WARRIORS
POSE
Once dismissed as mere acrobatics with incense, yoga has
been found to help ease the
pain, stiffness, anger, night terrors, memory lapses, anxiety
and depression that often afflict
wounded warriors.
“It’s cleansing — I really feel
refreshed,” Marine Sgt. Senio
Martz said after finishing a recent
yoga session.
A stocky 27-year-old, Martz
was leading his nine-man squad
on a foot patrol through the lush
poppy fields and rock outcroppings of the Kajaki district of
southern Afghanistan 20 months
ago when a roadside bomb
knocked him unconscious and
killed or wounded the Marines
under his command. The blast
put an end to his plans for a career in the Marine Corps. It also
left him hyper-vigilant, a symptom of post-traumatic stress
disorder, and carrying the joint
burdens of guilt and shame: As a
squad leader, it had been his responsibility to bring his nine Marines home safe.
“It’s a feeling of regret — failure — that really affects me
now,” he said. “I didn’t see the
signs F