SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco veteran once trained for war. Now, he teaches stillness at a yoga studio he opened in San Francisco’s Presidio in 2015.
Former marine Sean Silvera is using yoga to help fellow veterans release the invisible weight of combat and reconnect with themselves.
Silvera never thought yoga would take over his life, but he’s sure glad it did.
“The mindfulness part of the practice, just throwing everything down, moving with your breath, clearing all the worry, all the doubt, and all the what I should be doing or what I’m not doing anymore,” Silvera said. “A lot of that makes it so worthwhile.”
Silvera opened Baptiste Power Yoga in 2015. The Marine Platoon Sergeant was part of the first Gulf War and needed an outlet to recapture his breath and release the rigors of a six-year service career.
Road and mountain biking were too strenuous. He needed something else.
“[You] know these people aren’t my people. I’m thinking patchouli oil, incense, long flowy clothes. I’m not doing that. It’s group stretching,” he said.
But after his first class, Silvera noticed a huge personal transformation.
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“I came apart in the room,” he said. “There wasn’t that much heat since my marine core boot camp. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I would never have thought group stretching, which I thought it was, I would connect with.”
In the military, Silvera said, he was hyper-vigilant.
“You are all over the place, and a yoga practice can bring you back in and go here I am. I was here the whole time. This works and I want more of this,” Silvera said.
Helping incarcerated veterans
Local perspective:
The veteran has joined forces with the nonprofit The Prison Yoga Project.
Once a week, he teaches Power Yoga to incarcerated veterans inside San Quentin and the classes have sparked remarkable change.
“I’ve seen it. They are happier. I have seen guys coming in angry gripping their fist constantly, and often times they leave floating,” Silvera said.
He says the environment is loud and aggressive – but everyone gets along.
“It’s violent in there. It’s aggressive, segregated, and all different colors in class, and they all get along like buddies,” he said.
And it’s all thanks to a one-hour commitment once a week.
“If you need some peace, or you’re struggling with something, come to yoga,” Silvera. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’ll guarantee you give me five yoga classes, and you will be hooked for life.”
The Source: Interview with veteran Sean Silvera, who owns Baptiste Power Yoga in San Francisco.