Published November 11, 2026 11:43AM
Veterans yoga has been in existence for decades, with several organizations providing free classes. But what has been changing is the number of veterans teaching yoga, both to their peers and the general public. Writer “Chez” Chesak explores how his former platoonmates and other former military personnel are introducing others to the practice.
When I was deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army in 2005, me and the rest of my platoon were constantly jumping in and out of Humvees, ascending uneven stairs in buildings, climbing ladders in guard towers, and generally finding ourselves in constant motion—all with more than 80 pounds of armor, ammo, night vision goggles, and other combat load sitting on our shoulders. And then there was the tremendous and relentless emotional and psychological stress. Needless to say, we were all very wired and very, very tight.
One proactive and thoughtful soldier in our platoon, Jake Smith, suggested that yoga could probably help and offered to download some instructions and lead us through a class. For some reason—quite possibly to stay out of sight from other soldiers, who would have likely ridiculed us—we thought it best to climb onto the roof of our building in Kirkuk for an ad hoc yoga session. Jake, who was definitely not a certified instructor but certainly did his best, led us through various poses and we attempted to follow along.
Somewhere in between making shapes with my body and concentrating on my breath, it registered that there were dozens of buildings in plain view of our patrol base. And if we could see the surrounding buildings, anyone in those buildings could see us. Realizing that we could be in the sights of a sniper, we quickly wrapped up class and made our way back inside.
For most of us, it was our first attempt at yoga. Despite the fact the class was well-intentioned and received well, none of us continued practicing during our time overseas. Instead, we succumbed to more shoulder pain and mental duress.
But in the years since, some in my platoon—as well as active military personnel and veterans everywhere—have been getting past our initial biases against such a “hippy” activity and turning to yoga for an array of reasons, including support with lingering physical and mental health challenges. I’ve heard the quote “Yoga saved my life,” from numerous military veterans who expressed the sentiment with zero embellishment, exaggeration, or hyperbole.
With nearly 16 million veterans in the U.S., there are more who could benefit from yoga. A survey of 300,000 veterans and service members registered with the Wounded Warrior Project found that more than half of respondents struggled to manage their pain, with 95 percent experiencing pain in the previous three months and 76 percent acknowledging that pain interfered with their ability to enjoy life. Additionally, more than 50 percent experienced anxiety symptoms in the previous two weeks.
Many of the veterans who proselytize about yoga know firsthand its role in supporting individuals through the repercussions of surviving combat zones. Some proceed to take yoga teacher training and introduce others to the practice, sharing it every conceivable style and practice space, including studios, gyms, and corporate offices. And among them are also those helping fellow soldiers and veterans explore how yoga might help them navigate the complexities of PTSD.
Where Veterans Are Teaching Yoga
Mike Cappel used to hate yoga. He served 12 years in Military Intelligence in the Army Reserve and three years as a Combat Engineer in the National Guard and readily admits his past loathing for the practice.
Thanks to doctor’s orders, he tried yoga, fell in love with it, and then took a summer class at the University of Cincinnati (U.C.). Cappel now teaches yoga to the Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets there, beginning with cadets who participated in his yoga warm-ups before the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) swearing that they scored higher thanks to the practice.
“They all say they love it now,” says Cappel. “And I can see that they really do. We’ll have a whole battalion of people out there in the stadium first thing in the morning, all doing yoga.” The officers that run the program eventually decided to try his classes as well,and these days everyone does yoga together before taking the ACFT.
His yoga instruction isn’t limited to students in uniform. Cappel also teaches at the offices of corporate clients, local independent yoga studios, and chain gyms, and leads a total of 16 classes a week.
In contrast to exposing those new to the military to yoga, Chris Smith brings it to those who have come back from their tours of duty and struggle to reacclimate to everyday life. After serving as an Engineer in the Army for eight years and being deployed three times, including during the 2003 Iraq invasion, Chris separated from the military and from his wife. He was unhoused and struggling with substance abuse when he was committed to an involuntary five-day psychiatric hold at a hospital.
