Episode 349: Daniel Libby Passes the Leadership Baton of Veterans Yoga Project

Episode Notes

Daniel Libby, Ph.D., and I are both in transition. He is in a huge transition; mine is a blip on the Adobe Audition editing screen. We discuss his evolution that coincides with an abrupt departure from my sound technician and my quick learning to edit WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST. At the end of 2022, Dan passed the leadership baton at the Veterans Yoga Project to Brianna Renner.

Dan started 2023 as a freed-up man ready to take a 6-month sabbatical to figure out his next step. He is looking forward to self-focus and self-growth after founding and growing the Veteran’s Yoga Project (VYP) over the last 12 years. Maybe develop a private practice?

Dan was working as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Yale University Department of Psychiatry at the West Haven VA Medical Center, Connecticut. “While providing psychotherapy for veterans recovering from PTS(D), he found that those who developed empowering self-regulating practices had better outcomes — they moved through post-traumatic stress to post-traumatic growth more quickly and gracefully,” as summed up on the website. Thus, the idea for the VYP was born in 2010.

The Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) was formalized in Alameda, CA, in 2014. They are on a mission to support recovery and resilience among veterans, military families, and communities. We talk about his leadership accomplishments and the excitement for the future of VYP.

When I called Dan to let him know I was reposting our podcast conversations, he informed me of his decision to pass the baton of leadership to Brianna Renner. VYP is a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of military veterans.

By providing support to all veterans, whether they are currently struggling with severe symptoms or focused on increasing resilience and giving back to others, VYP is doing its part to serve those who have served in our armed forces. Trained instructors teach over 100 free yoga classes weekly for veterans and their families across the country. They partner with veterans, active-duty military personnel, student veterans’ organizations, and other non-profit organizations.

In October of 2022, I reposted our two 2018 podcast conversations (see Episode Resources). After re-listening to them, I was reinspired about life and leadership and heard what takes precedence your entity or its mission; and how we can create space for post-traumatic growth. Those conversations helped me as I committed to taking on the editing role of this podcast for 2023. My phone call with Dan sparked my curiosity to schedule a new podcast conversation so you can hear how Dan’s leadership baton passing is going.

In entrepreneurship, learning new things under pressure is what we do. The intensity of our emotions is ever present because we need to learn new things fast while keeping the cash flowing. In learning this new editing role, we discuss a core component of psychological well-being, frustration tolerance, and an example of how Dan works with his 10-year-old daughter as she bumps into the frustration of learning something new.

The tools of self-mastery that we learn through yoga, meditation, and breathing practices help us during these transitions and learning opportunities, so “we don’t absorb the stresses of that thing, causing us anxiety. We can stay in the present moment,” says Dan. That is the goal. Stay in charge of our emotions, not letting them control us and our behavior. We can be grounded and focused on solving problems without moving into muddled thinking or a rigid mindset. Real growth for a yogi is expanding your practice beyond the yoga mat. I had a chance to do just that.

Others we lead have feelings, too, as we problem-solve together. Dan and I chat about that.

My transition brings up a metaphor for life. It takes many attempts to communicate with a human and get into the emotional flow of connecting with another person. It doesn’t matter how many failed attempts we have. The point is to stay focused on the goal and allow ourselves and others to experience the intensity of stress and frustration without letting the emotion overpower the experience.

We can name our feelings and learn how to expand our frustration tolerance. Be patient with ourselves and others as we learn new things. It is normal to become frustrated, especially when learning under pressure. Give ourselves space to expand our emotional bandwidth and eliminate disconnecting outcomes in relationships.

Happy New Year! We are ready for 2023. Dan is celebrating his leadership accomplishments. I am celebrating the airing of editing my podcast conversation and how I led myself through that. Enjoy our conversation and the new intro and outro music. DOWNLOAD

NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.

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Episode Resources

2018 Daniel Libby Podcast Conversations

What takes precedence your entity or its mission? | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Creating Space for Post-Traumatic Growth with Dr. Daniel Libby | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring

After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities:

Take this risk or do this adventurous task: Pick your word for 2023. Then, decide how you want to expand your frustration tolerance this year or maybe this week. It could be as simple as naming your feelings as you are learning something new. When you bump up against your frustration boundary or when you have had enough, take a break. Breathe. Come back to the new thing and try a new approach. You oversee your emotional well-being and can determine how you want to expand it.

Apply Self-Compassion: Allow yourself to take charge of your emotional self. When you reach a dynamic limit, acknowledge it. Give yourself and others room to learn about yourself and how you know new things. Allow yourself to breathe and go at a pace that works for you. It is a New Year. We can begin anew.

Welcome Appreciation: “I appreciate Dan. I appreciate the life experiences that led him to launch and grow a national organization called the Veterans Yoga Project. I appreciate his integrity and his ability to realize it was time for him to pass the leadership baton of VYP to Brianna Renner. I loved relistening to our podcast conversations from 2018. They inspired me to grow through a transition with this podcast. As leaders, we assert and respond to many growth opportunities. Because of this kind of practice with starting new things, we can increase our frustration tolerance, a core component of psychological well-being. I appreciate how Dan helped us understand frustration tolerance,”

Your Turn. Start with, “I appreciate what I learned from Dan. I appreciate this week’s adventurous task because….”

“Most of the problems in our lives and world are caused by relational dysfunction, a dysfunction in how we relate: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Therefore, developing relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—is essential for personal, social, and ecological transformation.” —Melanie Joy, psychologist, author, theorist, educator

When WeMentor… your life becomes more meaningful!!! Redefine how you lead while redesigning your business. Dual Innovation Leadership WORKS.

Podcast Guest Mentor

Daniel Libby, Ph.D., R.Y.T.

Daniel is the founder and Executive Director of the 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 349: Daniel Libby Passes the Leadership Baton of Veterans Yoga Project