Yoga for Shift Workers

Speaker 1 0:00

So to be actually able to sit in a practice where you can feel sensation and you can connect with the safety of your body is really , really important . And it is a practice being present in the moment because the mind gets really busy . So it is an ongoing practice of ah , my mind's wandered , let's bring the attention back to the breath , and that is a constant practice that you can also take off the mat . So I also really appreciate yoga in that respect that the techniques that you learn in a class , work , meditation , even some shapes you can take off the mat . It's very transferable into day to day life .

Speaker 2 0:40

Shift work can be brutal , but it doesn't have to be . Welcome to a healthy shift . My name is Roger Sutherland , certified nutritionist , veteran law enforcement officer and 24 seven shift worker for almost four decades . Through this podcast , I aim to educate shift workers using evidence based methods , to not only survive the rig as a shift work , but thrive . My goal is to empower shift workers to improve their health and well being so they have more energy to do the things they love .

Speaker 2 1:12

Enjoy today's show and welcome to another episode of a healthy shift podcast , and it gives me absolutely a great pleasure to welcome you to what I now call our podcast . You know what I feel about meditation . If you've been following my journey , you know that in the last 12 to 18 months , meditation has literally changed my life . What a lot of people don't understand is that meditation is literally the end result of doing yoga . So doing yoga is actually getting yourself nice and relaxed and into the position to be able to meditate . So today it gives me great pleasure to welcome Hailey Rowley to the show , and Hailey is a police veteran and a trauma trained yoga teacher and is also the co founder of Frontline Wellness , which is here in Melbourne , in Victoria . Now Hailey brings 15 years of experience as a police veteran to her role as a trauma trained yoga teacher and a co founder of Frontline Wellness In 2021, .

Speaker 2 2:19

When facing ill health retirement from policing , hailey discovered the enduring impact of yoga on recovery and on her mental wellness , and now she is a passionate advocate , and you'll hear just how passionate she is about it and why she shares the transformative gift of yoga with fellow first responders , and a lot of our listeners here are literally in Victoria and in and around Melbourne . I want you to listen to this podcast and listen to it for the value that this will give you and how simple it can be , because everybody thinks yoga oh my God , you've got to get into toilets and crop tops and you've got to do . No , it's not exactly how it goes . So , without much further ado , I'm going to welcome Hailey Rowley to the show . How are you ?

Speaker 1 3:08

Hailey , I'm very well , thank you . Thanks for having me .

Speaker 2 3:11

Yeah , and thank you so much for coming on and sharing your journey with yoga . I'm really looking forward to having a chat with you . As you are aware , or you may not be aware , but I learnt meditation in October of 2022 and it literally changed my life as far as getting rid of stress and just changing the way I was in relation to life . It really calmed me and settled me down . But what I did learn in relation to meditation when I was doing the course that I actually did was that yoga is actually the prequel into a meditation practice , and I never was aware of that until I did this course .

Speaker 2 3:48

So now what I want to do is I want to have a chat with people about around yoga , and it's going to be really interesting for a lot of people to understand , especially in today's day and age , where everyone's so burnt out , they're so overworked , they're so underpaid , they're so dealing with financial pressures in life and that , and I see yoga and meditation as a really really good help . So what I want to do is can you just tell our listeners who you are and why you actually do what you do today ?

Speaker 1 4:18

Yeah , so I'm Haley , the co-founder of Frontline Wellness , and we're a business that provides yoga practices for frontline workers . So emergency services for my current and super passionate about it

Yoga and Self-Care in Policing

Speaker 1 4:32

. Because yoga was a big part of my entry into recovery A police veteran I was in the police force for 15 years and because I found the benefits of yoga , I really wanted to share that with others .

Speaker 2 4:46

I think it's fantastic because what you've done is you've identified just how good it is for your own practice . It's the same as what I did in my nutrition space and health and well-being . I realized that this is a problem . There's got to be a way out of it , and we don't get enough education . I think we can call it , can't we Haley that ? When were you ever told , like when you started in your police journey , how to look after your body , how to look after it in all those ways and how to manage stress ? Because were you taught ?

Speaker 1 5:15

No , I think that that was a big missing thing in our training and I think that we're all taught that we were going to be exposed to a lot of things that might impact our well-being , but I'm not sure that there was anything or any tools or techniques provided for us to sort of look after ourselves .

Speaker 2 5:30

Yeah , I totally agree with that . I think one of the things is that they tell us oh , you know , this is what you signed up for . I'm going to go on a rant in relation to this , because what we're dealing with now is not what we signed up for , and I think while we're going through the training , we have so much information thrown at us . This is something that we need to have follow ups with all the time , to say hey , how are you managing your stress ? Hey , what are you doing ? These are the practices that you can do , particularly in the nutrition and stress sphere . I think in those areas there , we really need to make sure that we are looking after ourselves , because it doesn't get better by itself , does it ?

Speaker 1 6:10

No , it doesn't , and self care , looking after ourselves , is quite a hard practice because it's quite easy . In my experience , it's the first thing that will fall off , Particularly this time of year . We're in the festive season and there's lots of things going on . People get super busy , that energy shifts and self care practices are the easiest ones to chop off , so they can be quite tricky .

Speaker 2 6:32

I actually think self care is definitely one of the first things that goes , because we don't know how to say no , do we ?

Speaker 1 6:39

No , and slowing down is hard . Particularly in a yoga class or meditation , you really have to take the time to slow down and in a society that really celebrates that grind culture , that hustle and the bustle , saying hey , I want a minute to rest , is quite difficult .

Speaker 2 6:54

Agreed , and we are in a situation today where we are literally asking a lot of our brains , aren't we ? We are just one thing after the other . It's about work , it's about home , it's about financial pressures , it's about what to shop for , what to cook , what to do . Jenny wants a piece of me , karen wants a piece of me as well . Everyone wants me , and you feel like you're literally being pulled in a million directions , and this is why I wanted to talk to you about it today . When it comes to yoga as well . But before we actually go on to that , you mentioned that you've had time in the police , so what is your background and experience in policing ?

