Professional Athletes Practice Yoga

Next Wednesday, June 14th, one of San Diego's local stations is going to film Padres utility man Eric Young sweating it out doing Bikram Yoga. From what we understand Eric relies on Bikram yoga for his off-season conditioning. What's also interesting is that Padres trainer, Todd Hutcheson, has integrated yoga into the Padres' training regimen for two years now. Left hander Ryan Klesko has touted the benefits of yoga in several interviews.

So what's the deal? Easy. Yoga promotes flexibility, strength and mental discipline. Loose, pliable muscles (and joints) are less prone to injury and recover more quickly. While many of the Padres are newbies to the experience, some, like Khalil Greene, have practiced before.

So why not just do some stretching? Because yoga offers variety and challenge. Some forms (like Bikram) are quite strenuous--the opposite of boring. Padres players aren't the only professional athletes practicing yoga. Pro golfer David Duval, soccer veteran Ryan Giggs, football stars Eddie George and Shannon Sharp, NBA powerhouses Kevin Garnett and Emeka Okafor, racecar driver Danica Patrick, and other sport champs all use yoga. Another yogi, Tony Parrish of the San Francisco 49ers. After breaking his left ankle and fibula, Tony used yoga to get his game mojo back in gear. Check out this pic! This is a Bikram pose, by the way.

Taking the practice one step further is running back Ricky Williams. Williams, who now plays for the Canadian Football League, is also a teacher at Toronto's Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center. He squeezes in classes before practice! In interviews, Ricky cited the teaching opportunity as a key reason for joining the Argonauts.

Namaste.

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