Veteran Programs
MLC is a VA Approved Facility
Miami Life Center is proud to share that we are a VA approved facility and teaching center for Veterans under the Ch. 31, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program.
http://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/factsheets/serviceconnected/ch31factsheet.pdf
If you wish to study with us at MLC in our Ashtanga Practitioners Intensive, please contact your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at the Veterans Benefits Administration to see if you qualify. We happily help with all correspondence.
Meet Maria, a US Air Force Veteran, and student at Miami Life Center:
After serving in the military for nine years with two deployments to Afghanistan, I decided I needed to give back to my family and myself. I needed to find internal and physical healing. I spent a lot of time in and out of doctor’s offices only to leave feeling the same with no real solution to my ailments. Although I began practicing yoga in 2009, it was not until 2012 when I decided to commit to a daily practice. The changes my body began to experience were unreal. I felt alive again. There was a shift in my approach to obstacles and growth in my spiritual life. I learned that the baggage we carry with us does not define us nor does it mean we cannot let that baggage go. The more I practiced the more I wanted to share my healing with others. I wanted to serve our community in a different capacity now. I wanted to share the gift of healing through yoga.
One lesson that stood out to me the most was through my daily MySore practice. I recall Tim gently placing his hands over my shoulders without saying anything. At that moment, I felt him telling me it was ok to relax, that I did not need to be on high alert. Being on alert and being the best version of ourselves is something that we learn in the military. However, the practice teaches us awareness and to be gentle while still striving to be the best version of ourselves. It teaches us that it is not necessary to be stiff, stern or aggressive. The practice teaches us to breathe again and to live life. By learning to live again, I am able to give back.
The Ashtanga Intensive at the Miami Life Center was transformative on so many levels. There were times I wanted to cry and times I pushed to be in perfect form. There were moments of spiritual growth but the practice always remained the same. What was changing was my physical body, my mental emotional health. Along with that change, was my spiritual growth. If there was one thing I could leave with anyone, is that yoga will teach you how to breathe again so you can learn to live your life again.
Life after the Miami Life Center
Since my training, I have taught over 316 hours of yoga. Although my training was in Ashtanga, I have also taught other disciplines such as Vinyasa Yoga, Beginners Yoga, Intermediate, Hatha Yoga, Kids Yoga and Slow Flow Yoga. I have also received training to teach yoga to veterans their family and caretakers through Warriors for Healing. I have had the pleasure of sharing the gift of yoga to children of veterans, to Team Red White and Blue (Enrich veterans lives and unite veterans with their community), and through community classes at One Heart Yoga.
“Since my training, I have taught over 316 hours of yoga. Although my training was in Ashtanga, I have also taught other disciplines such as Vinyasa Yoga, Beginners Yoga, Intermediate, Hatha Yoga, Kids Yoga and Slow Flow Yoga. ”
— Maria