[BREATHING]
I WAS GOOD IN P.T.
I WAS ONE OF THEM SOLDERS THAT SCORED LIKE 300
ON THE P.T. TEST.
SO PHYSICAL FITNESS WAS MY THING,
SO I USED TO LIKE TO PRACTICE YOGA TO STRETCH.
THEN, WHEN I INJURED MY BACK,
I PRETTY MUCH, LIKE, WEANED OFF OF DOING A LOT OF EXERCISES,
SO PAIN MANAGEMENT ADVISED ME
TO START TRYING TO PRACTICE YOGA AGAIN
TO GET THE FLEXIBILITY BACK IN MY BACK.
THEY PRETTY MUCH BASICALLY HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR MINDSET.
IF YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE MINDSET, THEY PRETTY MUCH CHANGE IT
TO A POSITIVE,
"EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT.
"IT'S JUST ONE DAY AT A TIME.
"IT MAY TAKE 365 DAYS,
BUT WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU THERE,"
SO BASICALLY THEY DO CHANGE YOUR MINDSET.
YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY MUCH OPEN TO YOGA.
LIKE, A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU THINK WILL BE PAIN,
USUALLY REALLY ISN'T PAIN, IT'S BENEFICIAL TO YOUR BODY.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU FEEL SOMETHING THAT'S PAINFUL,
DON'T DO IT.
YOUR BODY, IT JUST PRETTY MUCH GUIDES YOU
IN A WAY TO EASE, LIKE, IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME, SO...
BEFORE, WHEN I USED TO COME IN THE BEGINNING,
I REALLY COULDN'T BEND OVER, NOW I CAN BEND OVER MORE.
I CAN BEND TO THE SIDE, BEND TO THE LEFT,
SO THAT'S PRETTY HELPFUL.
SO, IN YOGA, THEY HAVE US DOING THIS CHAIR POSITION,
WHICH IS A LOT LIKE THIS, AND YOU PUT YOUR KNEES TOGETHER.
AND SO USUALLY WHEN YOU'RE IN THE BED,
THE WAY I SLEEP IN THE BED, I SLEEP LIKE A BABY.
I USUALLY SLEEP WITH MY KNEES UP,
KIND OF, SORT OF, LIKE, TO MY CHEST,
SO WHAT I HAVE A TENDENCY TO DO, I TRY TO, LIKE, REACH DOWN
AND TOUCH MY TOES OR PUT MY HANDS AROUND MY KNEES.
LIKE, THAT'S ONE OF THE POSITIONS
THAT THEY HAVE US DO IN THERE,
AND THAT PRETTY MUCH STRETCHES YOUR BACK EARLY IN THE MORNING.
AND WHEN YOU'RE IN A LOT OF PAIN,
I GUESS FROM ALL THE GEAR,
FROM THE KEVLAR TO THE RUCKSACKS,
TO THE BELT, TO THE M16.
IT'S LIKE A LOT OF WEIGHT BEARING, ESPECIALLY FOR A WOMAN.
I GUESS YOU'RE FIGURING, WHEN I WAS IN, I WAS 125 POUNDS.
ALL THE GEAR, TOTAL WEIGHT
PROBABLY WAS LIKE 100 POUNDS PLUS,
AND THEN YOU'RE RUNNING, AND YOU'RE DOING A LOT OF MILES.
I GUESS OVER TIME, THAT HAS A TENDENCY
TO WEAR DOWN ON YOUR BODY, SO EVEN THOUGH WHEN YOU'RE IN
THEY HAVE YOU EXERCISE EVERY MORNING.
LIKE, WELL, BEFORE THE ACTUAL WAR STARTED,
LIKE, THEY HAD A TENDENCY TO HAVE YOU ACTUALLY EXERCISE
IN THE MORNING TIME, FROM LIKE 6:00 TO 7:00,
BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME TO THE WAR,
IT WAS, LIKE, REALLY UP TO YOU TO GET THE EXERCISE IN,
BECAUSE BASICALLY YOU'RE AT WAR, SO IT'S LIKE, YOU'RE ON GUARD,
SO IT'S LIKE, YOU PRETTY MUCH JUST HAVE TO GET
YOUR STRETCHING IN, YOUR PT IN, WHEN NECESSARY.
