Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates
Courageous Leadership with Dr. Travis Yates Podcast examines what it means to be a Courageous Police Leader. Join us weekly as the concepts of Courageous Leadership are detailed along with interviews with influencers that are committed to leading with courage. You can find out more about Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates at: www.TravisYates.org
Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates
Yoga on the Frontline with Paige Arnone
When the stakes are high and the heat is on, how do our first responders keep their cool? Paige Arnone, creator of Firstgevity, joins us to share the remarkable impact of yoga on the men and women who serve in law enforcement, detailing how a partnership with the Phoenix Police Academy began a journey she could have never imagined. Paige's journey illuminates the potential of yoga to revolutionize the way our protectors manage stress and maintain fitness.
In the heart of the episode, we unpack the misconception of yoga along with the benefits that first responders can get including the reduction of injury, increase in flexibility and mental clarity. As we navigate this topic, it becomes clear that starting small can lead to big strides in overall health and job performance.
Finally, we shine a spotlight on the necessity of leadership support for wellness initiatives within law enforcement agencies. Paige emphasizes the importance of making wellness programs available to all department members, ensuring that everyone has the tools to handle the pressures of the job. Through powerful stories and testimonials, we reveal the long-term advantages of these programs—not only do they enhance active duty life, but they also pave the way for a healthier retirement. Join us to learn how a practice as ancient as yoga can bring cutting-edge benefits to those who dedicate their lives to serving and protecting.
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Working directly with people and then expanding and working with departments, and so I think you need that. You need some people who are in leadership or in a wellness coordinator position, who are forward-thinking and innovative.
Intro/Outro:Welcome to Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates, where leaders find the insights, advice and encouragement they need to lead courageously.
Travis Yates:Welcome back to the show. I'm so excited you decided to spend a few minutes with us here today and I am super stoked about today's guest. Paige Arnone is the founder of Firstg evity. It's a virtual wellness course that's designed to promote physical, mental and emotional longevity for first responders. It's completely out of the box. I love what she's done and she has graced us today with her presence. Paige, thank you so much for being here.
Paige Arnone:Hi, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Travis Yates:Well, you know, I know about what I've read online and it's super interesting to me and I'm just interested in your journey. I think you have to acknowledge this is Well, you know, I know about what I've read online and it's super interesting to me and I'm just interested in your journey Like this is. I think you have to acknowledge this is fairly unique. What you're doing is unique to first responders. It's not unique to the general population, but to first responders. This is unique.
Paige Arnone:And so I'd love to kind of hear how you ended up doing this, how you're here today, kind of what your journey was to get here. Yeah, I mean, you kind of nailed it. I think that it's not normal, but it's not widely known that cops do yoga.
Travis Yates:Or we don't tell anybody right, we just keep it a secret.
Paige Arnone:Yeah, that's true. Closeted yoga for sure.
Paige Arnone:So I actually kind of fell into it, and I think you said that earlier like how did you fall into this? And it really was by chance. I've been teaching law enforcement yoga for about six years, so it's been a while and it was never my pinpoint focus. I never out the gate saying I want to teach cops yoga, but it kind of happened organically. And so I'm from the Phoenix area, so I was teaching a free class for a city, a local city, and it was an employee wellness day and they had a gentleman there who was teaching a HIIT workout and I was teaching a stretching recovery yoga class after the HIIT training and he was a sergeant at Phoenix Regional Police Academy and so we connected through the event and he was like, hey, do you want to teach my recruit class yoga? And I was like sure, and I say, kind of, the rest is history.
Paige Arnone:But it was kind of a unique story after that because I walked into the academy and I didn't know anything about this profession or this world and I come from the yoga background and so learned a lot along the way and I had some champions and some people who believed in me and kind of brought me along. But that particular sergeant, he kind of got my foot in the door and then he was like I'm leaving, like I'm going to introduce you to people, and then I'm leaving and I was like where are you going? And he's like I'm leaving to become a firefighter, and so it's kind of like a funny, unique thing. But, um, you know, I think that everything happens the way it's supposed to and it's become my life's work now to work directly with first responders.
