By News Staff
PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Texas first responders are using yoga to train and increase their mental resilience.
Yoga for First Responders is offering a training session through Sept. 28 at the Pflugerville Fire Department to teach first responders the philosophy behind yoga so they can use it in their daily lives to manage stress, KXAN reported.
The Yoga training sessions come after the Ruderman Family Foundation published a white paper analyzing the various factors that lead to mental health issues in first responders, including the higher-than-average suicide rates in the profession.
“Police and firefighters, when compared to the general civilian population, are at heightened risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide,” the paper read. “These findings are also relevant for EMS workers, but since many EMS workers are also firefighters, these two professions are often undistinguished in research.”