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A soldier at Fort Campbell moves into crescent pose in a daily yoga class.

For many wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, push-ups, pull-ups and platoon runs have become impossible. For them, the Army has been developing what it calls “enhanced” physical training.

The Army is famous, or perhaps infamous, for its high-octane drill instructors. But wounded soldiers who can no longer complete the workouts are now getting a much lower-octane version.

“Remember that there’s no judgment, no competition with yourself or with anyone around you,” says yoga instructor Hylan Hampton.

The new age music piped into this studio goes well with the black lighting. The soldiers’ tube socks glow purple as Hampton guides them through child’s pose, to cat and cow.

“Moving into our sunflower, hinging from the waist, sweeping your fingertips towards the ground,” she says.

Replacing Army PT

These dozen men and women are part of Fort Campbell’s Warrior Transition Unit. And for them, yoga has replaced the yelling of Army PT.

“In Afghanistan about a year and a half ago, I fell with an artillery round and messed my back up,” says Sgt. Shannon McClellan.

His story is typical. Amputees and burn survivors are at specialty hospitals like Walter Reed or Brooke Army Medical Center. The wounds in this yoga class are largely invisible. But the veterans are no longer fit for duty.

Occupational therapists say yoga works well for PTSD patients because of its calm atmosphere.

Spec. Michael Stefan is a combat medic with the 101st Airborne who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

“Seeing soldiers get killed, and working on them, memories and flashbacks that go along with that, this is the outcome,” Stefan says. “But now I’m at my point in life where I’m transitioning out of the Army, and I have a wife and three kids and one on the way. So now I need to take care of myself.”

A Yoga Prescription

Taking care of himself is more complicated than it use to be. Because of his medication, Stefan’s not supposed to get very sweaty. That makes exercise difficult.

And exercise is just what Stefan needs, says Lauren Geddis. She’s his occupational therapist and says yoga combines fitness and a stress reliever for her PTSD patients.

“They’re able to relax in a more appropriate way than the means that they may try at home…that’s where we get into drinking,” Geddis says. “We don’t want that.”

Across the Army, roughly two-thirds of those who enter these rehabilitation units end up getting discharged from the service for medical reasons. They’re all involved in some alternative physical training.

Those returning to duty maintain a more rigorous regimen. Soldiers who are getting out try water aerobics, golf and bowling.

“During the warmer seasons, we’ll do what’s called biathlon, which is archery combined with a kind of nature walk,” says Lt. Col. Chris Jarvis.

Jarvis commands Fort Campbell’s Warrior Transition Unit says the biathlon isn’t as leisurely as it sounds. He admits, however, some wounded veterans are reluctant to give up on traditional PT for these so-called adaptive sports.

Pentagon on Board

But the Pentagon, for one, thinks they’re the way to go, even for soldiers getting out of the Army. It started putting money directly toward these programs last year. Lt. Col. Jarvis says the payoff comes later.

“We’re really looking at a lifetime of fitness,” Jarvis says, “The emphasis is on trying to give them some sort of fitness activity that they could do for the rest of their lives.”

As for making yoga a lifelong pastime? Maybe, says Spec. Michael Stefan.

“At first, I was skeptical because I liked running six or ten miles a day, just doing it the 101st way,” he says. “But the positive thing is for me to focus on what I can do to overcome symptoms of PTSD, rather than getting stuck in a rut, self-centered, ‘oh me’ mentality, which I used to have.”

Stefan says he wants to be a “proactive” veteran, and right now that involves starfish hands. In yoga’s defense, Stefan says, don’t forget the warrior pose.

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