Travis Yates:So the Phoenix area. Yoga is probably pretty mainstream in that area. I've been to that area a lot. In regards to first responders, how difficult has it been to sort of convince them that this needs to be part of the routine? And I'll take you back to some of my experience. I brought a CrossFit gym. Well, I had a group of people but I was part of that group. We brought a CrossFit gym to a law enforcement agency. It was the first one in the state that had its own CrossFit gym and to convert them from that traditional 1970s banging the weights and power team stuff that, quite frankly, many of them still had heart issues because there wasn't a lot of wellness involved in that. They had big arms but they had sometimes unhealthy hearts and things like that and it was quite a struggle to transition them over there. Now, once they got there, they thoroughly loved it to that functional fitness model. But I have to imagine you've had some struggles along the way you've had some struggles along the way.
Paige Arnone:Yeah, I mean, I think that I'd be lying if I said like it was the easiest sell and definitely learned and have grown throughout the years. But I think there's a few different strategies. Obviously, you need some people who are championing you, you need some people who believe in it, and that's really going to help. I also think it's a good strategy to introduce these concepts at an academy level, because I do think that if you can introduce new concepts early in the career, then it's a little bit easier to continue those strategies throughout the career. It's going to be much more challenging for a 30-year or 20-year cop who has never, ever done anything like that and has never had any wellness resources prior to that. To then get them to do a new concept is going to be harder than starting from day one. But I think I've been really lucky.
Paige Arnone:Um, I wouldn't say that yoga um is super mainstream in Phoenix. Um, I definitely think it is. To a certain extent. I would say California definitely. Um, you know Colorado definitely. Um, Washington, you know States like that. But, um, I was really lucky to have some people who really believed in me and I built relationships over time and so you know word of mouth, working directly with people and then expanding and working with departments, and so I think you need that. You need some people who are, you know, in leadership or in a wellness coordinator position, who are, you know, forward thinking and innovative. But then you also need to present this in a way that is realistic and modern, and I think the approach has to be there, Like you can't walk in and start chanting or doing like any, like woo, woo, stuff, because you have a small window of opportunity.
Paige Arnone:No, no, like we're not doing crystal bowls yet, you know. So I think that there are a few strategies. I definitely think that you have to know your audience, you have to know how to present it so that it's viewed as a tool and a resource for longevity. And I think when you can present it in that way and then you can give everyone the why behind what we're doing, that's really important too. So I'm a huge component of education and trying to present this in a way where it's like hey, like this is why we're doing it, this is how it relates to you specifically in the functions of your career. These are the studies, these are the stats. You know we're going to do this in a way that's direct and beneficial and easy to get on board with.
Paige Arnone:And then, beyond that, I work with departments to work on implementation strategies that work for them, that are unique to the culture within that particular department. So I think there are a few different strategies and I've learned a lot over the years as to what works and what doesn't. But we also know and if we're being candid and honest, we also know that not everyone is going to be on board with it. We know this Not everyone is going to do yoga. There are still quite a few naysayers that I've ran into throughout the years, and I think that's okay too, just focusing your attention on the people who believe in it and trying to make a difference wherever you can.
Travis Yates:Yeah, I can remember a handful of years ago a bunch of Dallas Cowboys. In the off season there was a bunch of news articles where they started doing yoga and of course, everybody had a joke about it. But obviously there's a lot of benefit. There's a lot of research. You talk about a lot of research. You talk about the why. I know the benefits personally, but let's not assume everybody does. Let's talk about some of the benefits that first responders get out of this and it's sort of the time commitment. One of the things that I think pushes people away from wellness is hey, we got to spend an hour in the gym every day doing this, this, this and this. That's not necessarily the case, right? So let's talk about some of the benefits and sort of what it takes to reach some of those benefits.
