Warriors at Ease brings the power of yoga and meditation to military communities around the world through training, advocacy, programs, and partnerships. We do this by training and deploying certified mind-body professionals to settings where they enhance the health, resilience, and connection of service members, veterans, families, and healthcare staff.
Click here for more information on the Warriors at Ease Training & Certification
ONLINE LEVEL 1 TRAINING
Education of the intricacies and importance of the following subjects in relation to the military community: the anatomy of trauma, military culture, post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), moral injury, the polyvagal theory, adaptive yoga for spinal cord injuries/limb-loss/those in wheelchairs/limited mobility, and how to create a ‘Safe Container’ and welcoming environment to support post-traumatic growth.
IN-PERSON LEVEL 1 & 2 TRAINING
Level 2 is a group learning experience with practicum labs & examination: evidence-based techniques that are safe and effective for the military population, adaptive yoga practical application labs making yoga accessible for those with spinal cord injuries/limb-loss/those in wheelchairs/limited mobility, learn the trauma-informed WAE Therapeutic Sequencing Protocols that integrate the WAE evidence-based techniques.
In 2006, Robin Carnes, clinical psychologist and yoga scholar Dr. Richard Miller, and the research staff at Walter Reed, collaborated on a pioneering yoga research study sponsored by the Department of Defense at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The study, Yoga as a Therapy for Traumatic Experiences, was designed to assess whether Yoga Nidra meditation would be a feasible approach to reduce symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) among military personnel. Ms. Carnes served as the lead instructor in this study and Karen Soltes served as the assistant instructor.
Robin subsequently was hired to work in a Defense Department-sponsored PTSD treatment program as a yoga and meditation instructor. Karen Soltes began working at the War Related Injuries and Illness Center at the Washington DC VA as an iRest Yoga Nidra instructor.
They later met Molly Aseby-Birkholm, a yoga and iRest Yoga Nidra meditation teacher working at the Miami VA. As pioneers in the field, they recognized this work required both technical and sensitivity training beyond what is included in most yoga teacher certification programs and seminars on yoga and trauma.
In 2008, they founded Warriors At Ease (then Yoga Corps). Out of this, they developed a teleconference training to share their experiences and insights with other teachers who want to bring the healing power of mind-body practices to military communities. Several U.S. service members who are also yoga teachers, including Colonel Pat Lillis and Sue Lynch, offered their generous guidance.
Warriors At Ease expanded its offerings in 2011 & 2012 to include a webinar format and a full certification program for yoga teachers and meditation teachers designed around core competencies required to be an excellent teacher in military communities.
As of July 2014, Warriors At Ease has trained more than 450 yoga and meditation teachers to serve in military communities.