Today we’d like to introduce you to Charla Truesdale.
Charla, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It all started with my desire to bring the possibility of inner peace through yoga to veterans struggling with Post Traumatic Stress, and I had been thinking about that for years. I hold a special place in my heart for the men and women who serve so selflessly because I had lived and worked in the military community for a long time, and my husband (a First Responder) had also deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2015, in a casual conversation with my husband on the back deck of our home, the idea turned into a decision to act.
Although I had been teaching yoga since 2001, I felt I needed specialized training to do this work effectively, so I registered for a couple of training programs that just happened to be coming up soon. I started telling everyone what I wanted to do, and interesting pieces starting falling into place. Over coffee with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, who also wanted to work with veterans and rescue pit bulls as companion animals, the simple idea of teaching some yoga to veterans turned into a vision for the organization we now have. I suppose it was meant to be, because the obstacles have been few, and the doors have opened wide. We offer Yoga, Dogs, and Dirt as our three primary programs, we’ve established wonderful relationships with some incredible veterans and veteran organizations in the area, and we are so grateful every day for this opportunity to give back.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The only real struggles we’ve had involve keeping up! We’re a very small, all-volunteer organization, so as we’ve built a solid reputation, we’ve had more doors open up than we can walk through right now. I used to get really excited when an email came into my Warrior Spirit Project account, and now I just want to make sure nothing falls through the cracks!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Warrior Spirit Project – what should we know?
Warrior Spirit Project is a 501(c)(3) public charity that was founded on the premise that a broken spirit can be more harmful than a broken body. We believe that Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) is not a disorder to be managed, but is an injury receptive to healing. We focus on relationships, and our three programs (Yoga, Dogs, and Dirt) are designed to help veterans navigate that difficult transition from feeling isolated to being fully engaged in the civilian community, with meaning and purpose. Steady Warriors (Yoga) is our trauma-sensitive yoga and meditation program, which we provide in a variety of locations around the metroplex. Unlike traditional yoga classes, we focus very little on postures and more on breathing, grounding, personal choice, and meditation. Pit Bull Partners Rescue Mission (Dogs) uses our founding partner’s own pit bull pet as a therapy dog in group settings, provides opportunity for veterans to work with rescues in the local animal shelter, and can potentially partner veterans in stable situations with their own rescued pit bull for emotional support. GOOD to GrOw (Dirt) uses community gardens as a way to enhance veteran health while connecting them with the larger community in an environment of common purpose… growing good food. We love that we can do all of this as volunteers, and without cost to the veterans we serve.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We are very grateful to a friend and neighbor (and veteran spouse), Joan, who was instrumental in helping us meet the amazing veterans from Farmers Assisting Returning Military (F.A.R.M.) that first invited us to teach them yoga. And she continues to support us with her knowledge of gardening and her overall generous nature!
We love our veteran friends from F.A.R.M. who trusted us from the beginning and have become family.
We are honored to partner with Warriors at Ease… found them because of a name search early on (they claimed it first, but great minds think alike), attended their amazing yoga training program, and now serve with them as a Regional Program Coordinator in Texas for one of their grant-funded programs!
We are so thankful for Jeff and Cindy at Studio 4, Dawn at Crescent Yoga, and the staff at Brain Performance Institute who all believed in us enough to offer space for our classes!
And we are especially grateful to the volunteers who have stepped forward of their own accord, with true passion for what we do. We could not do any of this without their continued support!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.warriorspiritproject.org
- Phone:972-765-4071
- Email:charla@warriorspiritproject.org
- Instagram: @warriorspiritproject
- Facebook: @warriorspiritprojectdfw
Image Credit:
David and Charla Truesdale
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