Paige Arnone:Yeah. So I try to keep it like super simple when we're talking about benefits and how this applies to you. So one of the main things we talk about is injury prevention. I think that most people can get on board with that. You know, maybe some of the other stuff people are like. You know, I think it's a little too like out there, but I could walk into a room full of you know, first responders are full of cops and say like how many of you want your low back to feel better? And almost everyone's gonna raise their hand. So I think if we can focus on injury prevention, that's gonna be a really big winner as far as like giving the why everyone can hop on board with that. So you're exactly right. I think that a lot of people think that they have to do an hour long or a 75 minute long yoga.
Travis Yates:Or, to make it even worse, hot yoga, right Hot yoga, and the reality is too.
Paige Arnone:Everyone is so busy and most departments right now are struggling because they're short on bodies, and so there's mandatory overtime and everyone's working longer shifts and they're tired, and we know that, um, one of the top reasons for injury and law enforcement is over exertion, and so when you are working overtime, when you're working longer shifts, um, towards the end of your shift you're more likely to become injured. And so fitting an hour long yoga class into your schedule or traveling to a yoga studio that takes 20 minutes to get there, 20 minutes to get back, and then you're doing an hour long class it feels impossible with the busy schedules. And so there is a ton of research out there that states that regular yoga practice and to get the full benefits of the yoga practice two to three times a week, at least 10 minutes each session. So it is possible to still get the benefits of the yoga practice in short sessions that can fit into your schedule, and there's also a lot of research to suggest that yoga reduces the risk of injury from 25 to 30%, which is huge.
Paige Arnone:So that's one of the you know, the main things we focus on with the program is how to reduce your risk of injury and promote physical longevity. And we do this through mobility and flexibility. We want to make sure your muscles are pliable and healthy and less prone to injury. We know everyone's tight, especially if you're sitting for long periods of time, whether that's behind the desk or in the patrol car. And then, through stabilizing the small supportive muscles of the body, focusing on balance and coordination, to then again, you know, reduce risk of injury, because we also know that some of the top reasons of injury are lack of mobility and tripping and falling. So, and then you I think you said it too, but you know top injuries are going to be backs, knees and shoulders, so focusing on those two. So 25 to 30% reduction in injury is what we're seeing with yoga.
Travis Yates:Yeah, and I think, if I'm going to be honest you just said it A lot of people in first responder world is they may look muscular, they may be muscular, they may be strong, but flexibility is another story. I'm horrible in flexibility, that's what in a sense. Well, I hate yoga because I'm not good at it, because I'm not flexible, but that's probably a little bit of everybody when they start out. So kind of explain to those maybe listen to this and maybe a little bit timid because they know they're not flexible. You go touch my toes, what are you talking about? I haven't seen those in years, right, yeah? So kind of explain how you sort of because you walk, you crawl before you walk, you walk before you run kind of explain how you introduce people to this.
Paige Arnone:A hundred percent. So I always tell people like you didn't get tight overnight and you're not going to get flexible overnight, you know it's something that you have to work towards.
Paige Arnone:It's the same, as you know, going to the gym, you know you go to the gym to get stronger. You go to yoga to get more flexible or more mobile I don't usually like to use the word flexible as much, but like mobile, we want to encourage mobility in the body and I think that it's exactly what you said. Like you just have to start, you know, and two to three times a week, 10 minutes. And I think that when you hear that, it's like it feels less daunting and it feels more attainable to say, okay, hey, pre or post workout. And that's another thing too.
Paige Arnone:Like, we know that if you're already going to the gym and you're doing CrossFit or jujitsu or hit or whatever it is, you're not going to replace what you're doing with yoga, probably not going to become like a full-time yogi. Probably maybe some people will, but for the most part, everyone wants to use this as a tool to, you know, enhance what they're already doing or to regulate their stress, which we can talk about, you know, it's like a separate component of it. But, um, most people are wanting to add 10 minutes of mobility pre or post workout, and so doing something like that feels a little bit more approachable than like I need to suffer and stretch for an hour, and you know. And then also I think that the way people are stretching, if you're trying to reach your toes, you're not doing it right, you know. So there's ways that you know we can introduce this, that kind of meet you where you are.
