Yoga for Athletes

My friend asked me to sub for her last night. The class is titled: Yoga for Athletes, which is fitting because the class is offered at a small privately owned gym. Yoga follows the Tuesday night spinning class and the gyem owner is wanting to incorporate more yoga into his clients' workout regimen. It appears that the gym owner, Rodrigo, has quite the following in the community. Rodrigo is from Brazil and many of the women leaving the spinning class look like they might have spent some days on the beaches in Rio as well. Whether these women are genetically blessed with their figures or it is a result of Rodrigo's training does not matter---it made me want to start working out there too.

I digressed. Back to the yoga. So Yoga for Athletes...athletes, like the general population, could defintiely benefit from some yoga. In some respects, the athletes need the yoga all the more. From the professional to the weekend warrior, athletes have spent their lives testing the limits of the body. Even the everyday jogger wreaks havoc on their joints, their backs, their internal organs, their IT bands, and surely much more. I am not advocating that anyone quit jogging/running to save their knees from the abuse repetative pounding on concrete causes, but I do advocate adding a few sessions of yoga to their routine to undo any harmful side effects that the running might create. Same goes for cyclists, basketball players, golfers, ultimate fighters, rowers, football players, high and long and broad jumpers, soccer players, swimmers, divers, etc., etc., etc. Yoga ought to be a staple in an athletes life to help prolong careers, prevent injuries, recover from injuries, and so on and so on.

Speaking of yoga and athletes---Kira Ryder of Lulu Bandha's included an article about LeBron James use of yoga to enhance his basketball game. Sasha Cohen also was featured in an article discussing that she now does yoga and as a result feels she is in the best condition of her career and is considering another Olympics if she remains healthy. Yoga Journal interviewed one of the pitchers for the Colorado Rockies about his yoga practice and how that has improved his pitching. All this enthusiam about yoga from some serious athletes andthese are just the most recent examples that come to the tip of my typing.

So I taught Yoga for Athletes last night and enjoyed the audience. It is actually a community I want to work with more and more. I would love to be a personal yoga/pilates coach for professional athletes. Anything is possible--right?