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What is the opposite of leadership? “Burnout,” says Daniel Libby. If you are starting today with feelings of stress and overwhelm or fatigue, this conversation with Daniel Libby, Ph.D., R.Y.T., founder and executive director of the Veterans Yoga Project can help. We discuss those feelings and a few techniques to alter your neurological pathways in relieving stress and burnout. You can join in on a breathing exercise at the end of our conversation and continue with it after listening. Download
Daniel’s calming and soothing voice melted away any stress I felt before we started our conversation. We met on April 9th, 2018 when he launched the Veterans Yoga Project in the Twin Cities with yoga classes and yoga teacher training for those working with veterans. My podcast conversation with Joe Schmit has the clip from KSTP news (see Mentoring Resources). Dan lives with his wife and 6-year-old daughter, and offices in Alameda, California.
Daniel grew up in the Queens Village of New York. He describes his upbringing with his brother as latchkey kids and supported by his extended family members. He has lived in Florida, Washington, and Montana.Feathered Pipe Ranch in Helena, Montana is where Daniel found his direction in the world; body, mind, and soul as an integrative form of medicine in healing. He went from being a physical therapist and massage therapist to eventually becoming a clinical psychologist when psycho-emotional content came up as he was working on people’s bodies. Interweaving the body and mind, soul and spirit, and entrepreneurship has created a meaningful life for Daniel.
His entrepreneurial characteristics surfaced after becoming a yoga teacher. He founded the Veterans Yoga Project in 2010. He transitioned the entity into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2014 emerging as a national entity in offering yoga to veterans and their families, and yoga teacher training. 
Although Daniel is not a veteran himself, he has traced his family roots noting his Grandfather who fought in the Korean War and WWII. His Uncle Jimmy was killed in an Air Force accident about seven months after enlisting. Dan was 4-years-old at the time. That traumatic event affected his parents and subsequently, him. Scars of war linger.
Calling challenge into our lives through business ownership and innovation is stressful. Honoring our body, mind, and spirit is the best way to lead, influence others, and do excellent work. This is what Daniel believes, and so do I.
Through yoga post-traumatic stress converts to post traumatic growth where veterans and their families attune their goals to their values and master themselves. Yoga is a system for self-mastery in leadership of the mind, body, and spirit. “Breathing, moving, and resting make us more excellent,” says Dan. Simple tools can help you continue to grow as a leader like recognizing your own signs and symptoms of burnout, compassion fatigue, overwhelm, and stress.
One of the symptoms of burnout is feeling like what you are doing is ineffective or doesn’t matter. To counter burn out, we discuss celebrating wins by tracking them. I talk about my Dad achieving a goal this summer of building a cabin in the woods. The pictures below are of his round cabin and our (Matthew, Olivia, and my Mom and Dad) celebration for a 40-year goal thought to be unreachable. He finally achieved it at age 83. Way to go, Dad!!! (The stain is now finished.)
Mentoring Tips
Take-action after listening to Daniel:
- Continue mindfulness meditation that can change your nervous system, so you can manage those heavy feelings of fatigue and overwhelm. This is a way to create conditions for you to succeed.
- Check out or pay for a woman veteran to attend the September 21-25, 2018: Rest Restore & Reintegrate Healing Retreat (for women veterans only, who are recovering from PTS(D) and other trauma-related challenges) Healing Retreat
- Check out Veterans Gratitude Week in November, 2018
- Join a September WeMentor E.L.M. LAB. Click to Join a LAB
Post-Traumatic Stress to Post Traumatic Growth: Veterans Yoga Project, Episode 136 Daniel Libby, Ph.D., R.Y.T. Veterans Yoga Project
Podcast Sponsor
Resources
- Dan’s Blog
- Feathered Pipe Ranch
- I talked about the April 9th launch of the Veterans Yoga Project in the Twin Cities covered by KSTP in the podcast episode with Joe Schmit. Creating An Intentional Impact
- Role of Nature in Psycho-Physiological Stress
- Theory of Change
Podcast Guest Mentor
Daniel Libby, Ph.D., R.Y.T. Dan is the founder and Executive Director of Veterans Yoga Project. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and yoga teacher specializing in the mindful integration of evidence-based psychotherapies and complementary and alternative medicine practices for the treatment of PTS(D) and other psychological and emotional distress in active-duty military and veterans.
As a Postdoctoral Fellow with Yale University’s Department of Psychiatry and the VA’s Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Center, Dan conducted research investigating the physiological correlates of mindfulness meditation as well as the first epidemiological investigation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in VA PTSD treatment programs. He is also former Director of Clinical Services for the Starlight Military Rehabilitation Program and has taught mindfulness and yoga to hundreds of veterans and active-duty service members.
Daniel is currently a psychologist at the Oakland Vet Center in Oakland, California, where he teaches several yoga and meditation classes weekly. A graduate of the 200-hour Embodyoga® Teacher Training, Dan learned everything he ever needed to know at the Feathered Pipe Ranch, the renowned nonprofit educational foundation and yoga retreat center.
Veterans Yoga Project (2014) is a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of military veterans. Working in partnership with veterans, active-duty military personnel, student veterans’ organizations, and other non-profit organizations, VYP-trained instructors teach over 100 free yoga classes each week for veterans and their families. By providing support to all veterans, whether they are currently struggling with severe symptoms, or they are focused on increasing resilience and giving back to others, Veterans Yoga Project is doing its part to serve those who have served.
Episode 136: Post-Traumatic Stress to Post Traumatic Growth: Veterans Yoga Project
Author: Nancy A. Meyer, M.A.
Nancy A. Meyer, M.A., is a seasoned entrepreneurial leader, business and life mentor/coach/teacher, podcaster, author, and certified mindfulness yoga and meditation integrator (she integrates those skill sets into everything). Nancy’s compassionate and collaborative approach reinforces resilience while maintaining accountable conversations supporting how you redefine your lead while redesigning your business. Nancy calls this “Dual Innovation Leadership.” Nancy founded WeMentor, inc. in 1992 to change the leadership in our country by providing emerging and existing business owners with mentoring in Dual Innovation Leadership. She has mentored thousands and is eager to work with you! Assert self-leadership and get started today! Clients say, “Nancy is a compelling, engaging, and ‘decipher the trees from the forest’ kind of mentor, speaker, and leader. A dedicated entrepreneurial leader and mentor who role models what she preaches. Her style and candor enrich the content she delivers and the results clients experience.” Nancy accepts people where they are while inspiring them to breakthrough into new dimensions: As an Entrepreneurial Leader (Innovator), As a Competent Business Owner (Practitioner) As a Mentor (Role Model) As a Spiritual Being and Self-Leadership Master! Start by subscribing to WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST. Join your peers and...
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