Travis Yates:Yeah, I think that's fantastic and it's a great way to put it. And if you add it to your regular routine you already said two or three times a week Now you have a very unique way of distributing this content. Like you don't always just go in person, you have an online platform, right, Kind of explain how our audience can get a hold of that kind of what that will do for them and kind of go from there.
Paige Arnone:Yeah, so I work directly with departments. I don't do like individual use stuff, so I work with departments who are investing in their employees' wellness. So this would be for everyone sworn in civilian personnel. Most of what I do is the virtual program. I do some in-person instruction locally, but I work with agencies all across the country with the virtual component, and so it's a combination of physical yoga classes. We also have mindfulness and meditation practices, breathing exercises. Those are designed to regulate the nervous system and regulate stress, and all of it is on a 24-7 access, so everything is on demand, pre-recorded, so regardless of your shift, regardless of your role within the department, you have access to it. So again, physical classes, meditations, breathing exercises. I also work with each department, really hand in hand, to implement strategies to ensure that people are actually using the program.
Travis Yates:So if an officer's listening to this and maybe their department hasn't signed up for it, do you sell this also to individual peace officers as well?
Paige Arnone:I do not no. I work directly with the departments.
Travis Yates:I got you. I got you Because I won't name the other. There are some apps out there that aren't geared to first responders, but there's obviously apps out there that you can do some of this on. That would be fantastic.
Paige Arnone:But I didn't know that answer, but I had to ask it yeah. And I can tell you the reason why. I am trying to get the departments to invest in their employees' wellness, and the attitude previous to that was well, they can just do it on their own.
Travis Yates:Yeah.
Travis Yates:No, I think that's fantastic because there's a leadership component here. This is obviously a leadership podcast. That's why we're doing this. We need to treat our employees like athletes, and we often will treat them like athletes in a police academy, and then we just go up, we just throw them away, wash them, send them down the road, and we need to have that attitude throughout their career, because in the police academy they've invested in them to get them there. They're going to do what it takes to make sure that they're well, but something happens in many agencies once the career starts, where we tend to forget that, and so talk about the importance of leaders embracing this attitude. You're talking about where they're going to invest in their employees. We invest in a ton of technology, right. We invest in a ton of overtime, we invest in a ton of things, but investing in employees pays dividends that are astronomical, is it not?
Paige Arnone:Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think that it does start from the top. You know, in the departments I work with that have robust wellness programs and are really moving the needle when it comes to wellness and making a difference, have the buy-in and um, you know that leadership component where it's starting from the top down, leadership is doing it, they're promoting it, they're making it available to everyone. Um, so I I've a hundred percent agree with you that, um, you know there is some accountability to it for sure.
Travis Yates:Yeah, and you talk a lot about prioritizing yourself. Kind of explain to our audience what that is, because you know we oftentimes we're in the business of taking care of others and protecting others, but we oftentimes neglect the most important part of that, because if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of others. If we don't lead ourselves, we can't lead others. So kind of talk.
Paige Arnone:Yeah, I think that it's human nature to not address a problem until there's a problem. And I think that we I mean, I'm guilty of this too, and so it's not me pointing fingers I've had to reel things back in my work too, because I also have that servant mentality of like I want to help as many people as possible. And you know like I will like kill myself for this and had to say like, hey, like you know, you can't effectively do your job and you can't help others if you're not first taking care of yourself. And so I've I'm guilty of that too and I've had to reel things back and, you know, make time for my own wellness. But I do think it's human nature to not address a problem until there's a problem. And so I think that we've been very reactive in like, historically speaking. And that's when you start to see all of the stats and the issues and the numbers coming through with everything. You know injuries and cost of injuries. You know being reactive instead of proactive when it comes to physical wellness. We start to see stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, unhealthy coping mechanisms, you know suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviors, because we're not addressing problems as they come or before they come. We're being reactive to those things, and so that's where all those stats and numbers come from.
