Yoga for Super Bowl Champs

A recent “Yoga in America” Study found that 27.8% (or a little over 4 million) of the people who are practicing Yoga in America today are male, and that number is on a continuously upward trend. The days of classifying Yoga as a primarily female practice are over, and we have seen some excellent ways that Yoga is reaching out to a broader audience.

Dayna Macy, a spokeswoman for Yoga Journal, suggests age as one factor. “As men get older, yoga becomes much more attractive,” she said.

There has also been a wider admission by professionalathletes that Yoga has helped them in their profession. High profile players like Lebron James, Evan Longoria, and Shaquille O’Neal use their regular Yoga practice to enhance their performance. Says Lebron James, “Yoga isn't just about the body, it's also about the mind, and it's a technique that has really helped me”.

The Super Bowl Champion New YorkGiants have had Gwen Lawrence on staff as a full time Yoga instructor for 11 years, and Yoga practice is mandatory for all team rookies. Lawrence says of her philosophy: “strength plus flexibility equals power on the field. Doing these moves not only keeps players less injury prone – because a tight, rigid body is more likely to crack and break – but they also translate into power. Think of it this way: you have a bow and arrow, and the bow string is strong and unbreakable, but if it’s too tight, you can only pull it back an inch and the arrow flops down on the ground.  But when the string is flexible, you can pull it far back, and the arrow has more power. When joints are open, strong and flexible like this, they can create more power with less effort on the field.  That way, they can stay on the field longer and win the game in the end.”

When asked about Giants star quarterback Eli Manning, Lawrence says that he regularly attends yoga, and that he’s “very flexible”.

Men, there is no reason to be scared of yoga anymore. Now is the time to get back into the studio and enhance your practice with New York Yoga. Because who doesn’t want to be as flexible as a Super Bowl Champ?