It’s a cloudy, cold day in Washington, and it takes a group of vets, all from the Vietnam War era, a few minutes to unpack coats and mufflers and settle into comfortable arm chairs in a semi-circle.
The hard lives they’ve led are etched on their faces: long military service, followed in some cases by drug and alcohol abuse, economic hardship and violence. Many have been coming to this meditation group at the VA Medical Center for years; one veteran drives two hours each week to get here. For them, the sessions are a refuge.
“This is a place to get away from the outside where they don’t understand us,” said another veteran. “I feel healed just being here.”
And they know the drill: a few minutes of socializing and catching up, and then, under the guidance of teacher Karen Soltes, they quiet down as she leads them softly through body-sensing techniques. One man puts on eye shades. Others pull their Vietnam Veteran ballcaps low over their eyes. There is the soft sound of deep breathing as Soltes reminds them to feel their neck … shoulders … arms … elbows … fingers.
“As you sense different parts of your body,” she reminds them, “you feel yourself relaxing. Find your safe place, and when you feel tension you can come back to that place where you feel good. Today we want to think about intention, the heartfelt desire. What do you want to do … maybe it’s to be safe. Or to be of service.”
Veterans often return from war struggling with painful memories and emotions, and 648,000 currently receive compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Many avoid sleep for fear of nightmares, staying hyper-vigilant to minimize fear and anxiety, and using drugs or alcohol to dull their emotions. Often they suffer chronic pain from injuries and from the clenched muscles caused by stress.
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But that’s an uphill battle, said Robin Carnes, a senior yoga and meditation teacher who led yoga and meditation programs at Walter Reed for six years. Carnes, a co-founder of Warriors at Ease, said it’s difficult to find funding from military installations and communities for meditation groups.
There’s also the perception issue, she said, “a cultural divide between what people think meditation is — sitting on a mountaintop looking for nirvana — and something that has relevant and practical health benefits for servicemembers and families. That’s the challenge.”
Still, acceptance of meditation among veterans and the military is improving, says Karen Soltes, who led the group at the VA medical center in Washington. As it is, the meditation group she leads has never been given a permanent space, and veterans often get lost trying to find out where the group is meeting on a particular day.
“But eight or 10 years ago when I started, there was a lot more resistance. We’ve come light years,” she said.
For the veterans who participate, meditation can be a lifesaver. Al Crawley, 65, has been coming to the D.C. meditation group for years. He fought in Vietnam in 1969 and retired as a sergeant.
“The war is still penetrating all through us,” he said. “That’s what brought us here. I had to deal with it — it was killing me.”