Eventually, Chris landed in a rental assistance program through Veteran Affairs (VA), used the GI Bill to get a degree from Marywood University, and then started a veteran resource center. In researching benefits, he learned about Warrior Strong, which provides free wellness services, including yoga, to veterans across 33 states.
Chris explains that after taking his first yoga class, he was hooked. He soon signed up for training to become an instructor. He and other Warrior Strong instructors currently deliver nearly 100 classes spanning yoga, fitness, meditation, and breathwork to veterans each month. The classes are conducted online as well as in-studio at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, location as well regional VA medical centers. He also volunteers his teaching time to a weekly breathwork class for the depression group at a local veterans center and a monthly meditation class at the drug and alcohol unit at a VA Medical Center.
“Yoga is what’s really helping me manage my PTSD symptoms,” says Chris. “It’s helped me reconnect with people because for a very long time I was isolating myself a lot. I credit it with helping me continue the journey that I started nine years ago.”
Other veterans take elements of how yoga best supports them and share it with a more generalized student population. Jessica Armendariz spent 21 years in the U.S. Army, serving in the Airborne, completing all four levels of the Amy’s Combatives hand-to-hand combat training, and deploying to Afghanistan. When she retired, her body was experiencing severe physical wear, joint pain, and elevated cortisol levels. She eventually found that practicing rigorous vinyasa yoga helped alleviate chronic pain and quiet her racing mind.
Armendariz currently teaches studio classes at Hot Asana in Southern Pines, North Carolina, and tries to share the same benefits with others. “I am trying to challenge you physically,” says Armendariz. “That’s not to say that the rest of the yoga goes out the window. Of course we do breathing, we do centering, and all those critical things, but for me, for it to work to feel authentic to me as a teacher, there has to be that challenge.” She also has training in yoga nidra as well as yin and restorative yoga.
Sometimes the adaptability of yoga and its built-in community become as much a part of the yoga experience as the poses. After Jeremy McMullen left the Navy, he became severely sedentary. That’s when his wife gifted him a yoga lesson. The retired Chief Petty Officer instantly found that it benefited his sleep as well as his physical and mental health. Now a yoga instructor, McMullen teaches in a studio, performs yoga on mountain passes during long-distance hikes, has led online classes, and teaches “beer yoga” at breweries, where the participants indulge in a beer or two together afterward.
McMullen sees a correlation between his role in the Navy and his role as an instructor. “The chiefs at work [in the Navy] are always trying to teach sailors the right way to do everything. I do the same thing as a yoga teacher, making sure to teach you your left and your right and your breathing and your mindfulness.”
Military veterans are no strangers to working in unexpected and remote places. Jared McKenzie, a medic in my platoon when we deployed, currently teaches yoga at studios, so it wasn’t entirely a surprise when he was inspired, during a recent multi-day whitewater rafting trip, to lead others through early morning stretches along the shore. He’ll be resuming his beach yoga classes on the outfitter’s 2027 River Soul Journeys whitewater rafting and yoga trip in Idaho.
McKenzie is looking forward to teaching yoga within the solitude and serenity of Idaho’s river canyons. “I love the juxtaposition of this trip where everyone will be blasting whitewater through the day and then slowing down in the evenings with riverside yoga and breathwork,” he says.
There are surely more vets out there who are just now trying a class and starting their own experience with yoga journey. Those who take the next step and become instructors can deploy out to studios and VA facilities, teach online, and maybe even lead a class in a river canyon or other backcountry location. And I choose to believe that none of them will be so foolish as to attempt a class on a rooftop in a combat zone.
Veterans interested in trying yoga will find free resources for veterans-focused, in-person and online classes and teacher trainings through the VA’s Whole Health program and various organizations, including Wounded Warrior Project, Veterans Yoga Project, and VEToga.
