approach and opens us up to listen to what's going on within. As a first responder, you take on additional wear and tear on your body and your brain, which means you need to do even more to combat that. I'm a huge fan of resilience practices, because you can build up resilience for when times get tough, such as working overnights and long shifts. What can we do ahead of time to get ourselves ready for the adversity of the job?
Many tools can help, and it's not a one-size-fits-all. Some examples might be listening to the Responder Resilience podcast, going outside in nature, or spending time with family. For some people, an effective tool is exercise. Find what brings you joy. I'm a big proponent of starting with small, incremental change; it’s a good way to not get overwhelmed.
When someone asks: “How can yoga specifically help first responders?” I think a better question is, how can it not help?
Yoga is a fully embodied experience. Probably the simplest thing is that it teaches you how to breathe. People think it's almost too easy, but when you learn how to breathe in this particular way, you're learning to take yourself out of the sympathetic stress response and into the parasympathetic stress response. It's like direct access to the calm button in your nervous system.
For first responders, stress response can look like many things. When you’re getting dispatched to an emergency call, you can begin to notice the things in your body that start to happen, like increased heart rate and breathing. When you consciously regulate your breathing and self-regulate your nervous system, it can help you perform better.
Breathing consciously to manage your nervous system also helps you get connected to your body. Many first responders talk about chronic pain, particularly in their hips, back, and shoulders. Some of that pain may not be pain from physical tissue damage, so bringing awareness to parts of your body that you don't normally pay attention to can help. People tell me that it has helped with their back pain and mobility.
Many people who've come to yoga classes over the years are runners or do martial arts, and yoga has been a perfect complementary practice for them, too.
Yoga is more than just the physical practice. There are eight different components in the framework of yoga, but only one of them is the physical postures and the physical poses. The other components have to do with the golden rule, moral codes and ethics for yourself, meditation and focus, and self-study to improve ourselves.
Today, there's often a stereotype of what yoga looks like, conjuring images of a flexible woman posing cross-legged by a pristine waterfall. But if you go back to the roots of yoga over 5,000 years ago in India, it was only used by men who were preparing mentally and physically to go to battle. It truly is a warrior tradition, and it's perfectly suited for the kind of work that first responders do.
Discover the power of yoga and its transformative effects on your mind and body. It’s a great way for first responders to prioritize self-care and reduce stress. Yoga helps you shift from the stress response to a state of calm and relaxation. It's a healthy key that can enable first responders to unlock the potential for inner peace and resilience.
ABOUT WENDY
Wendy Hummell is a seasoned law enforcement officer with nearly 25 years of experience. She retired at the rank of Detective from the Wichita Police Department where she spent a majority of her career working Persons Crimes Investigations. Wendy’s area of expertise is officer wellness, peer support, yoga, and resiliency. She currently works as the Health and Wellness Manager for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and has helped to implement a holistic wellness program at the agency. She is passionate about sharing the tools of peer support, mindfulness, yoga, and resiliency, as well as the importance of relationships, exercise, sleep, and nutrition to enhance well-being and job performance. Wendy holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. She is a certified yoga instructor and Yoga for First Responders (YFFR) Ambassador. Wendy has several articles published with Police1 on topics of trauma, wellness, and female resiliency. She is the host of the Guns and Yoga Podcast, where she has interesting conversations with those working in the area of first responder wellness, and is a resilience health coach. Website: https://wendyhummell.com/about/
Balancing Your Inner Hero with Gut Health and Digestive Wellness
By Jayne Baker, CNHP,
President of Momentum Lifestyle Consulting
In an increasingly stressful world, maintaining
balance within our mind, body and spirit is one of the stealthiest super-powers
we can possess, and something that all First Responders could benefit from both
personally and professionally. As we
begin to understand ourselves at a cellular level and learn the ways in which
we can support our body functions for an improved quality of life and mental
well-being, that balance comes much more readily. One of the best ways to start this process
is by getting the pH of our body to a healthy place. pH stands for Potential of Hydrogen, and
everything that we eat and drink contains a specific pH, which in turn has a
direct effect on us. This delicate
balance is also known as our “Speed of Life”, which is
ultimately the rate at which we are able to absorb things, whether it be food,
supplements, or medicines.
