Our Why: A Veteran's Story "Yoga is for women. It is not something I ever really put any thought into. It is for the soccer moms to get together once a week and “work out”. Not something for a Marine. Not anything I needed. The problem is that kind of thinking shows just how narrow-minded I had become. A year ago my life fell apart. I had been out of the Corps for several decades and…
Veteran & Teacher Profile: Mark BallingerA Marine's Resilience after a Helo Crash Written By: Abby Rosmarin In 2011, everything in Mark’s life changed. A helicopter crash would affect him in profound and irreversible ways – but also get him on the path to yoga, both as a student and as a teacher. Before the crash – before he even enlisted as a Marine – Mark Ballinger was a child of the 60s, having full run of…
Veteran & Teacher Profile: Why I Practice Yoga with a Community Nobody teaches you how to process your buddy’s suicide. So I shoved all the emotions in. I buried them down. I just numbed it all. There is no time to come to grips. Continue mission. Just keep going as if these things never happened. With time, all things heal, right? Wrong. Command made general announcements that chaplain services and mental health appointments were available. But…