Speaker 1 7:29

So I joined when I was 20 years old , so I was the baby of my squad and I spent most of my time in Uniform in general duties and I was always really interested in people's behaviour and the culture of the organisation and so a lot of my focus was on mentoring and coaching and sort of working out the culture . I moved into the supervisor space and I ended up in leadership development , which was quite a niche sort of spot for a police officer to have , but it was a great experience as well .

Speaker 2 8:02

I bet it stands you in really good stead today as well , doesn't it ? Because you're in a position where you can actually educate and teach , so it's probably giving you a really good foundation . Would you agree with that ?

Speaker 1 8:13

Oh , absolutely for sure .

Speaker 2 8:14

Yeah , spot on . That's your background in policing . So what led you to actually doing what you're doing today ? Was there a pivotal moment ? What led you to doing that ?

Speaker 1 8:23

Yeah , look , I was ill health retired with PTSD

Misconceptions and Benefits of Yoga

Speaker 1 8:26

Two years ago . Today , in fact , yoga is quite misrepresented quite often . I was quite resistive to even heading down into the yoga path or even going to a yoga class . We see it in the movies and in the news as being something that's quite woo woo and quite bendy and flexy and pretzely and done by very pretty , very white , very thin people , and it was just something that was not on my radar .

Speaker 1 8:51

I first went to yoga after my osteopath actually said Haley , you know , I've been to this studio , I really think that you'll like it . She was quite persistent for a good couple of months before I went . Oh , okay , georgia , I will go , and I headed off to the studio and I did a yin and nidra class . So yin yoga is really slow . You hold shapes for about three to five minutes each and then yoga nidra is a it's called yogic sleep . It's a form of non sleep , deep rest , and the science will tell you that if you do about 20 minutes of yoga nidra , it sort of equals about two or three hours of sleep . And I was at a point where my body was shattered , my nervous system was shattered , and so that our class was probably the first time in a long time that I had actually stopped and had taken a breath and rested . So that was my entry into it and I did that class and I absolutely loved it and I just started exploring yoga more and more .

Speaker 1 9:53

I went to different types of classes with different teachers and Then my best friend always had yoga in her life from when she was very young and the studio that we were practicing at had their yoga teacher training coming up and I said to her you should do yoga teacher training like you'd be an amazing teacher .

Speaker 1 10:13

And then I sort of thought , oh well , this is really helped me , like I was at the stage where I'd been practicing for probably about six to twelve months and it had really been quite beneficial in my life and I saw the benefits of it and I thought , well , I'll do it too . So we both did the yoga teacher training . It was a 200 hour vinyasa training and it was a really deep dive and I did it for my own Growth and personal development . It was never supposed to be that I would end up teaching and it just so happens that you know , particularly with mental health and Just my interest in behavior and culture and people that have experienced trauma , like emergency services . We also did a trauma aware yoga teacher training as well and From that led me into a great opportunity to work with a couple of agencies and to provide free yoga for first responders .

Speaker 2 11:04

And that is literally how I picked you up and learned all about you and Erin . I was just so Alighted because I don't have a yoga background in any way whatsoever . But my partner , melissa , is a yoga instructor now too . Her journey is very similar to yours in that she just Practiced yoga , absolutely fell in love with it , couldn't get enough of yoga , went off and did a instructors course because I supported her in that , like she supported me in my study , and she's come out of it now absolutely loving it and she just fills in doing yoga as well . So I have learned a bit about yoga now . You've talked about yoga and I think this is a really important part of what you just said . If I could just unpack a few things that you said there , the vision of yoga is always very much the pretty young , thin girls that are doing yoga as well . Talk to us about that . It's actually not that way , is it ?

Speaker 1 12:00

No , it's not . I think that that representation is the westernized representation of what yoga is . And look , having said that , there's a lot of different types of yoga and when I say yoga , what I'm talking about is the physical postures of yoga and , as you just said , rog , that yoga is meditation . There's a whole lot of different areas of yoga . So the yoga classes there is a lot of different Sort of classes . The yoga that I teach is quite restorative , quite slow to quite stripped back , but then there's more dynamic , sweaty , really physically challenging yoga , so that there is plenty out there .

Speaker 2 12:35

I know when I see Melissa come home from a yoga practice if she's done I'm gonna call them some of the slow flows and things like that she comes home and she's absolutely in a space like she gets into an absolute zone . It comes home as chill as you can possibly get . That's always been very attractive to me . As , in you know , you don't have to be one of these people . I think we always look at yoga . When we look at the images of yoga , as you know , people holding these worry , opposers and wow , I couldn't possibly do that . Like that's just too much . You've touched on it .

Speaker 2 13:09

But talk about like there is completely different Styles of yoga , just like meditation . Some people need guided meditation . Some people need meditation that they just do on their own . Some people need background music . There's all sorts of different ways to open your eyes and stare at a particular object . Yoga is the same , isn't it ? There's so many different practices of yoga and you can find Literally what suits you as a person which it won't suit some people . In relation to I'm gonna call it heavy . Yeah , because I've got to be honest with you , I really don't know the terms . Talk to us about the different types of yoga . Encourage people to get in and have a go . That's what I want .

Speaker 1 13:46

Yeah , and I think with any wellness thing , you've got to find what suits you , what suits your body . You know , on any particular day I could really be feeling I just want to do . You know , I just want to chill and having said that , you can still be quite challenging because you're holding something for three to five minutes and when we do that and we put stress on the body , the mind gets really busy . So it is a practice , but there's other days that that I want to be challenged physically and I'll do a more dynamic class .

Speaker 1 14:13

I think the way that yoga is represented in Westernized culture in my experience comes quite inaccessible and I'm really passionate about making yoga accessible because it is . Yoga is for Everybody . It's not just for a particular type of body or a particular type of person , but it is for everybody . And it's sort of like how it's saying with our wellness practices . It's like talk therapy if you see psychologists and it doesn't work . You and we shop around . It's you got to find what suits you on any particular day with yoga fantastic now Shift workers , frontline first responders , frontline health and emergency services .

