How the practice of yoga (yes, yoga) is strengthening Marines at Camp Pendleton

The dimly lighted room was mostly silent as a dozen Marines rolled up their mats and rubbed their eyes, as if awakening from a nap. Some, in fact, were. Sleep – something that can be very difficult for combat veteran Marines – is a common byproduct of the new yoga program at Camp Pendleton. A part of Navy Medicine’s expanding Holistic Health Program, the yoga course is quickly gaining in popularity among Marines, particularly those with stress, anxiety and PTSD. Today’s class was specifically designed for those suffering from anxiety and stress and focused on relaxation and breathing.

“It helps take away the chaos in my day.”

Pvt. Donald Faulkner, who stands well over six feet, doesn’t look like the stereotypical yoga devotee. But after six weeks in the program, he’s sold. “I had heard the stereotypes, but I came into the program with an open mind and took what I could from it. Never hurts to try anything once,” says Faulkner.

“It makes me more relaxed, concentrated and focused. Gets my anxiety down and makes my day go more smoothly. It helps you concentrate on the here and now. Especially for people with PTSD - you’re not focused on the past, not worried about the future. You’re concerned with the here and now.”

Yoga’s benefits are quickly realized. Sgt. Justin Noel, who found the class through his therapist at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, felt the results immediately. “This is my first day,” he says. “I got a little of both spiritual and physical out of it. It helps you find yourself spiritually and stabilize yourself physically.”

Cpl. William Attwood has experienced relief in more ways than one. He’s sleeping better, his energy has improved and he feels less pain borne from a car accident in 2004. Most importantly, he says, his “anger is much better.” Attwood thought enough of the class to invite Lance Cpl. Tyler Weatherford, who after only two classes was ready to also recommend it to other Marines. “It’s relaxing and therapeutic and helps the overall well-being of anyone who comes,” he says.

Staff Sgt. Adam Vickery, a Marine with the Wounded Warrior Battalion, is perhaps the group’s most ardent believer. “I love it. It’s the most relaxing portion of my day. I started doing it once a week, and now I do it every morning at home,” says Vickery. “I recommend it to anyone, especially my junior Marines. It’s easy to start and benefits both mind and body. It helps endurance, strength building. I’ve been injured several times, I have two new elbows and a new knee and through yoga I’ve been able to get 100 percent motion.

“It helps take away some of the chaos in my day. I can focus harder on the mission.”

“Sometimes the best excuses not to try it are the best reasons to start.”

J. Haunani Chong Drake, having recently arrived at Camp Pendleton with her Marine infantry officer husband, jumped at the chance to teach the new yoga program. An experienced yoga instructor and licensed acupuncturist, Drake beams when talking about the benefits of holistic practices, and she envisions the day when “all military medical installations will have integrated programs like the one at Camp Pendleton.”

Since November, Drake has been teaching seven classes per week. All are based on Hatha yoga, which incorporates movements and stretches to pair the physical aspects of yoga with the spiritual ones. “We always incorporate breath,” says Drake. “That’s the key to yoga and what differentiates it from other activities.”

Though the yoga program at Camp Pendleton is still in its infancy, Drake has witnessed many skeptics quickly become believers. “I always ask first-timers about their preconceived notions about yoga. And I always get similar answers: ‘It’s hippie. It’s for girls. It’s gonna hurt. I’m not flexible. I can’t calm my mind.’

“I always tell them: If you’re not flexible or can’t calm your mind, those are great reasons to start yoga!” The majority of participants in today’s class, she says, were original skeptics who have realized results and keep returning.

“They have an unconscious awareness of not feeling safe.”

Much of Drake’s class is focused on the breath. “A lot of these guys have experienced combat stress and have an unconscious awareness of not feeling safe,” she says. “The mind brings them back to memories and traumas and experiences. When we have them focus on their breath, it prevents the mind from constantly going back to those memories.”

Drake designs the course to focus on the relation of mind and body, even encouraging the Marines to fall asleep. The last 20 minutes of the hour-long class are dedicated to “guided relaxation” techniques. The quietness of the room is interrupted only by the occasional snore during this period. Drake teaches another class focused on increasing physical readiness, and one designed to alleviate chronic pain.

“Comprehensive, complementary alternative medicine has a lot to offer.”

Though the Holistic Health Program has produced successful and worthy outcomes, therapies like yoga and acupuncture will not supplant the more traditional, evidence-based mental health treatments available to Sailors and Marines. U.S. Public Health Service Cmdr. Emily Streeter, treatment programs division officer at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, says yoga and other alternative treatments are part of a comprehensive approach to mental health.

“Yoga serves as adjunctive therapy to mental health therapy that Marines and Sailors receive through the clinic,” says Streeter. “The purpose is to help them in those areas where regular mental health is not as useful. Relaxation and meditation are things that we’ve been teaching our patients in psychology for many, many years. Practices like yoga give Marines an additional tool to these things on their own.”

Streeter and others are impressed with the results they have seen so far. Marines participating in the Holistic Health Program are reporting lower stress, anxiety and a reduced reliance on pain medications.

“I’d like to see these programs rolled out Navy-wide,” says Streeter. “We can find a way to reach everyone and get our Sailors and Marines to be whole again.”