The All Blacks rugby team is known for the fierce haka or Maori war chant they do before every match - a performance that has possibly contributed to their being the most successful rugby team in the world.
But did you know that they also credit yoga?
Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu, two of only fourteen dual Rugby World Cup winners globally, are both huge fans of yoga. Nonu is even credited with introducing it to the All Blacks and normalizing its use as part of their training regimen.
All Black fly-half Beauden Barrett has also made it part of his routine in pursuit of higher performance. "I've been working on my flexibility, that's been vital for me," he said.
"I'm quite a stiff bloke so extra [yoga] sessions here and there have certainly helped," New Zealand All Black, Beauden Barrett.
"It's more a recovery thing for me. It's great for the mind as well as the body. It's just getting that right balance and I've seen great benefits from that."
Polar Yoga
But the All Blacks aren't the only sporting heroes to incorporate yoga into their off-field routine. Extreme explorer, Sir Robert Swan, is the first man to have trekked to both the North and South Poles, carrying roughly 350 pounds of kit over 1600-miles. At age 61, he is now preparing for a new 600-mile, 8-week long expedition back to the South Pole.
Key to his training program?
You guessed it: yoga.
“I have few regrets in my life, but one is not having tried yoga sooner,” Sir Robert Swan, Polar Explorer
Swan admits that his previous expeditions to the Poles have taken a toll on his health and possibly taken a few years off his life, but believes that training for this new trek have actually added some back. “I’m proof that with today’s technology and knowledge you’re bloody just getting warmed up at 61.”
His doctors felt he needed a new hip but worried a prosthetic wouldn't stand up to polar conditions, so he decided to treat his hip pain with stem cell therapy and vinyasa yoga instead. “I was an incredibly stiff human being. I’m more flexible now than I’ve ever been in my life.”
Grand Slam Yoga
Novak Djokovic has also famously embraced yoga's potential to improve his breathing and mental strength. He says he gets so much benefit from it that he practices yoga "at least once a day."
And now you...
With all these elite athletes doing yoga, what about you?
Because 80% of those who practice yoga are women, most classes are created around them and easy to find in most places, including online, but if you're a guy who would appreciate a more male approach to yoga, I have an answer: ManFlowYoga.
I was lucky enough to sit next to ManFlowYoga's creator, Dean Pohlman, at a dinner in Pasadena last month. Dean previously acted as the conditioning coach for the University of Wisconsin mens' lacrosse team where he introduced yoga - and found enthusiastic converts across the whole team. That success and his knowledge of sports fitness and how yoga could enhance it led him to create ManFlowYoga where his straightforward videos and detailed photos of postures have a decidedly masculine slant.
Dean offers a 7-day trial for $1 on his site, but normally only charges $15/month which works out to US$0.50 cents or 40p a day. Not a lot when you think how much a class costs.
I asked him if he could point me to postures that would help my marathon-running other half perform and here are the links to his photo and video instructions of the best pre- and post-running postures.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
References
"Lions Tour 2017: Yoga, Pilates and not so many pies," Gregor Paul, New Zealand Herald, 17 June 2017. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11877741
"'Stiff' Beauden Barrett credits yoga and pilates with loosening him up," Hamish Bidwell, Stuff.co.uk, 18 August 2016. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/83323266/stiff-beauden-barrett-credits-yoga-and-pilates-with-loosening-him-up
"At 61, Time for Another Walk to the South Pole," Jen Murray, The Wall Street Journal, 11 November 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-61-time-for-another-walk-to-the-south-pole-1510401643
Photo credit: Toby Marshman, Unsplash