War Related Illness and Injury Study Center
Integrative Health & Wellness
Integrative Health and Wellness
The WRIISC Integrative Health and Wellness (IHW) Initiative offers Veteran-centered care and education to help Veterans struggling with chronic health problems. The services include yoga, mindfulness meditation, and health coaching. These services are based on scientific research showing that holistic approaches can improve Veterans' health and quality of life. Studies suggest that IHW practices are helpful in treating veterans with chronic health conditions like pain, sleep issues, anxiety, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, and fatigue.
WRIISC Integrative Health and Wellness Programs
WRIISC offers 7 weekly online yoga classes through VA Video Connect. VA clinicians can refer Veterans to these classes. If being referred through Palo Alto VA, a consult request to WRIISC Yoga Wellness is needed. For Veterans outside Palo Alto, an IFC request to WRIISC Yoga Wellness is required. Ensure "for yoga" is noted in the comment field. The classes suit Veterans of all fitness levels.
Veterans who take part in WRIISC yoga classes are periodically asked to complete a program evaluation form. The table below provides a summary of the most common symptoms endorsed by those attending WRIISC yoga classes, and the percentage of those who had symptom improvement.
Learn more about online yoga classes, the class schedule and the referral process on our Veteran Education Class page.
WRIISC offers a weekly iRest™ Yoga Nidra meditation class and monthly mindfulness meditation classes by phone for all VA-enrolled Veterans. iRest™ Yoga Nidra is a spoken word guided meditation that helps promote deep calm and awareness. Mindfulness meditation encourages awareness, compassion, and acceptance. When practiced regularly, iRest™ Yoga Nidra and mindfulness meditation can reduce stress, ease pain, improve sleep, and provide a sense of well-being and calm.
Learn more about these classes and how to join on our Veteran Education Class page.
WRIISC health coaching focuses on the whole Veteran. It provides evidence-based coaching that guides Veterans in making positive health changes that align with WRIISC’s clinical recommendations and the Veteran’s personal values and goals. Health coaching helps Veterans change behaviors using techniques like motivational interviewing and positive psychology. This approach focuses on what is going right and expands on it rather than focusing on what's wrong. Through health coaching, Veterans set long-term goals and take steps to achieve their health objectives. Health coaching is available to Veterans seen in WRIISC clinical services. For more information, refer to the WRIISC Clinical Referral Process.
WRIISC created a web-based toolkit for learning about wellness practices and Integrative Medicine tools for Veterans. The toolkit features Veterans describing their experiences of how Integrative Medicine tools and techniques may help. View the STAR Well-Kit.
WRIISC aims to develop research-driven solutions to ensure Veterans receive the best IHW support for their unique health issues. Research is key to enhancing Veterans' health by examining innovative treatments based on integrative health and wellness practices. Visit our research page to learn more about WRIISC research.
