This course consists primarily of video lessons- to include lectures, interviews with experts, yoga practices like physical flows, meditation, and breathwork, and PDF files for you to download and use that include journal prompts and other beneficial resources. Unless otherwise noted, all teachers in our course are TRIBE Yoga teachers, most of whom are military veterans or currently active duty.

In many sections of the course, you will find suggested question prompts to answer before or after a video. We strongly suggest that you make time for this personal investigation, whether it is as you complete the course or months later. This exploration will help you cement your own beliefs and/or challenges, setting the stage for greater personal growth and confidence for you to share your knowledge with others.

Additional Support Resources PDF

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal inclinations, you are not alone. Before completing any more of this course, please seek help. We recommend the following resources for those connected to the military:

https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/

https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/get-help

Before watching the video, please consider the following questions:

• What do you currently know about moral injury?

• Have you heard the issue of moral injury discussed? If so, where? If not, why do you think moral injury has not be discussed?

• Write a metaphor or draw a picture to express your feelings regarding the act of transgression that involved you.

• Write a letter to someone you feel you have wronged.

• Write about what you would want to share with your family or friends, when you are ready, about the psycho-emotional pain you are experiencing.

Describe what viewers can expect from your video. Note if any supplies or equipment is needed. You may also include a transcript.

This is where you have space to share your inspiration, philosophy, or goal for the video. You might want to share more about your background, process, tips, or a few words of encouragement. Let your viewers know how they can follow up with you, ask questions, or submit feedback.

You can also use this space to promote other videos or service offerings. If nothing else, recommend what video your viewers should check out next.

Describe what viewers can expect from your video. Note if any supplies or equipment is needed. You may also include a transcript.

This is where you have space to share your inspiration, philosophy, or goal for the video. You might want to share more about your background, process, tips, or a few words of encouragement. Let your viewers know how they can follow up with you, ask questions, or submit feedback.

You can also use this space to promote other videos or service offerings. If nothing else, recommend what video your viewers should check out next.

Recommended questions for reflection. It may be helpful to answer these questions before watching the video and again upon completion to see if your answers shifted.

For All Participants:

• How do you define resilience for yourself, as an individual? How do you currently practice resiliency?

• How do you define resilience for your unit (or office or family)? How does your unit practice resiliency?

• How may practices in your own life or within your unit move you away from resiliency?

For Non-Military Members:

• What do you imagine military life or the life of a first responder is like? What challenges might they face that would require additional resiliency?
  
  You can also use this space to promote other videos or service offerings. If nothing else, recommend what video your viewers should check out next.

What's the Relationship Between Yoga and the Military?

Before watching this video, we invite you to jot down or mentally take note of what your current experiences with yoga are.

Have you participated in yoga before? If so, what was it like? If not, have your never had the chance, or have you avoided it for some reason?

Whether you are completely new to yoga or an experienced yogi, what does "yoga" mean to you? What images does it bring to your mind?

How do you think yoga can be used in the military? Do you think the two are irreconcilable? Or, do you think there is a place for yoga within the greater military community?

Once you reflect upon the questions above, join Amy as she gives a VERY brief definition of yoga and explores how yoga and the military have historical links.

Books Referenced:

Singleton, Mark. 2010. Yoga Body. New York: Oxford University Press.

Join Amy as she explains how the tools of yoga can help increase the resiliency of members of the military community. Within the mission and construct of TRIBE, she explains how yoga may improve the resilience, balance, and endurance of the military community. She supports these ideas by returning to empirical studies, which you will find referenced in your additional resources sections.

Recommended reflection questions:

• Have you seen yoga integrated into a military setting? If so, how did it work? Was it well-received?

• Do you have a current self-care plan? If so, how has it helped you find balance in your life? If not, where do you imagine you may benefit from self-care tools?

TRIBE and the Philosophy Department at the United States Military Academy (USMA) sponsored this panel discussion on November 13, 2020. All members of this panel were instrumental in the development of this course, and TRIBE is deeply grateful for their contributions to this course and to the field of moral injury overall.

Please note, the participation of these individuals in this video do not represent endorsement of this course. Additionally, while this panel discussion was sponsored by USMA, USMA does not sponsor or endorse this course.

Each panelist is identified in the start of the video, but their biographies are listed here as reference as well.

Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Cutright (Panel Chair) is an Academy Professor in the Department of English and Philosophy at the US Military Academy. He served for two decades as a Field Artilleryman prior to his current assignment. His operational experiences have driven his interest in the ethics of military planning and conduct, as well as the moral psychology of soldiers. His academic research has focused on the relevance of empathy to the military profession, the nature of moral injury, and methods to prevent or alleviate moral injury. Lieutenant Colonel Cutright holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in military art and science from the US Army Command and General Staff College, and a PhD in philosophy from Saint Louis University.

Dr. Nancy Sherman is University Professor and Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. A New York Times Notable Author, her books related to tonight’s topic include Afterwar; The Untold War; Stoic Warriors; and her most recent book, Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons in Modern Resilience, which will be published this coming May. In the mid-nineties, Professor Sherman served as the inaugural Distinguished Chair in Ethics at the U.S. Naval Academy (Nancy – we won’t hold that against you here). Professor Sherman has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Center, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council for Learned Societies, the Mellon Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and New York University’s Center for Ballet and the Arts. In 2005, she visited Guantanamo Bay’s Detention Center as part of an independent observer team assessing the medical and mental health care of detainees. She is a frequent contributor to the media in the U.S. and abroad, with her work being featured in numerous prominent newspapers, Time magazine, and Newsweek. She has also appeared on many radio and TV programs, including NPR and BBC. Professor Sherman holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College, a Ph.D. from Harvard, and a Master of Letters from the University of Edinburgh. She also has research training from the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis. She taught at Yale before teaching in her present capacity at Georgetown University.

Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock is Senior Vice President and Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America. Of note, she is the first Asian American woman to earn a doctorate in philosophy of religion and theology. She is an award-winning author and co-author, and her publications include Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury After War. Dr. Brock was a professor of religion and women’s studies for 18 years and held the Endowed Chair in the Humanities at Hamline University from 1990 until 1997, when she became Director of the Fellowship Program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, which supports projects by distinguished scientists, social scientists, scholars, writers, artists, and humanitarians. She was a fellow at the Harvard Divinity School’s Center for Values in Public Life, and for ten years, she was a visiting scholar at the Starr King School for the Ministry at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. She also served for two years as senior editor in religion at The New Press. In 2012, Dr. Brock co-founded the Soul Repair Center at Texas Christian University and directed it until 2017, when she joined Volunteers of America to integrate moral injury work into its programs for veterans, healthcare, and social services.

Dr. Shira Maguen is Mental Health Director of the Post-9/11 Integrated Care Clinic and Staff Psychologist on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT) at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS). Dr. Maguen is also a full Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Maguen served on the Creating Options for Veterans’ Expedited Recovery (COVER) Commission. She is also the San Francisco site co-lead for the VA Women’s Practice Based Research Network (PBRN) and Director of the San Francisco VA’s PTSD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Dr. Maguen completed her internship and postdoctoral training at the National Center for PTSD of the VA Boston Healthcare System after receiving her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Georgia State University. Her research interests fall under the umbrella of PTSD, moral injury, and suicide, and include risk and resilience factors in veterans, with a particular focus on female veterans. Dr. Maguen was the recipient of a VA Health Services Research and Development Grant that examined the impact of killing among veterans of war and moral injury, and she is currently conducting a multi-site trial examining a novel treatment for veterans who have killed in war. Dr. Maguen is the author of over 125 peer-reviewed publications, most of which focus on veteran mental health. She also works in a clinical capacity within the Post-9/11 Integrated Care Clinic and treating veterans for PTSD.

Reverend and Dr. Zachary Moon has served as a chaplain in multiple contexts, including the United States Navy Reserve; the Pathway Home, a residential treatment program for combat veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and as a chaplain resident in the VA hospital system. Dr. Moon received his Ph.D. in Theology and Psychology in 2016 from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, where he focused his dissertation on “(Re)Turning Warriors: A Practical Theology of Military Moral Injury.” He has published widely including two books about our current subject entitled Coming Home: Ministry That Matters with Veterans and Military Families and Warriors between Worlds: Moral Injury and Identities in Crisis. His articles have been published in prominent journals of theology, religion, popular news. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Theology and Psychology at Chicago Theological Seminary. He teaches a wide range of courses on pastoral care and counseling, chaplaincy studies, trauma and theology, pedagogy, and moral injury and recovery.

