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Wellness Coach Sonya Quijada on Benefits of Yoga Nidra

Sonya Quijada served as one of the few women paratroopers of the 82d Airborne Division. She was the first female honor graduate of the Advanced Airborne Jumpmaster School, in 1989. During her 28 years of Army duty, she was a leader in the Signal Corps, and then selected by the Special Operations Command to serve in the intelligence community.

Her life-changing assignment came from the Army Physical Fitness Research Institute, and she subsequently became a Master Resilience Trainer, in the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Program, helping Soldiers and executive leaders foster better relationships with themselves, their teammates, and family members. With her college foundation in biology and neuroscience studies, plus 20 years of yoga and mindfulness practices, Sonya became a certified wellness coach. 

She is trained in iRest Yoga Nidra healing guided meditation for anxiety, stress, insomnia, and chronic pain.

Women Fitness president, Namita Nayyar, got in touch with Sonya Quijada, Q Wellness, Certified Wellness Instructor as a part of the upcoming International Yoga Day (21 June 2022) to answer questions on the healing power of Yoga Nidra.

Namita Nayyar:

You were the first female honor graduate of the Advanced Airborne Jumpmaster School, in 1989. What all inspired you to join the U.S. Army?

Sonya Quijada:

Truthfully, I didn’t know enough when I first joined the Army to claim I was inspired – I had joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps in the spring of freshman year, as a way to pay for university. I was planning to be a neuroscientist in life. But, shortly after I signed up, the detachment sent me to Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, to learn how to exit aircraft in flight with static line parachutes.

I turned 18 while I was there, two weeks into the training. And, after successfully completing the five jumps, I returned to my ROTC headquarters very motivated to “be all I could be.” It turned out that I did very well, and I was selected as the Cadet of the Year for my region, which meant I was commissioned into the active component, instead of the reserve component, so I didn’t go to Johns Hopkins to become a neuroscientist. Instead, I became a paratrooper with the mighty 82nd Airborne Division. And that was only the beginning!

Namita Nayyar:

According to you “life-changing assignment came from the Army Physical Fitness Research Institute” Please share how your area of work changed over the years. As a Master Resilience Trainer what was your area of focus and how did it help you serve?

Sonya Quijada:

My assignment with APFRI was significant because it came after 20 years of service, and enveloped me in the concepts of whole health and the holistic approach to making choices for one’s own wellness. I was introduced to Dean Ornish, with his nutrition for heart health and longevity. It was my first tour of duty working as a yoga teacher on a military installation, and I realized the importance of bringing mindfulness and stress reduction to veterans, especially as the overseas combat surge was affecting so many of us. I fell in love with the immediate impact of the practices on the service members (and to their families) and saw first-hand the benefits to their wellbeing.

That was about the time I learned of the Department of the Army’s Master Resilience Trainer program in conjunction with the famous University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology School. I knew that was what I wanted to do. I volunteered to serve with the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Program as an additional duty, teaching their resilience curriculum to the staff and Soldiers of the U.S. Army Forces Command Headquarters.

Namita Nayyar:

With a foundation of biology and neuroscience studies, plus 20 years of yoga and mindfulness practices you went on to open your first yoga studio in Leavenworth, KS. What attracted you to yoga practice and motivated you to open up your studio?

Sonya Quijada:

I began my personal yoga practice in the early 1990s, upon the recommendation of my physical therapists after my first significant Army injury. Their advice was that I could use yoga to move my body every day to help the scar tissue and the pain. I learned my first asana sequences from Rodney Yee – remember AM/PM Yoga on VHS cassette tapes?! He was my first teacher, and he never met me. But I took the practice with me on my deployment to Haiti, which really helped me in that stressful environment. Then, in 2004, I discovered the Anusara style and fell in love with that approach to the asana. It wasn’t until 2006 that I decided to begin the svadyaya of yoga teacher training. I have been studying with incredible teachers everywhere I go since then.

After my assignment with APFRI in 2008, I went to Fort Leavenworth, and began working after hours, on my own time, as a yoga teacher specifically within the military community. That was when I realized I could serve more folks by opening my own yoga studio. It’s still in operation today; one of the first yoga teachers I hired, an Army wife, now owns and operates the studio for the community in Leavenworth, Kansas. Meanwhile, I decided to transition into the ethernet, and opened Q Wellness Online Yoga Studio, to reach the population who would not, or could not, attend a group yoga class in person.

Namita Nayyar:

You are trained in iRest Yoga Nidra healing guided meditation for anxiety, stress, insomnia, and chronic pain? Please throw some light on Yog Nidra and how it can help overcome various health issues?

Sonya Quijada:

Yes, I am a Level I certified teacher with the Integrative Restoration Institute (iRest). What I love about their Yoga Nidra process is the years of qualitative research Dr. Richard Miller has conducted to quantify in scientific terms the effects of Yoga Nidra on the neurological system. His efforts have allowed the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs to support the proven methods of easing the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and relieving the consequences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There are so many studies and efforts now in the veteran community using Yoga Nidra to treat chronic pain – it’s very satisfying to be a member of the teachers who can offer the options to those who need it in their lives.

The greatest benefit of Yoga Nidra is how it soothes the autonomic nervous system, which allows us to regulate ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically. And the ease we create with that soothing then invites the healing our bodies can do and gives space for healing to occur. The iRest Yoga Nidra method teaches practitioners to have an Inner Resource available anytime, anywhere, which supports a person’s resilience and confidence in themselves for tough situations.

