In 2010, three veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam made their way to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. What made their climb so exceptional was they were amputees, with only one good leg between the three of them. Kirk Bauer, Neil Duncan and Dan Nevins made the summit of the mountain together. Read the story here in AOL News by Lauren Frayer.
Thanks to Disabled SportsUSA for setting up the trip. Watch Neil Duncan.
H/T to Andi Fehl for mentioning the Neil’s name.
“We are free to choose our actions . . . but we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions.”
Jillian and I have been reluctant to show the depths of stupidity that parts of the yoga world adhere to. Their accusations of the military being in lock step is nowhere near what the yoga world suffers from, which is akin to asphyxiation of the brain caused by an overly long kumbaya hug turned to a stranglehold.
But I’m going to take this opportunity to mention what can only be called the yoga world’s own little “Clintonesque/Enron snafu.” If the yoga world had a glee club, John Friend would have been its leader. He was even named an ambassador to a very well known mountain climbing and yoga company. He was a charismatic founder and leader of a school of yoga called Anusara. People swear by it, they love it, they love him. But what happened a few weeks ago unleashed a scandal that involved sex, infidelity, and getting busted by the US Dept. of Labor for messing with its employees retirement fund.
The same people who probably looked askance at the military world when General Stan McChrystal took the bullet for his leaden PAO team are now socked by something much worse: their own dirty laundry. Unlike the military, there is no court martial, or no President to fire him. What they are left with is a lot of fuzzy yogic language that has nothing to do with how to run a business or more to the point: how to be an ethical, fair, effective, and inspiring leader. Yoga Dork helped break the story, apparently helped by a fed-up insider from the Anusara school.
So we’ll say it here: while he appears to have been a charismatic, personable man, maybe even a friendly person, he was a lousy leader. This doesn’t mean people should waste time hatin’ on John, but there’s a lesson to be learned from this. No leader is perfect, however, if an organization is fortunate they have lots of people working together to uphold principles and ensure that things run ethically. Still, some people miss the boat. Recently, one of his apologists indicated while she was in the what can be described as the “Cool Kids Camp” and knew for a long time, she said nothing.
The glee club lifts its arms high
I think Friend’s Cool Kids are as troubling, if not more. The question they must now ask themselves is, “Am I the leader I want to be?” I would expect them to examine their role models. They should scrutinize what they know about true leadership. At the minimum, I’d expect them to take a few business, leadership, management and finance courses. In other words, you have the fuzzy language down pat: now go learn how to run things and make a profit so you can help people.
John Friend has enough people willing to worry for him. But sorry, the rest of us have work to do. Those of us dedicated to helping others through the aftermath of war have our own work to do. We’ll let the yoga-lugheads at Elephant Journal get wrapped up in that stuff. We’re busy.
This weekend, I attended the premiere of the documentary, HIGH GROUND at the Boulder International Film Festival. The documentary, produced by Don “The Lion King” Hahn, and directed by Michael Brown, follows the true story of 11 veterans and a Gold Star (and Blue Star) Mother as they climb Mt. Lobouche in Nepal. As they recount their wartime experiences, they find teamwork, friendship, and healing on the way. Their injuries include TBI, PTSD, blindness, and leg amputation. It is an incredibly beautiful journey, and each veteran not only shows heart, but also reminds the viewer of the determination of this nation’s Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, National Guard and Sailors.
Army Veteran Chad Jukes climbs Mt. Lobouche with Prosthetic Leg in the documentary "High Ground"
The transition back into civilians life is a slow journey. We can hope they keep going forward along the path. Traumatic memories manifest themselves physically and affect how one thinks, perceives, acts, feels, and responds. Every culture except ours has a way of working out trauma and grief physically: through dance, ritual, art, communal ceremonies. Here? We isolate.
But traumatic memories are stored in our bodies, or as one researcher has said, “In the muscle.” In part why the High Ground journey to Mt Lobouche was so successful is that it involved teamwork, people watching out and depending on one another, as well as a high amount of technique, use of breath, and physical conditioning. It combined a lot of emotional, physical, intellectual and mental components.
The mountain is a metaphor for other challenges –both seen and unseen in life. It was a victory just to be on the mountain, to have gone through all of the arduous work to get there, let alone make it to the top. WarRetreat extends a hand of gratitude to everyone, including the organizations No Barriers and World Team Sports, for making their journey possible, and to producer Don Hahn and filmmaker Michael Brown for believing that theirs is a story worth bringing to the American public.