Speaker 2 14:52

They don't realize it , but they live in very much a sympathetic state . Can you talk about the difference between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous system and why Yoga is so beneficial on that autonomous nervous system ?

Speaker 1 15:06

So emergency services and I'll talk from a policing point of view because that's what I'm familiar with we're in a state of Alertness , because that's what you have to be right , you have to be able to be alert beyond guard . A sexy situation throughout your shift , and then that can carry on to the outside world , because You're dealing with one percent of the population 99% of the time and the world becomes very unsafe place . So in that respect , our fight flight system is always activated , so that sympathetic nervous system is generally on a lot of the time and then it can sort of crash at the other end of the day . So I look back at my journey and it was very much a soon as I would wake up I'd be activated , my fight flight mode was on and that can have all sorts of psychological and physiological responses . So you know , the heart race will increase , your anxious , your alert , your hyper vigilant all the time . So there's a lot of physiological changes in that . And then at the end of the day I'd be the opposite I would crash and not be able to engage , not be that numbing . You know that withdrawal .

Speaker 1 16:16

And so first responders generally sit in that activation state and what Yoga does , or the yoga practices . It allows us to Really tap into the other side of the nervous system , the parasympathetic nervous system , where it's more that rest and digest stage . So , whilst we need that fight flight response to keep us safe , it's a protection mechanism . But the way that we live in society these days , our body can slip into that , not just at work . So we know with first responders that that's very much an at work or Moving on from that because we're conditioned to be alert so often .

Speaker 1 16:55

But that flight flight response can actually be activated by email notifications , by Instagram notifications , by Lots of other stimulus around us . That isn't Retaining , but we can . So the window of particularly I'll talk about my experience in my nervous system that I was activated a lot of the time . So what yoga did was really allowed me to expand my capacity . So to expand my capacity for breath , for resilience , for tolerance , to be able to rest and to regulate the nervous system , which is super important in getting through life and , you know , having that resilience to deal with challenges as well .

Speaker 2 17:34

What a fantastic explanation that was , and I just want to back over that Quickly . We don't realize how much we live in a sympathetic state until we get out of it and look in doing .

Speaker 1 17:45

Absolutely like . I think I'm not gonna say the first class that I did , but the first couple of months when I was practicing yoga was the first time , and I can say this in hindsight I'm not sure if there was a pivotal moment , but it was the first time I had felt the absence of stress in my body In such a long , long time bang .

Speaker 2 18:06

And that's where I'm at today with meditation , and that's why I'm gonna do my absolute best to try and add yoga in next year for flexibility Movement and also because you have to be in that space now . The beauty of yoga is you can't possibly think about anything else while you're in that practice , can you at the time ? Well , it's literally listening to the instructor holding , doing and just being present in that moment , because you can't really think about anything else , can you ?

Speaker 1 18:35

it is a practice and for me it's not all about flexibility . I think that that's a great benefit is having that flexibility , keeping the body feeling well but it is also about having connection with our body . When we live in a heightened state , it becomes a condition . So we live in this heightened state where that's all we're sort of used to and it's quite easy to disassociate or disconnect with the body . So to be actually able to sit in a practice where you can feel sensation and you can connect with the safety of your body is really , really important . And it is a practice being present in the moment , because the mind gets really busy , so it is an ongoing practice of our minds wandered . Let's bring the attention back to the breath , and that is a constant practice that you can also take off the mat . So I also really appreciate yoga in in that respect , that the techniques that you learn in a class breath work , meditation , even some shapes you can take off the mat .

Speaker 2 19:31

It's very transferable into day-to-day life and that's what I've learned with the meditation as well , I think . Where you really notice it and I'm sure you will definitely relate to this and I know me myself , if I can just talk about my own experience here when you're driving down the road and someone cuts you off , when you're in that heightened state , you can literally lose your mind very quickly . Right , and we abuse , we take the horn , we carry on . The more you go into a meditation practice and we'll call yoga , yoga practices , well , yoga , meditation practice around that , you just get to the stage where it just gives you Hannah my instructor talked about this even though physically you can't slow down time , it seems to slow down time where you can then choose your response to it instead of flying off the handle .

Speaker 2 20:19

I thought that was a great analogy and for people who are finding that you're at work and you're on the go all the time and you're getting frustrated and you're getting angry and you know You're almost panting , you're so busy , and then you finish work , you get changed , you jump in the car and you're driving home and people are upsetting you on the road , you've got to deal with the traffic and then you get out of your car and you run inside , then you got to cook dinner and deal with the family , deal with the husband , wife , kids .

Speaker 2 20:43

You've got to get the kids to activities at Brains going a million miles an hour and I think we need to learn how to slow that down with a practice , with what we're actually doing , and I think something like yoga and meditation is something that you start and you learn . It's like training a muscle when you go into the gym that you , through repetition and progressive overload , you learn this more and more and more . And I think , if you were to look back at yourself , let's just go back four and a half years ago , to when you were probably at the peak of your stress ton . Compared to where you're at now , it's not just because you've stepped away from your policing . It's actually probably a lot of because you've learned as well how to manage your mental state .

Speaker 1 22:22

Sure , sure . When I finished up work , covid hit a couple of months later . So I went from working full time to being a primary school

Yoga and Breath Work for Stress

Speaker 1 22:29

teacher of three children throughout the COVID process . So you know , it wasn't really until , you know , the end of 2021 that I was introduced to yoga , that I really had that time to take a breath , and that's so important because it has expanded .

Speaker 1 22:44

You're talking before Rog , about that sort of immediate response . Yoga also increases that capacity to not react . It gives us the opportunity to respond and I look back and I go . I didn't realize how shattered my body and my nervous system was and I was in that fight flight response . If I look back now and I sort of think to myself , if I was just able to breathe , I wonder what impact that would have .

Speaker 1 23:14

Because there are many people that will say I don't have time for yoga , I don't have time , and it's sort of like , well , you can sit there on your phone and send a text or take a phone call . You've got time to take a breath . And so the breath work for me has been really , really important . I think breath work is probably the biggest thing for me throughout my practice that I can say , and research and science will show you the impact of the breath and what that can do over time . It's free , everyone breathes , we do it all the time and it's quite magical to be able to practice or manipulate that to support our recovery . And it's free . How good is that .

