Yoga for First Responders

Travis County ESD #2 (Pflugerville Fire Department) is excited to host a cutting-edge training for first responders around the state and beyond.

In just one shift, first responders may witness more death, trauma, loss, and destruction than the average citizen will see in a lifetime. The nationally renowned Yoga for First Responders (YFFR) program helps address the rising numbers of Post Traumatic Stress among firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement personnel, and 9-1-1 dispatchers, including an estimated increase up to 37 percent within the fire service in recent years.

The training hosted Sept. 23-28 in Pflugerville will focus on training future teachers of YFFR. First responders from these agencies will be represented: Texas Department of Public Safety, Round Rock Fire Department, Austin Fire Department, and several other organizations both inside and outside of Texas. In fact, this will be YFFR’s largest training to date. Previous trainings have been featured in national news coverage, including CBS This Morning shown here.

YFFR is a proactive skillset for processing stress, building resiliency, and enhancing job performance. It will fit in well for the Pflugerville Fire Department, which in the past few years has made holistic wellness a higher priority for firefighters – in addition to a sharpened focus on their cardiovascular health and overall physical fitness. For example, in 2016, Pflugerville established one of the only full-time health & fitness coordinator positions among like-sized fire departments in the region—a position still held by Vanessa Frost-Piedrahita.