Veteran Scott King, a DVC student, feels living in the moment is a major change he sees in himself after starting a daily yoga practice. He was asked by Todd Farr, administrator in the Student Union, to provide healing through yoga for the veterans on campus in a mindfulness stress reduction class to be held in the Student Union at noon on Nov. 10.

King said it has been over a year since a friend pressured him into going to a yoga class. His initial reaction was, “yoga is just for women,” and that he didn’t know why he was going. After the first class, he thanked the teacher from the bottom of his heart and knew yoga would become a mainstay from that moment on. He attributes his speedy recovery for not having to walk with a cane any longer to yoga.

One of the people King was lucky to have encountered in his holistic journey is psychiatrist Dan Levy who runs a Veterans’ yoga project in Oakland  and has seen some success combating depression and PTSD in veterans.

King accidentally ran into Levy around summer of 2014 and their meeting helped ease a difficult transition between military life in Germany to civilian student life here in the East Bay California.

King had served  in the army for 10 years where he was deployed to different areas from Europe.

There is an ongoing free yoga class for veterans offered by Scott King at the Martinez Veteran’s Adminsitration Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:15-2:15 p.m.. It is located in Building 21, first floor in the conference center. Any veteran, regardless to whether or not they’re registered, can walk right in, talk to the receptionist and be admitted for the hour-long class.

King said, “it wasn’t exactly like just yoga cured my life, or changing my diet, or joining a gym, but really it is the combination of all three, as well as embracing an attitude of living in the moment,” that has alleviated some of his own suffering caused in part by living through a war.

The surprising news that King shared is that everyone’s welcome and you don’t have to be a veteran or own a yoga mat to attend. Just bring yourself to the Student union on Nov. 10 and be ready for breathing, meditation and a two or more asanas.