A veteran of the Iraq War and with 28 years of uniformed service, Dr. Vincent Arnold has supported and served nearly all the branches of the US military, including the Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corp., and the Navy before retiring with the rank of Chaplain in 2007. Upon his retirement from active military service, Dr. Arnold served as the first civilian Clinical Director and Department Head for the Deployment Health Center (DHC), becoming one of the largest in the Navy to include a comprehensive Post Deployment Health Reassessment screening program, creation of a PTSD multidisciplinary treatment team, and establishment of the Autonomic Neuropsychological Assessment Metric Program. He subsequently served as a Pastoral Counselor at Naval Medical Center, Camp Lejeune, where he worked directly with wounded warriors in the areas of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). Specializing in holistic-oriented mindfulness-based pastoral counseling, Dr. Arnold offered individual, couple, and group sessions in Integrative Restoration Yoga Nidra (iRest) and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR).  He continues to offer non-fee-based pastoral counseling and workshops and retreats on ‘I Rest in Him.’ In addition to his service as a board director with Warriors at Ease, Dr. Arnold is an ERYT 200 yoga instructor and Certified iRest®Yoga Nidra Teacher. Dr. Arnold received a BA in Religion from Emmanuel College, an MDiv from Duke University, a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Renewal from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University.

In 2018 Brian Linton retired from the Army with the rank of sergeant first class after nearly thirty years of service. And while his aunt introduced him to yoga way back in the 1980s, he didn’t get really into the practice until he signed up for a 200-hour teacher training program to give him something to do during the lockdown. What he found was not only exposure to many physical modalities of yoga, but also a deeper understanding of the spiritual side of the practice which helped him navigate the mind-body challenges of post-traumatic stress after his service.

As a first sergeant in the US Air National Guard, Dominic Stanley’s job is to provide support in regards to health, morale, welfare, etc. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also a yogi who both practices and teaches yoga. Dominic found yoga after returning from deployment in Iraq, while dealing with some of the struggles and challenges associated with the return to civilian life. He was already physically active, but his wife saw a Groupon for a hot yoga place and suggested he try it. Shortly after, Dominic was attending yoga class every day and soon after that, he did his 200-hour yoga teacher training. Dominic pursued a variety of specialized training, including the Warriors at Ease Level 1 training, which was important to him as supporting the Veteran population – of which he is a member – is near and dear to his heart.

David Truesdale, a registered yoga teacher (RYT) and Certified Warriors at Ease teacher, is the founding board member of the Texas-based nonprofit Warrior Spirit Project. He serves others by sharing his passion for yoga and providing free trauma-informed yoga and iRest meditation to veterans and first responders in the great Dallas area. David grew up in a US Marine Corps family and spent over twenty-seven years with the Department of the Navy as a Special Agent with Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). As part of his NCIS duties, he was deployed to Iraq as a Counterintelligence team leader in 2004 and to Afghanistan in 2011-2012 as an Individual Augmentee to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). David has received numerous awards and commendations, including the U.S. Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, the U.S. Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, DoD Counterintelligence Team Award, and a Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award from CPA Administrator Paul Bremmer. David is a member of Save a Warrior (SAW) Cohort 063 and feels compelled to continue supporting U.S. military personnel whether they are still active duty or post service.

For Dennis Kerr, his military experience and yoga path have become intertwined over the last twenty years. Dennis enlisted in the Army in 2002 and went to Iraq where his path of yoga began after being inspired by the international bestseller, Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, and his curiosity led him to Rodney Yee’s introduction to yoga videos while deployed. Soon after the discipline of his military experience, musical background and yoga practice all evolved together through the breath.

After over twenty five years of service, Chris Davis retired as an assistant chief of police at the Fayetteville, NC Police Department with service duties consisting of patrol, investigations, internal affairs, and training, and as the Investigative Bureau Commander where he supervised over 150 employees. Prior to law enforcement, he served over three years serving in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield and ultimately leaving the US Army with the rank of first lieutenant. He is a certified yoga instructor (CYT-500 hours) and created Yoga911 in 2019 to help serve others through the incorporation of yoga and meditation practices in combination with his passion and expertise in resilience and operational performance.

Retired Major Mark Voelker (USMC) shares yoga path and how developing a practice has helped him develop the mind-body connection, learn to make better choices off the mat, and be a teacher and leader for others in need. He’s a certified yoga and meditation teacher, Warriors at Ease graduate and Level 1 instructor.

Mark is also a team lead at Semper Fi Odyssey (SFO) where he works with injured and combat-wounded U.S. Marines and other service members through their transition back to a life out of uniform but continued service to the country. SFO is a six-day, holistic, transition-assistance program that provides injured and critically ill active-duty military service members and veterans an opportunity to not only gain valuable employment resources, but also life-planning skills to assist with their re-entry into the civilian sector. Primarily focused on their career advancement, SFO also reinforces the significance of mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and social well-being, to ensure long-term success for these individuals.

Christina Hickey is the Executive Director of Warriors at Ease (WAE), a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2011 whose pioneering co-founders were involved in some of the first clinical studies funded by Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs involving the use of yoga and meditation as an adjunct therapy for combat-related health conditions. In response to the success of these early studies at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the founders developed a teacher training curriculum to meet the growing demand for specially-trained instructors who have the knowledge and skills to share yoga in a way that is safe, effective, and relevant for warriors and their families. This conversion kicks off an eight-episode co-branded series to highlight six graduates and the evidenced-based, trauma-sensitive yoga, meditation, and breathing practices curriculum of WAE has made an impact on their lives.

Warriors at Ease is a 501(c)(3) organization. This content is not intended to imply endorsement by the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, or any federal entity.