Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4024 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MARCH 2017 We wear a 25-pound gun belt in a car, sit in an un- natural twisted position to type on the in-car laptop, and often have to jump out suddenly to chase a suspect followed by a physical con- frontation. The more we can do to strengthen and prepare our backs for these encounters, the better off we are. Like many other things, women were not even al- lowed to practice yoga for thousands of years. Women were not allowed to be po- lice either. But we have proven we can do the job. The belief that if a woman is doing the activity it must be easy is far beyond out- dated. I think my brother officers need to jump on the yoga bandwagon, at least for a test drive, because we practice yoga to become mentally and physical stron- ger, not to be ballerinas in hot yoga pants. Anyone who has even tried yoga one time knows that it is anything but soft. I would like to see one of my partners who can bench press hundreds of pounds try Eka Pada Koundinyasana II, or an arm-balance split. We are not going to be able to lift heavy objects, scale a fence, or fight a bad guy twice our size by doing yoga alone. But just like anything else we do involving physical fitness or survival tactics, there has to be balance. Yoga will prepare our minds and bodies to do all the hard physical things required of us by teaching us mindful- ness, breath control, and encouraging flexibility. And while I bring up flexibility, remember that the asanas are secondary to the breath and mindfulness. Maybe, just maybe, learn- ing how to make our bodies more flexible will lead to making our minds more flexible. Who doesn’t want law enforcement people to think outside the box and be men- tally flexible in ever-chang- ing situations? We all know the best laid plan can change when we face things that our out of our control. This re- quires flexibility that is often under-recognized. As far as breathing goes, yes we breathe every minute of every day. However, most of us do not use our full lung capac- ity. Yoga teaches us how to fully utilize our lungs to self-regulate and calm our nervous system. This is vital in the world of law enforcement where we may experience “fight or flight” several times in one shift, every single day we work. Some law enforcement instructors talk about “tac- tical breathing,” which is very helpful during an inci- dent, especially when that incident involves us using a handgun. Learning to breathe more deeply throughout the day and in a yoga practice when there is little to no stress will allow officers to utilize that type of breathing in stressful situations. The calmer we are, the better our fine motor skills work, and the better we make decisions. Tiffany Haston has been a patrol officer with a large police department in Indiana for 17 years. She spent time on patrol before becoming a detective in the Domestic Violence Unit. She is now an instructor, teach- ing emergency driving, domestic violence, and various other top- ics. She is also a certified yoga instructor and focuses on intro- ducing first responders to yoga. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Indianapolis. Continued from page one Yoga is good 4U There will always be people that don’t even believe that exer- cise is good for you. But thankfully there isn’t as much stigma associated with the practice of yoga as there once was. • Removes weight of duty belt off hips and lower back • Enables you to perform at maximum standards • Helps keep shirt tucked in during physical activity • No need to adjust duty belt when exiting vehicle • No need to hold duty belt when engaging in foot pursuits No more back pain The Back Defender is the only concealed belt suspension system approved for police duty WWW"ACK$EFENSE3YSTEMSCOM   (or)