Army tests fitness benefits of yoga and meditation in basic training

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ninja sends in the news from Stars and Stripes that the Army is testing out the idea of incorporating yoga and meditation into basic training.

The Army is studying whether the warrior pose could make better warriors after putting hundreds of new recruits through daily yoga and meditation regimens in basic training.

The 10-week pilot program was designed to evaluate possible military benefits of the practices rooted in ancient eastern pacifist philosophies, as the service seeks to address declining fitness among military recruits.

Soldiers in 20 basic training platoons at Fort Jackson, S.C., practiced yoga and meditation daily to assess their effects on factors like physical performance, mental toughness, soldier discipline, injury rates, stress management and graduation rates.

“We realized there’s growing scientific evidence that mindfulness and yoga have positive effects on individual holistic health and fitness,” said Maj. Kimberley Jordan, a doctor of physical therapy and the officer overseeing the program. “The basic combat training environment … was rich in a variety of performance indicators that we could assess or analyze.”

Fort Jackson’s 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment each had 20 platoons participating, 10 as the test group and 10 as a control group, for a total of about 1,800 participants.

It’s one of the few studies on yoga in the military and one of the largest on mindfulness, Jordan said. Researchers were crunching numbers from data collected last fall and final results are expected later this year.

Early feedback suggests improved endurance on ruck marches and obstacle courses, reduced pain during recovery periods and better management of stress and homesickness, said Jordan, who’s used yoga herself for injury recovery and has included it in treatment for some of her patients.

While linked to Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the practices and poses taught were stripped of religious references. Chaplains were also consulted, she said.

Led by contracted trainers, half the trainees did yoga for 15 minutes before and after normal morning physical training exercises — poses like downward dog, plank and chair positions. They also received two hours of weekly instruction in mindfulness in the first four weeks and practiced meditation six days a week for 15 minutes before lights out, for the duration of the program.

The control group platoons used standard Army preparation and recovery drills, such as windmill stretches, bend-and-reach and pushups. Both groups and their drill sergeants took several surveys to gauge their attitudes on the program.

“I’m sorry, did you say yoga?” Pfc. Joe Skeen said in a video on his popular TikTok account last month, responding to a post by a user named @pastelsoldier who apparently participated in the study.

Skeen, who has about 735,000 followers on the app, joked that the only yoga he might’ve done in his training was the downward dog pose while being punished.

In comments on Skeen’s video, @pastelsoldier said she preferred the normal physical fitness training because it was actually easier.

Another trainee initially didn’t think yoga and the Army went together, but soon changed her mind, the Army said in a December statement.

“I started really enjoying and benefiting from the positions,” Pfc. Lina Alani said in the statement.

Mindfulness practices outside of nightly meditation, such as when standing for long periods at attention or on ruck marches, “really helped me focus on the task at hand,” she said.

More at the source.

I’ve had my arm twisted by the shrinky-types to try yoga and meditation for PTSD. Always one to at least try something once, I’ve done it. It does help. Teaching new troops some of these simple coping strategies may just cut down on issues further down the road.

Category: Army, Big Army, ninja