Huffington Magazine Issue 31 | Page 35

TRAINED TO KILL, LEARNING TO BREATHE WWW.ARMY.MIL B y D AV I D W O O D OR A DECADE, troops returning from war with mental and physical trauma have been dosed with cocktails of numbing drugs and corralled into talk-therapy sessions, often with civilian clinicians who have no experience in combat and its aftereffects. ¶ But alarmingly high suicide rates among veterans, as well as domestic violence, substance abuse and unemployment, suggested to some military doctors, combat commanders and researchers that conventional treatments aren’t always enough. ¶ Now, one proven, effective treatment is gaining wide acceptance within hard-core military circles: yoga.