Namita Nayyar:

5 practice tips for beginners starting off with yoga?

Sonya Quijada:

Hmmn… Well, first, I often explain that yoga is more than physical exercise. The media in the U.S. has really emphasized only the asana limb of yoga, and it is taking many years for many teachers in many studios to expand the public awareness of the other aspects of the yoga practice (the yamas, the niyamas, pranayama, dharana, dhyana, etc.). A regular yoga practice can really help you, even if it doesn’t include asana.

Second, I suggest that people who have never practiced asana be open-minded about what “yoga” looks like and feels like in their bodies. Most people are not the same size and shape as the popular poster images, which has generated a sense of yoga being only for the slender, young, athletic, flexible bodies. I spend a large part of my marketing explaining how asana is accessible for EVERY body, ALL shapes, ANY size, and especially beneficial for the aging, senior demographic, the former athlete, and those living with long-term injuries or chronic pain. I tell folks I teach “clunky yoga for creaky bodies” to clarify my style of movements in my online yoga classes.

Third, I tell beginners to honor their bodies and come to their asana practice with willing curiosity, but with a clear understanding of what their healthy parameters are, especially if they are trying an online yoga class for the first time (because my studio teaches all online classes for accessible yoga).

Fourth, I invite people just starting their yoga practice to build a recurring routine that works for their current lifestyle. As a wellness coach, I assist people with creating the life they want, especially if they are unhappy or dissatisfied with their situation. The key to successful change is to make little shifts that work to support your best self. 

Fifth, I challenge folks to weave their new yoga practice into their lives for at least four weeks, before deciding how (or whether) it is working for them. After a month, assess your practice, and your intentions, and adjust accordingly.

Namita Nayyar:

Your daily workout routine? How do you like to kick start your day?

Sonya Quijada:

I’ve been retired from the Army for seven years now, so I no longer have the strenuous physical training requirements of service members’ conditioning. But, I have realized that being in an aging body with injuries requires consistent strength training to manage functional fitness and mitigate chronic pain. I have added daily body mass workouts and weights routines to my long-time cardio exercise and yoga practice.

At 55 years old, I am living what one of my master’s teachers told me years ago: we have to work harder the older we get to maintain the minimum physical abilities. I tell my yoga students that our asana practice is to develop the mobility, strength, endurance, and balance we need for longevity. It takes effort to be able to live wholeheartedly.

Namita Nayyar:

The kind of diet do you follow? Foods like to incorporate into your diet and foods you like to keep to a minimum?

Sonya Quijada:

I follow a moderation diet, emphasizing the protein my body needs for muscle mass, including the vitamins I need for bone health, and with mindful awareness of the consequence of too much bread.

I break my fast with a bowl of oatmeal mixed with pepitas, walnuts, blueberries, and cinnamon, and I use smoothies often with my lunch or as my afternoon fortification. The over-50 and menopause conditions have constrained my long-time love of buttered toast, and I can no longer eat my favored croissant every day – LOL.

Namita Nayyar:

5 Trauma management tips for Women and mothers? How can yoga be beneficial for women in combat?

Sonya Quijada:

To manage trauma, I advise my clients to focus on,

  1. Practicing self-compassion; be gentle and forgiving with themselves.
  2. Make the effort to connect with others

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    , turn to friends, and family, and seek out support.
  3. It’s important to admit the feelings we feel, as much as we want to avoid the harder, tougher emotions.
  4. We have to prioritize our own self-care, especially when we are feeling the struggle of our wounds – eating nutritious meals, exercising our bodies, and allowing the opportunity for sleep.
  5. And, always, know when to seek help, to get professional assistance.

A yoga practice can be beneficial for everyone in combat by developing our self-grounding skills and providing a routine. The deep breathing techniques of the pranayama, the focus on our senses of dharana, and the mindful awareness all help lessen the body’s natural, neurological stress response, and promote the sense of ease to allow our best performance under the duress of circumstances.

Namita Nayyar:

Your Message for the upcoming International Yoga Day?

Sonya Quijada:

As I understand it, International Yoga Day began in 2015 upon approval of the United Nations General Assembly as a celebration of physical, mental, and spiritual practice upon human health, and to highlight the importance of (and the need for) yoga in our contemporary era. This year’s theme is “Yoga for Humanity,” which seems especially fitting in our communities still suffering from the consequences of the past two years of pandemic. Since yoga is a practice that creates greater personal awareness and inner peace, more people doing yoga would foster greater compassion and appreciation across humanity.

My message to you reading this article is to consider adding yoga to your lifestyle if you don’t already. And if you have a yoga practice, honor this year’s International Yoga Day by reaching out to people you know who haven’t yet explored what yoga is, and who don’t know how yoga can improve their lives. Bring someone new to one of your favorite yoga classes/teachers.

Namita Nayyar:

Quote, you live by?

Sonya Quijada:

The quote I’ve lived by the longest is from Lewis Carroll. As the Red Queen and Alice have tea, Alice says, “’ There’s no use trying. One can’t believe impossible things.’

‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’”

I was probably ten years old when I read Alice in Wonderland for the first time, and I have been believing impossible things since then. I practice every day.

To know more about Sonya Quijada:

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