"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." -- Helen Keller
Yoga For Athletes: A Granola, Chanting, and Sanskrit Free Zone
by Michelle
"No granola, no chanting, no sanskrit," promises anti-yogi yogi Kimberly Fowler. "I'm not your guru...you are," she proclaims on her website's homepage. Wanting to make yoga more relevant to sport enthusiasts and athletes, the former professional triathlete and founder of YAS Yoga and Spinning Center in Venice, California, has created her own, self-styled form of physically demanding yoga. Her classes feature none of the spiritual or meditative practices found in many other yoga traditions, and serve as a bridge to the more traditional exercise world.
For those that would like to try the YAS discipline in the comfort of their home, Fowler created the Yoga for Athletes DVD. It takes you through an hour-long class of yoga postures, sequenced by Fowler, who draws inspiration from Iyengar, Ashtanga and Power Yoga. The focus is on upper body strength, hamstring and hip flexibility and the core abdominal area.
After working out with a review copy of Yoga for Athletes, I found it was just that; a challenging, physical workout that left my rather non-athletic body feeling stretched and a little sore the next day. But for athletes who train hard and train often, Yoga for Athletes is a great way to introduce some variety into your workout regime, while still challenging key muscle groups and increasing overall flexibility.
Many professional athletes, including Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard and softball player Keri Hein, have worked with Fowler, so her DVD's title has some substance behind it. More recently, she has created a performance DVD for the Detroit Tigers baseball team, which will be coming out later this year.
When the Daily Mantra asked Fowler what she thought yoga could do for our favorite professional athlete, David Beckham, she said "That's a very expensive body! The most important thing yoga can do for him would be injury prevention. Keeping his muscles flexible, especially his hamstrings, is very important because of all the quick stops and starts in soccer."
Fowler credits her yoga practice with helping her battle cancer, recover from an accident in which she was hit by a car while training for a triathalon on her bike, and survive a nasty fall during a rock climbing accident. She says, "Practicing yoga while battling cancer taught me the importance of balancing strength with flexibility. Focusing on my breath helped me stay centered when in physically or mentally challenging situations."
Yoga for Athletes' focus on yoga as a purely physical practice may be an effective marketing strategy, aiming to capture a target audience of the athletically-minded who may have been turned-off by yoga because it seems too mystical and touchy-feely, or something that's just for spandex-clad girls. The students in the DVD include three men, which helps to create a male-friendly vibe. But for the many, many people who have been practicing yoga for some time, it just doesn't quite ring true to promote yoga as a purely physical practice when the known benefits include mental and spiritual clarity and focus. Even Fowler can't help but offer a quick Namaste to her students at the end of the DVD session. But if her "no granola, no chanting, no sanskrit" mantra helps more people discover the benefits of yoga for themselves, we're all for it.
DVD. It takes you through an hour-long class of yoga postures, sequenced by Fowler, who draws inspiration from Iyengar, Ashtanga and Power Yoga. The focus is on upper body strength, hamstring and hip flexibility and the core abdominal area.
