As a University of Georgia freshman football player, and No.1 place kicker in the nation, Blair Walsh practices yoga to keep focused and limber for the game. Picking it up in his sophomore year of high school, he’s found that yoga practice helps his game both physically and mentally.
“You just have to get in that mindset of putting yourself in game situations where it’s tough, and that’s what relaxes you and helps you focus on what’s at hand, and not what else is going on in the game,” he said. “It lets you be your own person.”
This guy gets major points: 1. he’s a football player doing yoga 2. he’s a freshman football player in the south doing yoga! As if being a freshman anything isn’t hard enough, here comes this kid who plays one of the macho-ist sports and who pays no regard to what people might think of his yoga warmup routine. Although we have no idea what chatter goes on behind locker room doors, according to Blair everyone just lets him do his thing:
“I know people still look and go, how is he that flexible?” he said. “But besides that, no real weird looks [from teammates], honestly.”
Great! Frankly, we couldn’t be more impressed. Acceptance? Tolerance? We’ll take it! These are football players we’re talking about here. Score one more for yoga!
Yoga and football… we’re sensing a trend and we love it! Go Blair!
Blair Ready to Step Up as Kicker for Bulldogs [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Earlier…Ricky Williams Doing Yoga to Get Back inthe Game, Hopes to Make Truckloads of Money Again
This is great info to know.