After an encounter on base at Nellis last night and after the mention of the Warriors at Ease training on our Facebook page, I thought this was a good time to mention cultural sensitivity.
Unless you were (or are!) in the military or you have some sort of military understanding and background, it can be overwhelming going into a military setting. There are many more rules to abide by on base than off base. For example, when I first moved to 29 Palms I ran to the Exchange one afternoon to grab something for lunch. As I was walking in I was stopped by a female Marine who proceeded to tell me I couldn’t go in wearing flip-flops. What? I couldn’t wear flip-flops? Since then the rules have changed, but it was my first taste of the on base experience. 
The moral of this story is to show you that teaching on base is not as simple as getting the job and teaching the classes. You need to educate yourself on the population that you are working with. You need to be aware of the rules and regulations that change once you get on base.
The reason I mentioned the Warriors at Ease training was because cultural sensitivity and the military environment are topics that are greatly covered in the workshops. It can be very helpful for those who are completely new to the experience and it can be a refresher for those who have had these experiences before.
I thought this would be an informative post after an experience I had last night as I was heading to teach yoga on base at Nellis. The end of the duty day on base is typically marked by a ceremony, where the flag is lowered and “Retreat” is played. All activity, even if you are driving, on base stops for those few minutes and then proceeds once the song completes. 
As “Retreat” began, I slowed and stopped, just beginning to exit a stop sign. Although all the other cars around were doing the same thing, one car pulls up (quicky) behind me and lies on their horn. I pause for a second, hoping she will realize everyone is clearly stopped. But she does not, honks again,then manages to speed off around me.
Normally I would just shake my head and try not to let it bother me. But this ceremony is a tradition in which to honor the U.S. Flag, explained in detail in this article. Is getting to your destination .3 seconds earlier really that much more important than stopping to partake in something that is such an important part of military tradition? I don’t think so.
So please, those of you who are interested in working with the military community. Invest in educating yourself about the history, traditions and rules and regulations of being on base. Please 
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, here is a video from YouTube of the end of the duty day ceremony.
While I have been working on getting set up with the Las Vegas (Southern Nevada) VA, I have been keeping my eye on articles pointing out programs for Vets both in and out of hospitals and bases. Yesterday I came across this article from the Houston Chronicle, about Army Vet Weldon Holder and his experience with yoga.
One of the most stand-out statement to me was: “He says the relaxation and breathing techniques he’s learned help him overcome insomnia and lessen the headaches he gets from a traumatic brain injury he suffered in Iraq.”
Photo: James Nielsen / © 2011 Houston Chronicle
That is the most satisfying part of doing this work. When you have someone say how much better they feel after class, that provides an indescribable feeling of joy when you know you were able to help someone feel better.
So please, check out the article. And always keep on the lookout for more articles like these, they are appearing more and more frequently. Which is definitely a good thing
Just heard from Donna of the Tiferet Journal, which describes itself as
“A non-sectarian, non-dogmatic publication and organization, TIFERET aims to further meaningful dialogue about what it is to be humane and spiritual in an often contradictory and confusing world. We’re dedicated to promoting peace and tolerance in our readers and in the world… and to educating people on how to write meaningful poetry and prose from a deep inner place.”
They’re accepting submissions for their 2012 Writing Contest, with $1200 in prizes for poetry, short story (fiction) and best interview or essay (non-fiction). Details are on their website at Tifferet Journal. Works are being accepted until 1 June. Entry fee (per piece) is $20.
Please read through the website to see if there is a match up between what you write, and what they want to read.
Donna indicates that they DO need volunteers.
Note: Okay. So I happen to think writing is an incredible way to gain perspective on where you are now, what you want, what happened then, how you feel about it, and where you want to go next. Since these wars started, a lot of veterans, active duty, and family members have started writing. No pressure. Just be aware these opportunities exist.
“What I learned is that a leader isn’t good because they are right. A leader is good because they are willing to learn and to trust.” -Stan McChrystal
WarRetreat wishes to thank the large number of yoga teachers, studios and organizations who are actively reaching out to service members and their families to bring stress reduction through yoga, movement and breath.
Whether or not you realize it, or whether or not you like it, your decision as a yoga teacher to step up marks you as a leader. Watch this video by retired four-star-general Stanley McChrystal on leadership.