Paige Arnone:And I think you said this too about cardiovascular health as well. You know seeing the numbers for cardiac arrest and cardiovascular disease and it's because we've been so reactive. And so I think it's so important to start, you know, thinking about your wellness and then also, if you're in leadership, your department's wellness as a whole in a proactive way. How do we put in measures for stress reduction? How do we make sure that you know everyone is living long and successful careers, but then also a long and successful retirement, which I think everyone forgets about. You know, and you have these long careers, and we want to make sure that you have a long and successful retirement and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. And so I do think that it's important to not only focus on your wellness, but then the department as a whole, making sure that you're taking care of each other.
Travis Yates:Yeah, and that's why I'm always surprised when, because a lot of these police leaders at the upper ranks are not dumb people, they're pretty smart people. They wouldn't have gotten there. But they tend to sometimes forget what that return on investment is, that ORI. Whatever the cost of your program is, whatever it is, if you prevent one heart attack, if you prevent one you know shoulder, you know rotator cuff surgery, whatever it is you're saving so much money from that prevention, from that, instead of just reacting, trying to get ahead of it. And sometimes it's hard to explain that, but I need people to understand that.
Travis Yates:It's why your training dollars should not be the first to go when you have a budget crunch, because it is saving you so many things that you may not be aware of, but it's saving you so much money down the line. And obviously the program that you have is tremendous, because a lot of the things that you're getting in your program page they're not really getting anywhere else. They're not getting when they're clanging the weights around, they're not getting when they're running the sprints on the treadmills. It's given them something that really has not been incorporated in the profession before. And kind of tell us about some of the successes you've seen as you've talked to these agencies.
Paige Arnone:Yeah, so I actually I live off of testimonials and I ask, like I work with the departments hand in hand and I really value the feedback and what people are saying, because I think that's exactly what we have to look at is like are we preventing injuries? Are we improving quality of life? Are we, you know, reducing stress? You know, are we preventing burnout, things of that nature? And so, from a physical perspective, I would say the number one piece of feedback that I've personally gotten is that this has helped alleviate low back pain.
Paige Arnone:I can't tell you how many people have told me that they've had a bad back. I had someone say that they were close to medical retirement and they were able to stay on the job. So you know big testimonials about back pain. Um has been one of the number one things. Um, beyond that, um, you know, I just I get glowing reviews about being able to have the tools to breathe and just combat stress.
Paige Arnone:I think that's the number one thing that everyone is is struggling with, because you know your, your jobs, first responders, jobs are the most stressful jobs period. You know, like um, and you can't control the stress and you can't control what happens on the job and the types of calls you get and the things that you see and hear and um. But giving the tools to be able to regulate the stress and recover from the stress, I think is huge. So those are the two things being able to regulate and combat stress and then low back pain. The other thing is sleep. A lot of people are struggling to sleep, insomnia and sleep deprivation. So yoga has helped a lot of people and the program has helped a lot of people to improve their quality of sleep. So yoga has helped a lot of people and the program has helped a lot of people to improve their quality of sleep.
Travis Yates:Yeah, I know CrossFit faced a pretty incredible battle when they came on the scene, because it was completely different. People would say, oh, you're going to get hurt doing CrossFit, you're going to hurt doing this. Well, what CrossFit did and, paige, you're going to have this in no time is they were able to take these entire programs they did for these groups and they compared before and after and saw less injuries based on that, and so you're probably working with entire organizations right now that, in time, is going to be able to give you a snapshot of five years before and five years after on all these metrics you're talking about. And once you show that, I mean we're still hardheaded, but once you show that, because we know it's beneficial, it's just different. Just because it's different doesn't mean it's not beneficial. In fact, I think it's probably more beneficial than almost everything else because of that, and so because you're working with entire law enforcement agencies, are you not?
Paige Arnone:Exactly Yep.
