Since 2010, Connected Warriors has been the largest volunteer based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing Trauma-Conscious yoga classes to Servicemembers, First Responders, Veterans, and their Families at no cost to participants. CW currently provides classes in yoga studios, online classes, VA Medical Centers, Vet Centers, Community Centers and Active-Duty military installations worldwide. We are steadily rebuilding our classes and community outreach since reopening during covid.
We are excited as we move forward in our mission to help to world feel better...one breath at a time. One of our goals is to have more veterans teaching veterans and one way we do that is through our Elevated Warriors Program. We currently have 4 EW's that are completing their 200hr YTT this year. Their final phase will be an in-person retreat in Tennessee for them to finish their training and begin their journey as a yoga teacher giving back to their fellow veterans and first responders.
Your donations will go towards their travel and boarding.
Thank you so much
-Connected Warriors Team
Meet our Elevated Warriors below!
Brittni Sullivan, US Army, WO
I joined the Army in 2011 as an intelligence analyst. From Ft. Carson, CO, I deployed to Afghanistan as a part of a Female Engagement Team embedded within an infantry company. In 2013 I changed my occupational specialty to a CID Special Agent where I went all over the country investigating felony level crimes. In 2017 I became a Warrant Officer and supervisor of enlisted agents in each office I worked in. In 2022, I resigned after 12 years of active duty service in order to spend time with my family and heal physical and mental wear. Throughout my military career I practiced yoga on and off Army installations across the US. Though my practice was not consistent, I knew a yoga session would be gentle on my body and challenge my mind to take a break from the outside world. When I complete my certification, I hope to offer veterans and first responders the same small respite I was able to find throughout my years of service. My five year plan is to build a small relaxing water feature on our farm with a platform nearby for me to teach others trauma informed yoga.
Lieutenant Colonel Natasha Peeples. US Space Force
As a full-time active duty member of the newest branch in the military - the Space Force - I use my daily practice of yoga to overcome regular stresses of my program management roles in my space acquisition career. I was first exposed to yoga at an on-base class, and 14 years later I cant imagine my life without it. Yoga opened up a breathing practice to enhance my mindfulness, decrease my anxiety, and bring calmness in any situation I found myself. I hope to bring these stress reducing practices to every Guardian as we continue to face ever increasing challenges, demands, and threats in our daily mission and at home.
Yamilee Diaz, Chief Fire Officer, Miami Fire and Rescue
My name is Yamilee Diaz and I have been in the fire service for 24 years with City of Miami Fire Rescue. I have had the opportunity and honor to work in some of Miami’s busiest stations. I was also part of our Urban Search and Rescue Team, Florida Task Force 2 for about a decade. These combined experiences allowed me to recognize not only within myself, but in my peers that the calls and disasters we respond to can have a negative effect on us. I have lost friends to suicide and have also witnessed some amazing co-workers need rehabilitation for addiction. It has been two decades of observing how the traumatic experiences of this career can change us as a community and how it can impact our families and our health. Many of our first responders are also veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress. I have seen firsthand how this has a compounding effect when they return from deployments and get back on a fire truck.
A few years back in my own search for stillness, I began looking into yoga. I found a studio in Miami called Ahana Yoga. This is where I met Mary Keel and she introduced me to Connected Warriors. Through my own personal experiences in yoga practice, I have discovered a way to work through some of the changes and difficulties I’ve gone through in my career. My hopes are to bring this back to our first responders and veterans by volunteering to teach and empower them with the skills learned through Connected Warriors. To build a community where our veterans and first responders are able to find the same outlet I have found in this practice. To realize that there are ways to cope in a positive manner that make us more resilient. I would love to also assist Mary where she teaches other veterans because the more teachers we have, the better the chances of impacting our community.
I’m truly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to humbly serving those who have served us for so many years. We all deserve a happy and peaceful life.
Thank you,
Yamilee Diaz
Lindsay Froman, PT, DPT, NCS
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Physical Therapy Department
I am a civilian physical therapist working at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany at an army base. I work primarily with children of all ages and experience first hand how the military lifestyle impacts families. I have practiced yoga for many years. I began learning yoga by watching Rodney Yee VHS tapes in my basement during high school and then took my first in person yoga class during college. These opportunities sparked interest in how yoga can improve flexibility and strength. I would practice occasionally over the years in various settings, and when I moved to Portland, Oregon I had a whole world of yoga studios available! In Portland there are about as many yoga studies as there are breweries - maybe more! I dabbled in many forms of yoga including Bikram, Vinyasa Flows, restorative, BUTI yoga and even yoga geared for rock climbers. I learned so many fun and interesting ways to move and felt that yoga helped me to be creative with my body. I noticed that through yoga, I felt so much stronger in many other hobbies and physical activities that I did. In 2017, I was going through some big life challenges and stressful times. My job was emotionally, mentally and physically draining. My family relationships were turbulent. I was extremely burned out, and finding my mood was anxious, lacking in kindness and generally not happy. I did not feel like myself at all. I began doing a morning yoga practice, only 20 minutes, that my friend had shared with me. After several months with this short, but sweet practice I noticed some changes. I felt more at ease, a little less grumpy, generally more patient. I didn't understand exactly what was going on, but I could clearly link the "me" yoga time with a positive change. Naturally over time this specific practice faded, but I continued to do intermittent yoga - always enjoying the physical benefits of strengthening and flexibility. In 2022, I found myself in a similar situation with a lot of stress once again while living here in Germany. And once again I thought to myself, "maybe I need to get back into yoga." But this time I also added on a little mindfulness practice. I kept reading over and over how mindfulness and gratitude practices can have a profound impact on our mental health. In December I began my near daily habit and have seen so many changes evolve in me as I have grown in this. I am thankful that in February, I was able to begin the Connected Warriors Yoga Teacher Training, because I have learned far more than I ever imagined was possible through this yogic journey. I have seen myself evolve to a more patient, empathetic, non reactive individual. I have already begun to share some of these wonderful benefits with our teenaged patients and family members at the hospital and hope to expand in this once the certification is concluded. I am planning to start a kids yoga class as well and already have members of the outdoor recreation community asking for classes geared toward rock climbers! This region of Germany has nearly ten bases and many of the leaders are eager for their troops to have an opportunity to experience yoga and mindfulness benefits. Personally, I have regained contentment and restored a sense of hope for the future beyond "who, where and what" of life and look forward to how this journey will unfold for many years to come.
For more information about our organization go to: www.connectedwarriors.org
You can also donate on our website:
https://connectedwarriors.org/donate-now/