Ceasar Barajas is a well-known yoga and meditation instructor. Still, he practices every day. He says has to. 

What You Need To Know

  • Ceasar Barajas is a Navy Veteran, actor and dancer who relies on yoga and meditation to deal with anxiety

  • Ceasar Barajas helps other veterans by teaching classes on mediation and yoga through the Veteran's Yoga Project

  • Dr. Daniel Libby, a psychologist and Queens-native, founded Veterans Yoga Project nearly a decade ago after studying the impact of yoga on veterans
  • Veterans Yoga Project uses yoga and mediation to helps vets with all kinds of physical and mental traumas across the country and around the world

"Meditation is a way to sustainably live amongst all the stuff that's going on around us,” Barajas told us inside his Astoria apartment. “I’m finding myself still affected by my own anxieties and that's the key to share with people, that you are not alone.”

And that’s exactly what Barajas, a Navy veteran, does through the Veteran’s Yoga Project. For the past 5 years, he's taught yoga to veterans twice a week. He's also a performer— acting and dancing in tv, film, and the theater, but he always makes time for his fellow vets. 

"Gosh, it makes me emotional to think about because I get messages daily from people who share that I appreciate your words and your classes have done this for me. It's bringing some semblance of peace and solace to people who have been really living in their own chaotic, obstacle-filled world for years," said Barajas. 

Barajas's classes are all virtual now because of the pandemic. Both his meditation and yoga classes are on streaming platforms like NEOU, but he's still able to connect with veterans across the country and globe, including Simone Groezinger, a 17 year veteran of the German army who is also a yoga instructor. 

Groezinger knows how important meditation is for those with physical and emotional pain. 

Unlike in the U.S., there is no Veteran’s day in Germany — something veterans like her would like to see changed. 

"It would be in an important step towards honoring the men and women who serve, that is just something that does not happen here," Groezinger told us via Zoom while she did a short virtual elation with Ceasar. 

Despite their own struggles they end their mediation with reflections of gratitude, part of the Veteran's Yoga Project's mantra. 

Dr. Daniel Libby, a psychologist and Queens-native, founded the project nine years ago, after studying the effect of yoga on veterans and active-duty service members. 

"If you look at the clinical research, yoga practices are indicated for those who are dealing with chronic pain issues and they tend to be much more effective with fewer side effects than medication," said Libby.

And Barajas says these days he hopes all frontline workers and anyone feeling the strain of the pandemic should try even a few simple breaths to stay grounded, grateful and resilient.