Returning Vets from Iraq Do...Yoga?

About three years ago--a year into the really bloody fighting in Iraq--a study
published by the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that about 1 in 8 male soldiers and 1 in 5 female soldiers return from the Iraq War with PTSD. But finding good, consistent treatment has been difficult for vets and the Veterans’ Administration has been notoriously ineffectual about exploring comprehensive and reassuring solutions. Now a few local veteran's outreach programs like this one in Boston, MA and thisthis one in Santa Cruz, CA, are offering yoga classes designed for vets with symptoms of PTSD.

The interesting connection between yoga and PTSD is the perception of stimuli in the brain. Intense combat speeds up the sensory process--producing the fight or flight response--and yoga slows it down. Another commonality: PTSD and yoga are forever. That is, they both have lasting effects.

Why doesn't the national Veteran's Administration encourage yoga and other holistic solutions to the complex and often disastrous effects of PTSD? While they recommend classic psychotherapy like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), there seems to be little incentive for vets to try alternative approaches (though, interestingly, the VA does recommend yoga for people suffering from hepatitis c).

There are many other hodge-podge resources for vets like this one, but with such a growing problem with returning vets, why isn't the VA doing more?