CHAIR YOGA AND MEDITATION WITH
VETERANS IN A VA MEMORY WARD
VETERANS IN A VA MEMORY WARD
Sharing yoga with fellow Veterans is a gift and a passion for Rafael Rivera. His students at St. Albans Community Living Center, a department of the NY VA Harbor Healthcare System, are Veterans in the Soaring Eagles Memory Care Unit.
The stress of being an elderly Veteran struggling with memory loss, in addition to the traumas that many Veterans carry with them, is enormous. Raf offers simple chair yoga, breathing and an effective guided rest and relaxation in these classes to create a space of relaxation and healing.
The stress of being an elderly Veteran struggling with memory loss, in addition to the traumas that many Veterans carry with them, is enormous. Raf offers simple chair yoga, breathing and an effective guided rest and relaxation in these classes to create a space of relaxation and healing.
OUR TEACHER
Rafael Rivera has been a United We Om Karma Project teacher since 2016. He was the first Yogi in Residence in 2017, sharing a year of weekly practice at the Long Beach VFW. He is a Veteran of the war in Afghanistan and an Ambassador for Veterans Yoga Project.
St. Albans Community Living Center
The VA St. Albans Community Living Center provides primary care and offers specialized geriatric programs and restorative rehabilitation. Geriatric programs provide comprehensive evaluation and safe, effective management of elderly cognitively impaired veterans. An outpatient Adult Day Health Care Program and Home Based Primary Care Program exists and cares for physically disabled, medically-complicated elderly veterans who are at risk of nursing home placement or recurrent hospitalization. A comprehensive psychosocial rehabilitation Domiciliary program, providing incentive therapy, vocational counseling and independent living skills training for patients seeking to return to independent living, is provided at the VA St. Albans Community Living Center.