Speaker 2 23:52

I think that's the key , and I think what a lot of people don't realize is most of the things that you can do to help you are not found in supplements or found in some fad diet . They're actually free . All you got to do is learn the practice and learn how to do it , particularly the breath . Now we know through science because I was only reading this this morning the brain associates a safe place with a long breath out . And if we are in a position where and I always talk about the four , seven , eight breath I find that you can literally feel yourself swapping from one side of your autonomous nervous system into the other side very quickly . If people were to do the four seconds in the seven second hold and the eight seconds out , the safe place , and the switch occurs with the longer exhale because the brain actually associates that with a safe place . And I think this is what people need to learn to actually just do that . And , as you've quite rightly pointed out , it's free of charge and if you can literally pick your phone up , like you said , and send a text message , you can have a phone call , a conversation , you can say no to that and you can sit there and just get yourself back into a sympathetic state .

Speaker 2 25:10

I know from my own experience . I didn't realize that I was living in a severe sympathetic state . My body was in fantastic shape . I thought I felt fantastic , I looked fantastic , I'd just gone through a massive transformation . Now I was showing abs at like 57 . Everything was fantastic . I was going along really well Until I went for a walk with my partner one day and I was only two blocks away from home and I suffered a stroke and I couldn't believe it until I was rushed to hospital in a stroke ambulance .

Speaker 2 25:42

And when I got to Royal Melbourne , I was in querying everything . There was nothing to see because my body was fit and it did it . But what happened was they told me that this is because of stress . This was work related stress that had actually done it , and I thought I was on top of the game , but I clearly was not managing my stress .

Speaker 2 26:01

And this is where I want to emphasize this point . You don't know that you're stressed . You need to learn to step into a zone like a yoga zone or a meditation zone to be able to look back in and go oh my God , I didn't realize in such a bad way and that's what I did and that's where I started the business and did everything there . So why yoga ? We've spoken about the benefit because we're in that zone , but why can it really help someone on the verge of a mental health injury ? Because when we fall over and we twist our ankle or we damage a knee or something , there's something to see , there's an MRI , there's an x-ray , there's a scan that shows that it's damaged , and we don't realize that we're getting to the stage where we're on a mental health injury until we're actually diagnosed with a mental health injury . And then we think what ?

Speaker 1 26:48

So what's the benefit of yoga in prevention as far as that goes , Like you said , with your stroke Rog , you thought you were on top of the game . And I'll ask you a question Did you ever check in with your body ? No , Did you ever just say , hey , how am I feeling ? No , and I think that that's the key , because when we get into that flight response or that survival mode over time , there is that disconnect with the body , and the body is very good at communicating its needs to us . We just forget to listen and we move further and further away from checking in .

Speaker 1 27:19

It's a great modality to be able to sit , to take the time and to check in with the body I look at . When I first started yoga , it was very difficult to do that because I was so disassociated and it was really hard . Now , because I've practiced and practiced , and practiced , I can do a quick scan of my body and see where I'm at . You know , the flight mode is very much . You become shallow breath , so you're breathing your chest right . So now when I feel like I'm stressed or there's something going on that I go , ok , I'm starting to get a bit activated .

Speaker 1 27:50

I'll do a scan of my body and I'll notice most of the time , that my breath is sitting in my chest . There are many , many benefits with belly breathing , so breathing into the belly to really expand the diaphragm . So I will take a couple of deeper breaths into my belly and do an extended exhale , like you said , because the inhale is associated with increasing our heart rate , which can mimic the flight fight response , and the exhale is associated with really delving into that rest and digest that paracentrothetic nervous system . So I think that to prevent or to help in prevention , it's that connection with the body and having the body being safe and that connection point between the breath and the body and really tuning in and leaning into what your body is telling you , rather than pushing it away or not listening or moving on to the next thing .

Speaker 2 28:40

I talk about this quite a bit on my Instagram about checking in with you and your partner while you're in a stressful situation at work ,

Breathwork and Yoga for Stress Management

Speaker 2 28:47

to actually have a look at whether you're breathing through your mouth or whether you're breathing through your nose . And I think if you're a nurse and you're working in an ED department or you're at emergency services at a critical incident or a paramedic that's at a life and death situation or a fiery that's going into a burning house , if you are breathing through your mouth , you're in a sympathetic state , and when you're in a sympathetic state , you're not making good decisions . You can't make good decisions because your brain is not designed to make good decisions when that happens . So if you can just literally , like you've said , check in with yourself , stop , close your mouth and take these long breaths through your nose and long breath out through your nose , I think you'll find that you will feel yourself calm and the better decisions will come .

Speaker 2 29:34

What you've done is a great description there as well , and I think it's so , so important that we actually learn Now . We don't learn this in one session , do we ? You don't go to a yoga session or learn breath work and do one session and go . Ok , I've got this and walk away , do we ?

Speaker 1 29:50

No , it's a practice and you know I say this in my classes every week . This is a practice . So we breathe , naturally it keeps us alive . But to I don't like the word manipulate , but I can't , for the lack of better word to manipulate the breath , to really support the nervous system , is a practice . So you have to think about it . So it's something that just has to be done again and again and again . Some days with breath work is , I find it not accessible , particularly with the breath retention . Depending on what state I'm in , I find breath retention really difficult . So I often will just leave the breath retention out and focus on the extended exhales as a way to still do the practice . But again , it's that checking in with where you're at on a particular day and honing or choosing the practices that will support you best for how you're feeling that day .

Speaker 2 30:41

I hope you're enjoying the show . If you are , please don't forget to write and review once you've finished . This helps the shows reach enormously . And have you got my free ebook the Best Way to Eat on Night Shift ? Well , this is a comprehensive guide to the overnight fast , why we should fast and how to best go about it . I've even included a few recipes to help you . I've put a link to the ebook in the show notes .