Travis Yates:I'm very curious and this is a little bit away from the yoga part, but you know you told your story that you really didn't know much about the profession and you work with first responders in general. So I'm sure you have other clients other than law enforcement, but you weren't familiar with the profession. This Phoenix guy at the academy kind of brought you in to do this and then you've really embedded yourself within law enforcement. I see you travel in the country and you're going to go visit agencies and you're open for appointments. What was your impression of the profession before you dove into the profession? Did that change once you got involved? Because I have to imagine I haven't been a. My father was in law enforcement. Since I was a little kid I've known what law enforcement was, but so I've never been able to be that citizen and didn't know. I just watched TV and that was it. So how did your impression change in the profession once you got involved in it?
Paige Arnone:Oh, that's an interesting question. So my background is so different. I did not come from a family or a background of law enforcement not associated with any sort of first responders at all. Background of law enforcement I'm not associated with any sort of first responders at all. My parents were actually drug addicts and my dad went to prison for six years for the sale of narcotics. So I was familiar with law enforcement through the lens of my parents being incarcerated. And when my dad got out of prison he was in and out of jail for another decade. Afterwards he went straight back to using um.
Paige Arnone:He was extremely abusive and so a lot of domestic violence, and so I, you know, had experiences with law enforcement through that lens, um, and it was always a positive lens because they were always coming to help me and to like, take me out of a bad situation, um, and. And so I, I, I don't think that I had maybe, like, like I wasn't naive to the profession and I didn't have any like negative experiences at all. It was actually, you know, the reverse um to that, and but I, I think that when I started working with law enforcement I just really fell in love with them even more, like I just have met some of the best people of all time, and maybe I'm just lucky, but everyone I've come in contact has been, um, just so amazing and really like wanting to help and wanting to make a difference, and so I haven't had any negative experiences at all, but I definitely had two different perspectives, for sure.
Travis Yates:Well, I mean what you're doing. I want people to understand what you're doing. It's no secret that most pensions in law enforcement in most states are over 100% funded, which I don't even know how that happens, but let me tell you why we, when we run around and we brag about that, oh, our pension's 100%. Yeah, that's because we retire and die. That's why we don't draw the pension very long. And so what you're doing, paige, is you're giving men and women an opportunity to literally enjoy their life so much longer. It's one thing of living life, but it's one thing to enjoy your life, and so when you make them healthy, both mentally, physically and spiritually, as yoga is so attuned to doing, they're going to enjoy their life in a way that they probably couldn't imagine. And I know you're young in this journey. You said about six years into this, but I think this is only going to get bigger and better for you. I need leaders to contact you and to invest in their people. You're going to be shocked at how inexpensive it is. You're spending thousands of dollars a day on nothing. Trust me, I know what the software costs, I know what technology costs, and you brag about all of it. Let's put some of that money back to the people that are the most important in your organizations and that will pay dividends well past their career for the rest of their lives.
Travis Yates:Paige, I can't thank you enough for what you're doing, because it's bigger than just talking about. The benefits of yoga is what I'm trying to get across. This is life changing, and I know you have the testimonies to show it. To get across this is life changing and I know you have the testimonies to show it. Thank you for stepping out and to do something that really people have probably been timid to do in the past, and you have dove headfirst into sort of this scary profession people don't know a lot about. I can't thank you enough. How can they reach you and how can they talk to you about bringing you to their agency?
Paige Arnone:Yeah, so you can reach me directly. My email is page at firstjevitycom. I'm also super active on LinkedIn. I think that's how we kind of connected the first time is, you know, through LinkedIn. So you can always look me up under my name, paige Arnone, my website, firstjevitycom. I'm happy to talk to anyone and kind of go over everything. But I appreciate you so much and your support and you know I'm hoping that talk to anyone and kind of go over everything, but I appreciate you so much and your support and you know I'm hoping that you're right and that this does gain that traction and it's something that's, you know, beneficial for generations to come. So I really do appreciate you.
Travis Yates:Well, yeah, I mean, we can't afford not to be right, Paige, and thank you for being a part of that. And if you're listening, thank you for listening. And just remember, lead on and stay courageous.
Intro/Outro:Thank you for listening to Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates. We invite you to join other courageous leaders at www. travisyates. org.
