Camp Pendleton, Calif. -- Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is a community which hosts a vast number of individuals from an array of backgrounds. As a result, having a vast number of resources for physical and mental health is important to the overall performance of this community.
Due to the recent trials of COVID-19, it may have become difficult for these individuals to find safe and effective ways to maintain physical fitness. One of the resources offered on Camp Pendleton that can provide an opportunity to safely strengthen physical and mental fitness from home is yoga.
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice that has been a reliable outlet for many patrons on base. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, five different facilities offered yoga classes, totaling in 15 classes per week. To help the yoga community continue their practice, the Marine Corps Community Services Semper Fit Program offers Facebook live yoga sessions every Wednesday. The sessions are hosted by Mary Tolentino-Stuve, yoga instructor with Semper Fit, Marine Corps Community Services Camp Pendleton.
“It is important to offer yoga to service members on Camp Pendleton, because they have to have a good range of motion to be able to move in different directions unexpectedly,” said Tolentino-Stuve. “Yoga allows for that better range of motion and overall helps them lift, run and move better.”
The practice of yoga gives service members the opportunity to increase their flexibility, strength and stamina. The physical benefits of yoga range from improving posture to lowering blood sugar. Yoga can also decrease the chance of future injuries for the participants and promote faster recovery times.
Tolentino-Stuve stresses the importance of overall wellness, and says that one must stay mentally healthy.
“One of the mental benefits is decreased stress,” said Tolentino-Stuve. “One of the things that yoga stresses is deep breathing. The deep breathing centers you, grounds you, it allows you to focus more and it gives you more mental clarity.”
Yoga offers a variety of emotional benefits and assists in strengthening decision making, increasing personal and physical confidence, and promoting mental clarity.
Camp Pendleton understands that staying mentally healthy can be challenging, and that circumstances in life can have various impacts on an individual’s mental state. Yoga is one of the many things provided to support everyone in their journey to overall wellness. With yoga’s ability to decrease stress and injury, it supports Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s goal to maintain healthy lifestyles and protect the service members aboard.