Speaker 2 31:07

And are you really struggling with shift work and feel like you're just crawling from one shift to the next ? Well , I've got you . If you would like to work with me , I can coach you to thrive , not just survive , while undertaking the rigors of 24 seven shift work . I also conduct in-house live health and wellbeing seminars where I will come to your workplace and deliver evidence based information to help your wellbeing team to reduce unplanned leave and increase productivity in your workplace . I've put the links in the show notes to everything mentioned . You can find me at ahealthyshiftcom or on Instagram at a underscore healthy , underscore shift . Now let's get back to the show . How can people belly breath ? Can you just explain ? Because I know myself when I focus on it how much better my digestive tract feels Because people don't realise the impact that it actually has on your digestive tract , and there's a reason for this . Are you able to explain why a belly breath is so important and why it impacts on a digestive tract ?

Speaker 1 32:19

It impacts on a lot of things . So when we breathe into the belly and feel the belly expand , it massages our diaphragm , which is our main breathing muscle , and so this has impact all around our belly , our digestive tracts . It's the impact of that can be felt throughout the body and depending on how far people are in that survival response , it can be quite difficult to actually feel that engagement in the belly . So I would offer that if people are interested in maybe starting a practice of belly breathing , don't be concerned if you can't feel that the expansion of the belly , maybe bring your awareness to the breath and breathe in through the nose and try and feel the belly expand . You could place your hands on the belly for an added layer of awareness as well , and if you can't feel it , that's OK . Just by practicing it will create the pathways in your brain and that you will eventually be able to feel that belly expand .

Speaker 2 33:18

And if you can't feel your belly expand at the very beginning , haley , you need it , don't you ? Absolutely yeah , I think that's one of the first indicators . If you put your hand on your navel and you try to breathe down into your stomach and you can't feel it like getting there or doing that , it's a practice that you need to really practice . Everyone's now doing this . They're feeling it , they're trying to breathe into their hands , aren't they ? But that's what we want , because it's a really good indicator that you need to learn a good breath practice . But it still comes as a practice , practice , practice , practice . Practice makes perfect , and the more that you do it , then the less you'll need your hand , the more you can actually breathe down into your stomach . But let me tell you , this is a free practice and it's something that is just so enormously beneficial and impacts in so many different areas . Because if you're a person who struggles and I'll just go on my own Tangent here for a second If you're a person that struggles with diet and stress , eating and overeating , getting yourself into a parasympathetic state and managing your stress this way fixes that in most cases , because it's stress eating and you need to manage that stress , which will actually help you with your diet and your Sweet craving , so to speak , you won't have . Those people don't realize , they underestimate the impact that stress actually has on them . Now we've talked about yoga bringing such benefit to first responders .

Speaker 2 34:42

But what does yoga do to us , physiologically and also psychologically ? Now we've spoken about breath , let's talk about the actual yoga practice . I say and I've spoken to a few clients , I've also spoken to a lot of guys that I talk about oh , we need to do yoga , we need to do meditation , and they go Doing that . You know , because it's a bit happy clapper and you know I'm a bloke and I want to do this . And my answer to that is just go and do it , but don't tell anyone you're doing . And I think that's the best thing . Just go and do it and don't tell anyone , don't let anyone know you're doing it , and just go and do it and watch the difference it makes to your life . So you know what is yoga doing to us , like physiologically and also Psychologically . We've obviously covered bits and pieces here , but in specifics , just yoga in itself .

Speaker 1 35:27

So I think that yoga has many benefits and it's great to see that there is a lot of research now being done About how yoga can support Recovery and overall well-being . There is particular I'll try and stop banging on about the breath , but there's particular breath techniques that are now researched and are shown to be the most effective way , if you can catch it in the moment , to calm yourself down and To reduce stress . If you breathe in particular way , a couple of minutes every day , it will relieve stress over time . So I think , in that respect , that it can reduce anxiety , it can reduce stress . There's a whole gamut of benefits that come along with that .

Speaker 1 36:11

Choosing to rest has a huge benefit because we have that , like I said , that Hustle and bustle and that grind culture that we can no longer do that . So to have a rested body will help us in the long run . Our bodies won't break down as quick as what they do , you know . We can be healthy and find moments of joy throughout the day . I think that because the brains always hard-wired to be negative . It's always that , and if someone has a brain that's hard-wired to be positive , I'd love to have a chat to them . So the yoga practice can actually help us drop out of that busyness in the head and the negativity , the critical voice and I think particularly as emergency services We've got that added layer of Judgment because that keeps us safe . So yoga also helps to lessen that burden of that judgment and Allow or make space for things that we want more of in our life , like joy and peace and love . So it can have huge benefits all round .

Speaker 2 37:12

That's exactly right , because you touched on this before , and it's Dr Kilmarten's classic line that we're 99% of the time we're dealing with 1% of the worst of society . We start to believe that a hundred percent of society are the pits , don't we ? So we're living in that at work and then we come home and we're still living in that . Anyone that drives past or walks past our house or anyone at the shopping center , we're looking at them like they're a problem . They're part of that 99% of society and it's just not . And I think having that balance and doing something like a yoga practice and being around Light-minded people make such a difference to us to show us that there's amazing people in the world around Other than what we perceive to be that way , and I think that's great .

Speaker 2 37:58

Hailey , you've clearly seen the benefits in this so much to the stage where that you've actually

Free Yoga for First Responders

Speaker 2 38:04

provided a safe space for first responders . Now , this is how I found out about you . I think was it code 9 ptsd may have shared you or something like that . I know I've shared you a number of times now as well , because I think it's so important . I can't begin to tell our listeners how happy I was actually see this . Tell our listeners all about what you're actually doing now and how you're going about it , because I think it's really exciting .

Speaker 1 38:29

Yeah , so frontline wellness provides free yoga classes to first responders . I think it's particularly important to make yoga accessible to everybody because , like we were talking in the beginning , the westernized version of yoga is quite a privileged sport . I know that studios can cost 30 40 dollars per class and that can be highly unachievable for people . I've been lucky enough to work with a couple of organizations . Yoga on the inside , who first sponsored my first 10 week program , and Also the triple zero foundation , have been Huge supporters who have provided funding so that this can actually happen . So this wouldn't happen without those organizations . So I'm very , very grateful to have those partnerships .