A Standard American Diet containing high
amounts of animal proteins, processed foods, sugar and alcohol has a pH of
about 5, an absolutely devastating range as this is where cancer and disease
thrive. Another danger of this low pH is
that of being outside of the ideal absorption range for Iodine, which nourishes
our thyroid, Magnesium, which helps to protect our heart, and Zinc, a great
benefactor to our immune system. When
we choose to eat a diet rich in leafy greens, low sugar fruits and lean
proteins, we not only help to keep our body balanced, but the oxygen-rich
environment is inhabitable for sickness, and lends towards increased
energy. Checking pH can be easily done
with a wide-range pH test kit, checking urine and saliva against the color
chart.
Another important step in the process of
balance is that of good gut health.
Research has shown that up to 90% of our Serotonin production happens in
our gut, and that maintaining a healthy microbiome is directly linked to
improved mental wellness. In addition to
us relying on this feel good chemical to help us through the day, this “second
brain”, or Enteric Nervous System as it’s formally called, is
also responsible for the production of good bacteria (microbiome), and has a
main job of regulating digestive functions.
If you’ve
ever felt tired after eating a meal, experienced gas or bloating, even acid
reflux, it’s
your body’s
way of telling you that your digestion could use a boost. Starting small with little things like
chewing our food to the consistency of cake batter and allowing the enzymes in
our saliva to work can help. Enzymes are
the proteins that speed up the rate of reaction in a cell, and they are
essential for life. Supplementing with a
plant-based digestive enzyme at every meal is a highly effective way to help
boost your digestive health and ease discomfort associated with poor digestion.
As our bodies become healthier and balanced,
our mind and spirit can follow suite more easily. While meditation works for many, it’s not for everyone. The important thing is to find what works for
you, the thing that you can do to quiet your mind and give you that feeling of
sustainable peace. Taking time for
yourself mentally and spiritually is no different from taking time to
physically work out, it’s
a part of the trilogy. Commanding your
mind with positive thoughts and nourishing your body and gut with the right
foods will only further your ability to bring the balance full circle. You’re
a Hero to everyone else, you deserve to be one to yourself as well.
Check out Ms. Baker's feature at the next Responder Resilience episode #39: "Voices of Resilience: Empowering Those Who Serve"
JAYNE BAKER is a
Certified Natural Health Professional specializing in gut health and digestive
wellness. Since 2011, she has worked with various First Responders around the
nation, utilizing science-base methods to help reduce the statistics around
cardiovascular disease and inflammation in the body. Momentum Lifestyle
Consulting is also a proud partner with 1st Responder Conferences in an effort
to expand their reach to as many as possible.
https://www.momentumlifestyleconsulting.com/
Step into the world of RESPONDER RESILIENCE, an insightful podcast that sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers, and law enforcement professionals. Hear firsthand accounts from our community's finest as they discuss critical issues on the job and share their experiences with hosts Lt. David Dachinger (ret.), Bonnie Rumilly LCSW/EMT and Dr. Stacy Raymond. Explore topics of mental and physical wellness with emergency services thought leaders, and get ready to be inspired and gain a deeper appreciation for their sacrifices and resilience.
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Yoga offers incredible benefits to first responders, both physically and mentally. The practice helps to build strength, flexibility, and resilience, enabling them to better handle the physical demands of their job. Additionally, yoga helps to reduce stress, improve focus, and promote emotional well-being, which is crucial for those in high-pressure situations. 
Many people who've come to yoga classes over the years are runners or do martial arts, and yoga has been a perfect complementary practice for them, too. 
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