Founder Feature: Brianna Renner, CEO of Veterans Yoga Project

As part of our ongoing Founder Feature series, we sit down with leaders of organizations we believe in to learn more about their role in the company, what inspires them and more. Read below for our conversation with Veterans Yoga Project CEO, Brianna Renner.

Brianna tells us about Veterans Yoga Project’s mindful resilience practice and how it helps veterans, like herself, through post-traumatic stress and recovery.

Photo by Robert Sturman

How did Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) come to life? What is the origin story?

Veterans Yoga Project was founded by Dr. Dan Libby when he was working as a postdoctoral fellow at the West Haven VA Medical Center in Connecticut. While providing psychotherapy for veterans recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 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.

Dr. Libby began incorporating the tools of mindful resilience — breathing, meditation, mindful movement, guided rest and gratitude — into his teaching practice. A profound turning point occurred when one of his veteran students shared he didn’t need his medication to sleep the night before; he meditated instead. He was inspired by how this veteran was able to harness the power of his own mind, breath, and body to create impactful change in his life. Dr. Libby realized how these practices could support post-traumatic recovery and growth in veterans, so he created the Mindful Resilience for Trauma Recovery Training to support yoga teachers and clinicians who are interested in bringing this work to other veterans. In 2010, the first “Mindful Yoga Therapy” workshop was held, and a year later in October 2011, the Veterans Yoga Project was born.

Photo by Veterans Yoga Project

Can you tell us about VYP’s programs to support recovery and resilience?

We offer four primary programs to support recovery and resilience:

1. Mindful Resilience Yoga - These classes are free for veterans, active duty, family members and caregivers, first responders, and community members.

2. Mindful Resilience for Trauma Recovery Training - This training is designed for yoga teachers and clinicians interested in bringing mindful resilience yoga to veterans, however it is a training that is open and available to all.

3. Mindful Resilience for Compassion Fatigue - This program is dedicated and designed to support caregivers through their symptoms of burnout, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue.

4. 200-hour Mindful Resilience Yoga Teacher Training - This training is for veterans who are interested in becoming VYP yoga teachers.

How does the practice of yoga and mindfulness benefit veterans recovering from PTSD?

Studies have shown that mindfulness practices such as breathing and meditation can physically change the areas of the brain that are engaged in states of fight or flight. Veterans Yoga Project incorporates evidence-informed practices that have been chosen and adapted based on clinical and neuro-scientific knowledge about post-traumatic stress and its treatment. Clinical testing was based on feedback from hundreds of veterans and active duty service members receiving treatment at residential and outpatient treatment programs.

Photo by Robert Sturman

You have been with Veterans Yoga Project in various capacities throughout the past decade. Tell us a bit about your history with the organization and any important lessons you’ve learned along the way.

I started working for Veterans Yoga Project in 2014. I began as a volunteer working with the newsletter and VYP merch. My responsibilities grew to oversee our training programs — a position I served in for 6 years. I was then promoted to COO in 2021 and was honored to step into the role of CEO at the beginning of 2023.

In my time with Veterans Yoga Project, one thing I’ve seen is how much this work matters. As a veteran who has benefitted from these practices myself, the camaraderie we share as veterans translates beautifully to a yoga practice. We breathe together, we move together, and we share space with one another in a supportive way. I am beyond grateful for all the dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly every day to support our veteran and military family community.

Our number one guiding principle is that support precedes action. We strive to be as supportive to everyone in our team utilizing resources, team meetings, open houses, and various platforms to disseminate information.

What is the most rewarding part for you about working with veterans, their families, and the military community?

Just being able to continue to serve. I was unsure of what I wanted to do with my life after the Marine Corps. When I found yoga, and eventually came to realize I wasn’t the only veteran practicing yoga, it was the most amazing revelation to know that I could bring these tools to my fellow veteran community. I have been teaching yoga at the VA for almost ten years now and it always feels like home.

What is your hope for the future of Veterans Yoga Project? How does partnership with CorePower Yoga help toward that goal?

Our hope is to be the VA Health Care system’s go-to resource and to be a recognized training and yoga entity across the country, especially as families and service members deploy.

We know that we are not prevalent in all areas of the country. Our hope is that by working with CorePower, we will be able to combine forces to create a strong, wide-reaching platform that veterans and military families can count on for their practice.

Veterans Yoga Project is on a mission to support the recovery and resilience of our veterans, military families, and communities. We are stronger together and we need your support to continue our mission. It is an honor to partner with CorePower as we bring forward this life-saving work.

To learn more about Veterans Yoga Project, visit https://veteransyogaproject.org/