Speaker 1 39:12

So I'm saying we , because my co-founder , elise , is also starting up a program . So I run free weekly classes at Frank's and Yacht Club on a Wednesday morning in Victoria and Elise is starting a Brighton class on a Thursday morning . So we just want to provide Free yoga for people to come into a space . You know yoga there's also heaps of free resources on YouTube and on the internet . I know myself I find it difficult to practice at home . So to be able to provide a space where people can come in . You know , the Frank's and Yacht Club is overlooking the Port Phillip Bay . So it's just an absolute divine spot that people can come in , take a load off , take a breath and , you know , have some movements . So we're super passionate about that , and to have these classes ongoing is something really special .

Speaker 2 39:57

The passion is very clear . I can tell you poops . They actually shared on their story yesterday the video of their space and looking out over the bay . If you want to practice yoga and you want to learn to do yoga , you could not go wrong . If you are anywhere down on the peninsula or Adding the southeastern suburbs there and you've got a position , you've got an opportunity to go . I would highly suggest that you look this up and it will go through your links and where to find you soon . But I would highly suggest that you actually do that because I think it was just Phenomenal and if I was going to learn , I would definitely be going down there . If I was closer , because I'm over in the northwestern suburbs , I would absolutely be down there doing yoga with you guys because you get it , don't you ? And I think that's the difference that because you've been in that position and you've got an understanding , you totally get it totally .

Speaker 1 40:49

Yeah , and I think that that's really important also to provide the space for People that are like-minded and I'm generalizing here , but I know that a lot of my yogis like the fact that they can walk into a space and know that people get it . So they know that I've worked the front line , I know the impact , I've been there , I've done that and so they can either choose to come in and connect with community and have a chat . Well , they can choose to come in and sit on their mat and do themselves , and they know that that's okay and they know that they're not alone in their experience . I think that that is really important to be able to provide that I do have that understanding of the impact of the work that they're doing .

Speaker 2 41:28

I could not begin to imagine , knowing my own journey and , of course , you know it as well . To have a safe space that you can go into Is worth a million dollars to you , and the fact that you offer it free just such a credit to you . I'm going to put you on the spotty and I'm going to ask you this question because I mean , I know the answer to it because I asked but the insurer or work safe work cover won't pay for Yoga classes and they won't pay for Meditation practice as well , because when I wanted to learn to meditate , to help me , I approached the insurer and I asked him if they would fund it and pay for it . They said oh , it's a bit of a hot issue . We used to , but we don't anymore . Blah , blah , blah . Now I'm not talking at a school here . This is the fact .

Speaker 2 42:12

As part of a rehabilitation , we talk about PTSD , and you and I had a bit of a chat just before we started this podcast . I would love to see the term PTSD disappear and I would love to see it replaced with PTSD I right . So instead of it being a disorder , because I think PTSD is Associated with . You are gone , you are finished , you are done and we just wash our hands of it and we just get rid of people .

Speaker 2 42:38

I would like to see it PTSD as in post traumatic stress injury , where there is an injury that can be treated , because I think I know there's different levels of PTSD at this point in time and different levels of the injury . But I would absolutely love to see it called an injury and Treated as an injury where someone might be able to not realize that they've got themselves into such a sympathetic State that their brain is fully wired all the time there's problems happening in their head all the time . That if they were to learn the balance in life , how to balance it through practices like breath work , yoga , gratitude journaling , things like that , that we could get people back To work because they would learn . Do you agree with that ?

Speaker 1 43:19

Absolutely . I agree , and I think that you hit the nail on the head . There is that PCSD is an invisible injury and it is very easy be able to say you've got a broken ankle , so you need a BCD . I am able bodied but my injury is invisible and I'm very good at putting on a front that I've got everything together . I'm quite capable , I'm quite confident , and that comes also from the conditioning of working in emergency services , where you have to hold space for everyone all of the time and you have to have that armor on .

Speaker 1 43:49

So Yoga is such a beneficial tool and I'm so glad to see that there's more studies and more research that are coming out about Not only the shapes that yoga provides , but the breath work and the meditation and all that sort of stuff . I'm really hoping that the insurers can begin to See that the research and that how impactful and how beneficial Yoga can be towards mental health and towards overall wellness . I think it's really , really important . I'm gonna say I think that we have a long , long way to go before that will happen , but I would really encourage them to have a look because , you know , I think talk therapy is a very important part of recovery and healing , but it's not everything and there needs to be a holistic approach to Recovery , and not only recovery but wellness . It can't just be particular things where people have Degrees and that gives them the credibility . I think that for people to experience yoga and to experience benefit of yoga , that should be given the credibility that it deserves .

Speaker 2 44:52

I stand and I applaud all of that because I know I had conversations with my case manager . He agrees that it should be funded , but work safe chopped it and I'm not a hundred percent sure why they couldn't see the benefit in it . I'm gonna come out and say it quite categorically and I'll put it on tape and that is . That's ignorance and I think they're not actually looking at the bigger picture of getting people back to work by supporting them with the practice of yoga , meditation and the wellness side . It needs to be a full holistic approach . It's not about you've got PTSD , you need to go and sit and talk to a therapist . Here's your medication . You need to go and talk to a therapist , that's it done . There has to be more . That's to be body movement . There has to be a balance , because I think if you go and see a Therapist , it's you and the therapist , that's it . Yoga is a community , isn't it ?

Speaker 1 45:40

It really is , and that's been a really nice space to sort of sit in and to be able to connect with community when you choose to . I think that one thing that I really want to emphasize is that it's choice . My yoga class is a choice base so people can come in and move how they want to . They're not told to do anything , and I think that that's really appreciated . So , yeah , it's a community , but when you feel up to connecting with that community . And the other thing that's just popped into my head , rodg , is that the insurers are quite happy to support gym memberships , but what I find really interesting is that doing a HIIT workout so that high intensity can release cortisol into our bodies , which is a stress response which activates the fight , fight response in our nervous system . So I find it mildly amusing , unfortunately , that they're happy to support something that can really Keep us in that survival state , but they're not willing to support something that Allows that rest and digest that we need boom , tish , fantastic .