BASICALLY, IF YOU HAVE ANY PAIN,
MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY,
TRY THE PRACTICE OF YOGA, BECAUSE IT'S VERY BENEFICIAL,
AND IT'S HELPFUL.
IF YOU'RE HAVING SAD DAYS, YOU KNOW,
THEY'VE GOT AN EXERCISE IN THERE WHERE IT'S A BREATHING EXERCISE,
I FORGOT WHAT SHE CALLED IT, I THINK SHE CALLED IT TAI CHI,
I THINK.
YOU BREATHE IN, YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES,
YOU TAKE A DEEP BREATH IN, YOU TAKE A DEEP BREATH OUT,
AND IT PRETTY MUCH RELAXES YOUR MIND
IF YOU'RE HAVING, LIKE, A BAD DAY,
AND THEY SHOW YOU PRETTY MUCH HOW TO CHANNEL THE ENERGY,
AND THEY HAVE YOU PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE CENTER, AND THEN YOU RUB,
AND YOU CAN FEEL THE HEAT,
AND IT'S PRETTY HELPFUL WITH THE MIND.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE PHYSICAL PART
THAT YOU FEEL, IF YOU HAVE ANY PAIN IN YOUR BODY,
THE STRETCHING,
AND IF YOU'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, ACCURATE
OR YOU'RE REALLY NOT SURE,
OR YOU'RE NOT ONE OF THEM PEOPLE THAT KNOWS, LIKE...
YOU HAVE A LOT OF VETS, WELL, I CAN'T EVEN SAY THAT,
BECAUSE YOU EXERCISE FROM BOOT CAMP TO NOW,
BUT WE NEVER REALLY PRACTICE YOGA,
SO THEY PRETTY MUCH JUST SHOW YOU
HOW TO DO ALL THE POSES, WHICH WAY TO MOVE,
NOT TO OVEREXTEND, SO I THINK IT'S REALLY HELPFUL.
I WAS DOING BODYBUILDING,
I WAS RUNNING TRACK,
I WAS A HURDLER, I WAS A SWIMMER,
I WAS PRETTY MUCH A VERY ACTIVE FEMALE.
AND THEN, WHEN I GOT HURT, AND ALL THAT CHANGED.
BUT I WAS ACTIVE IN THE MILITARY, TOO.
I WAS JUST OVER 300 ON THE PT TEST,
WHICH WAS, YOU HAD TO DO SIT-UPS, PUSHUPS,
AND A RUN IN TWO MINUTES.
WELL, YOU HAD TO DO AS MANY PUSHUPS AS YOU CAN
IN TWO MINUTES,
YOU HAD TO DO AS MANY SIT-UPS AS YOU COULD IN TWO MINUTES.
SO, MY PUSHUPS, I USED TO DO, LIKE, 45, 50 PUSHUPS
IN TWO MINUTES.
SIT-UPS I USED TO DO, LIKE, 90.
AND THE TWO-MILE RUN, I USED TO DO IT, LIKE, IN 13 MINUTES,
SO I WAS PRETTY ACTIVE AND PRETTY FIT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE WAR HAPPENED,
WITH THE INJURY, THAT PRETTY MUCH SET ME BACK.
SO, FOR ME, BEING AN ACTIVE PERSON
THE WAY I USED BE TO NOW WAS, LIKE,
SOMETIMES, IF I THINK ABOUT IT, IT KIND OF MAKES ME SAD,
BECAUSE IT'S LIKE, I USED TO BE REAL ACTIVE,
AND IT'S LIKE, NOW I CAN'T DO THE THINGS
LIKE I USED TO DO BEFORE, BUT I'M GETTING BACK THERE,
SLOWLY BUT SURELY, MY MINDSET IS LIKE,
"I CAN DO IT, I CAN DO IT, I CAN DO IT..."