After establishing the definition of moral injury, we now present you self-care practices to build your own resilience tool kit. These are based upon the research that shows how individuals can move beyond moral injury.

Recommended reflection questions:

• Write about your own self-growth based on a lesson learned recently.

• Have you previously tried to set self-care goals or develop your own routine to include healthy eating and/or exercise? If so, where did you find success towards your goals? What were your challenges?

• What resources do you have for support during difficult times? Take time to list each one. Family members? Friends? Professional resources? Would you rely on these different resources for different issues?

If you feel as though you do not have support, please look at the resource PDF included with this course and know there are many community-based organizations you can connect with. Take time to research these groups and find if one fits your needs. And, you can always join us at the TRIBE FB Page!

The primary research used in this talk is "Moral injury and moral repair in war veterans. A preliminary model and intervention strategy" published in the Clinical Phycological Review in 2009.

In this section, AnnMarie interviews Mandar Apte to discover how previous experiences of violence or suffering remain in the body. He explains why self-care, like breathing practices, work to alleviate this suffering and the importance in incorporating them in our daily lives.

Recommended reflection questions:

• Do you feel emotions (including stress, joy, anxiety) in your body? If so, how?

• Do you feel previous experiences in your body (to include previous trauma or previous experiences of joy)? If so, how?

• Do you have a breathwork practice? If not, what changes can you make to implement mindful breathing into your daily routine?

Mandar is the Executive Director of Cities4Peace - an initiative that works with civic leaders to actively promote peace in communities and cities worldwide. Prior to this, he worked at Shell for 17 years and managed Shell’s prestigious GameChanger social innovation program investing in ideas that create shared value – business value and social impact. In 2016, Mandar produced the From India With Love documentary film to reinvigorate the message of nonviolence (or Ahimsa) in the world. Aligned with this mission, in Oct 2018, Mandar hosted the inaugural World Summit for Countering Violence & Extremism that brought together peace activists and law enforcement executives from across the world in the spirit of promoting promote peace and compassion in the world. For over a decade, Mandar has taught leadership programs using meditation practices for the International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation.

Physical Practice: Moving Forward

In line with the concept that overcoming moral injury requires individuals to accept and then move beyond past decisions, this practice invites participants to "move from their gut" and focuses on initiating movements with core body strength. However, this is a wonderful reminder for everyone, and moving forward daily with the knowledge that you are ultimately in control of your reactions to the world around you is a continual practice.

It should be noted that this practice does require strength and invites you to explore the limits of your balance and control. If you lose balance or core strength control, just notice and readjust as necessary without judgement. Allowing this intention to guide your movement is more important that the physical execution of poses.

Let Go to Be Present: A Restorative Yoga Practice

Join Tribe teacher and military spouse, Jen Eyring, in this 40 min Restorative Yoga sequence.

What is covered in this class:

• Learn what Restorative Yoga is and why it is practiced.

• Take time to recognize how your body may tense (in stillness and in different poses)

• Come to understand what "let go of sensations" means in your own body.

• Set an intention of letting go of your stress.

• Settle the body and mind to be aware of the present moment.

• Learn that you can mentally tell yourself that you are safe and right where you need to be.

Props: Bath towel, a pillow, and a thick blanket.

**You may also choose to play a mellow background playlist if this helps keep your attention present.

Join AnnMarie with a guided breathwork practice that is a great way to integrate breathwork into your daily routine. This is a wonderful breath to practice in periods of overwhelm, anger, or intense stress. While AnnMarie offers a count of 4 (Inhale) - 2 (Hold)- 6 (Exhale) - 2 (Hold), it is normal for this count to feel challenging or uncomfortable, especially for beginners. Feel free to find a similar count that works for you, ensuring that the exhale is longer than the inhale. The exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which allows the body to relax. Conversely, our inhale activates the sympathetic nervous system which is our body's flight or flight or freeze response to stress.

Affirmations: I Am a Mountain

Join Army veteran, Army spouse, and TRIBE teacher in a practice to learn to form and state affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that, research shows, can literally re-wire our brains by breaking neural patterns of negative thoughts. Affirmations can best be formed by starting the phrase, "I am....." followed by a positive or empowering thought.

A helpful link for forming your own affirmations and the science behind affirmations is in your Additional Resources guide.