Speaker 2 46:38

I absolutely love that . Mental health is a massive problem for our first responders now , isn't it ? Do you think it's worse now than it's ever been ? Well , if we look at some of the agencies around , particularly Australia Victoria Police , have just gone through their own work bands and written on police cars . All around at the moment is 900 members of sick 900 . And you would have to assume that a lot of those would be mental health injuries . Do you think it's worse now than it's ever been ?

Speaker 1 47:05

I want to be quite calculated about how I answer this question , Rog , because I don't want to minimise the mental health of people in the past , because I think that we have come so far in being able to talk about mental health Like you . Take us back 15 years ago , Rog , we wouldn't be having this conversation .

Speaker 2 47:21

No , we would not .

Speaker 1 47:22

I also don't want to minimise those people's experience because they weren't able to talk about it , which then just adds layers and layers of complexity and heaviness and additional impact . So what I will say is I think , through my journey in the police force , the level of accountability , the level of responsibility has increased . Technology , the way that society works with social media , dare I say it , COVID I don't think that we've really processed or grieved what that has meant in our lives . I'll probably tend to lean on the yes , I think it's gotten worse because of the way that society is . But I also don't want to minimise anyone else's experience . But I also will say that I think that COVID has given us an extra ability to shine a light on mental ill health . Still got a long way to go . So , yes , I do think it's gotten worse .

Speaker 2 48:12

In that long-winded response , yeah , that was a great response , very diplomatic , and I also want to support exactly what you've said as

Frontline Wellness and Future Plans

Speaker 2 48:18

well . I'm absolutely not discrediting . You are quite right . 15 years ago you and I would not be sitting here having this conversation because it was all swept under the mat . I started 39 years ago and it was absolutely not talked about . It was suck it up , princess , and on you go . It made us tougher , but well did it . I don't know . I honestly believe that we are literally just more aware of it now and it's more of a conversation that in places , we are talking about as well . So if anybody thought I was downplaying the past , I'm absolutely not . We are a lot more aware of it . So , as you said and you've already answered what was going to be my next question as well we haven't really processed things like COVID as well at the moment .

Speaker 2 49:00

Coming out of COVID , it was a very difficult time that we're still not even aware of how difficult it was , the impacts that it's actually having . It's put a lot of financial stress on people because of governments funding this and funding that . Spending has gone up , mortgages have gone up . There's a lot of financial pressure . Everything's gone up in price . It's just price gouged . That's a big problem now , and I think it adds a lot of stress to people , which actually highlights how important it is to start using the free activities of breath work , meditation , journal and gratitude and looking at the things that we do have and how we can go about it , instead of feeling so sorry for ourselves with the things that we haven't gotten , what we can't get access to . Okay , hailey , what a chat . My God , that was fantastic . I love it . So tell me , is there anything exciting that you would like to talk about that you've got coming up ? I mean , what's coming up in 2024 for Frontline Wellness and yourselves ?

Speaker 1 49:54

Yeah . So Frontline Wellness we're kicking off 2024 with a summer special . So we have an immersive three and a half hour event that will include a couple of movement practices that will have breath work , mini meditation , some journaling , lots of bits and pieces in there . That comes at an investment of $55 . So that's on the 24th of .

Speaker 2 50:15

That's almost free . Yeah , for three and a half hours . That's just giving it away . People aren't turning up to that and filling your room at $55 for three and a half hours of an immersive experience . They're not even trying Like seriously $55 .

Speaker 1 50:27

It'll be quite special and we'll have some lunch as well . So there's plenty of opportunity to connect with the community and to have lots of fun . And then we resume our weekly classes from the 31st of so that summer special is on the 24th of January and then our usual classes commence in Frankston on the 31st and then our new Brighton class on the 1st of February . So super exciting to get back into it after the summer break . And yeah , starting with the summer special , what better way to start 2024 ?

Speaker 2 50:54

Well , and it's a good reset time . I love the way you've done that . What better way ? Because I just hope that people listen to this and if anybody and there will be people listening to this out on the peninsula or in the southeast or even in a city Brighton's not far , it's really easy for people to get to Brighton . It's really easy for people to get to Frankston . If you're in the southeast , it's a long way from here , but it might be worth it , even if you go into this safe space that Elise and I called it Erin before , and I apologize , but Elise and Haley are running this for you , to help you , and that's what I really want people to understand . It's not about business . I know from my own perspective , you just do it for nothing to help the first responders . I mean , business has got to be business , but you just want to see your own people really start to thrive , not just survive and crawl from one shift to the next , don't you ?

Speaker 1 51:46

Absolutely , and I understand that there's apprehension with yoga . Like I said at the beginning , I was so apprehensive about going into a space . But you know , like I had a fiery come in a couple of months ago and she just had surgery but she knew that she could come into my class and just lay down for an hour and that's what she needed and that's what she did , and to be able to provide that space where people can come in and you don't have to be super flexi . There's so many misconceptions out there about what yoga is . So I encourage you , if you're curious , please come down and even if it's just to have a chat .

Speaker 2 52:15

I'll be sharing it when the time comes close , because one thing that I did forget to go over with you and I would really like to cover it now what sort of feedback have you had from your first responders are people that have actually come to your classes . It's very rewarding for you because I'm sure people will message you , they'll DM you , they'll text you , they'll do whatever . What sort of feedback have you actually had , polly ?

Speaker 1 52:36

My yogis have been very generous with the feedback that they've provided . There's lots of things that come to my mind , I think a few that stick out . One that I received yesterday was I now understand that I'm not alone in my experience , that I can heal , I can de-stress , I can de-load . One of my yogis says I feel like I've learned how to breathe again . There's lots of feedback that comes back that the day is more productive , that they feel lighter , that the bitterness in their mind , that they can start living in the present moment . It does help with things like sleep and nightmares and all of the good stuff . I've had some great feedback from people that have been really enjoying it . My class isn't going to be for everyone , but I'm super glad that people will come down and try it and I'll see them again , or I won't , and that's completely okay too .

Speaker 2 53:30

How does that make you personally feel ? I know what it's like for me from my perspective . How do you feel no-transcript Doing something like that as well ? What does it make you feel when you get that feedback ?

Speaker 1 53:41

quite humble . Actually , I my own worst critic , so I tend to take time to process feedback like that and sit with it . But yeah , I'm super humbled that I can offer people a safe place , a safe space to come in and Practice and it's some of the most meaningful work that I've done and I really , being a police officer , it's supposed to be super meaningful , but the work that I'm doing now just feels a lot different and it feels really purposeful and meaningful amazing .

Speaker 2 54:11

I feel like I can breathe again , was one comment . The other comment is I'm in a safe space . I just feel really good about it . I can process the day , I can live , I can find joy in the day . Comments like that why wouldn't you want to do this ? Like honestly , these frontline wellness are offering it to you for Nothing . For you to go and do this and just experience it , and you may find out such a long way to go . Why not go and learn about it and then go find your own practice elsewhere , because I can assure you it's definitely worth paying for to do it . Learn it properly . Don't just learn off , you know . Don't put it on the YouTube and try and do it and go . No , this doesn't work for me . Have someone watch over you and help you with it . Haley , where can people actually find you ? This is the most important part , because I really want people to click on over and give you guys a big follow . So where can they find you ?

Speaker 1 54:59

Thanks , rog . Yeah , so we're at frontline wellnesscomau and our Instagram handle is frontline underscore wellness . Underscore Oz , a US fantastic .

Speaker 2 55:10

I will put both of those links into the show notes so that people can find you with where it's going , and if people want to watch my Insta stories as well as these girls are doing their amazing stuff I will certainly be sharing it . If they've got events coming up , go and do it . You will benefit enormously from it . I'm really branching into the health of well-being . I know I'm a nutrition side , but I have identified in a very big way the body image as well as stress , causing massive problems around nutrition for frontline health and emergency services first responders , and we need to get those things under control before we can work on any sort of diet practice as well . Fantastic Haley now as a promise .

Speaker 2 55:51

What I've done here is I've just won billions of dollars in a massive big payout , and what I'm going to do is I'm going to build you or buy you a holiday house Anywhere you want in the world All right , anywhere . So you got to live in it for six months , though , so you're gonna have to kiss your practice goodbye for six months . Now you can take the husband and the kids , or you can just go alone and practice yogi for six months if you really want . That's absolutely fine . Where in the world would you want me to buy it or build it for you ?

Speaker 1 56:21

What an interesting question and very generous of you to build a , buy me a house . Look generous with your time . The beach is super important to me . It's a very , very special place . So I am Going to say anywhere that has a super awesome beach and where it's not too windy , because the Melbourne wind sort of tends to get me or riled up . So anywhere that's got a super awesome beach I'd be happy with roge .

Speaker 2 56:49

Okay , so overlooking the beach so that you can just lie in bed , hit the button and the blinds just open and you've got that . And you Obviously would want all your green babies with a big bay window so that you can practice your yoga while you're looking at at the ocean . True , perfect , that's not much to ask . I think that's more than reasonable , haley , thank you . Thank you so much for joining the dots between the stress and the meditation for us with yoga today . I absolutely love this and you know I do fully support what you're doing .

Speaker 2 57:17

I was just delighted when I saw what you were doing there with your business and I know I've spoken about that a couple of times , but I do wish you an Elise , absolutely all the best with it and I do hope that this puts it out there for people to at least dabble and try in it . It's a safe space . Majority 99% of yoga studios are a very , very safe space for everybody to go into , because everybody's doing the same thing and it's really , really important . It's like a gym where you've got string of singlets with muscles walking around sucking on protein shakes . Yoga is very , very different that way it's relaxing , it's calm and it's just fantastic . So well done on what you girls are doing , and I wish you all the very best with it .

Speaker 1 57:57

Thanks so much , roger , and thanks very much for having me . It's been a blast and that's Haley .

Speaker 2 58:00

Like goodness me , how could you not possibly want to give that a go after listening to what Haley's told you in relation to yoga , like we are in a world of hurt in emergency services and frontline health at the moment in relation to ? You know just the stress and I promise you you don't realize just how stressed you are until you step out and check in with your body and Really realize just how stressed your body is , and this is something that you can do for an Hour a week or a couple of hours a week and it will start to progressively overload and I promise you it will actually Change your life . Please go and have a look in the show notes for the links to their pages frontline wellness commau and frontline underscore wellness underscore a us Australia on Instagram and keep an eye on what they're doing and go along . One thing that we did miss in that and I had a chat with Haley about it afterwards was this those classes at Frankston and Brighton are free for you every single week . It's not just free for the first one , it's free every single week for you to go , to provide you with a safe space and if you just want to go there and Literally lie on the mat and just breathe and give your brain and your body a break , then you're more than welcome to do that .

Speaker 2 59:26

If you've got anything out of the episode , please don't hesitate , please . I ask because it supports me greatly if you would go to rate and review . So on Spotify you can go to the main page and there's three dots on the left hand side there . But once you've listened to the episode or even I'll give you a hint if you've listened to just a little bit of it , then you can actually just hit the three dots and you can rate the podcast , give it five stars . It helps me enormously .

Speaker 2 59:54

You've got no idea how much it helps on Apple . What you can do is , on your platform you're listening to go back to the main page and after you've got to the main page , scroll to the bottom

Rating and Reviewing a Podcast

Speaker 2 1:00:04

and you can actually give the podcast a rating and , if you wouldn't mind , if you've got a few minutes , just give it a little review as well , because people like you will be going to look for the podcast and Looking for a podcast to listen to . This might be just what they need and your review might just be the review that they read and go . I need this in my life . Thank you for listening . If you enjoyed this episode , be sure to subscribe so you get notified whenever a new episode is released . It would also be ever so helpful if you could leave a rating and review on the app You're currently listening on . If you want to know more about me or work with me , you can go to a healthy shiftcom . I'll catch you on the next one .