Too Macho for Yoga?!!
Try telling that to the New Zealand All Blacks or to Aussie rugby league clubs and you’ll get a different answer. They include Yoga as part of their fitness program and have compulsory weekly Yoga classes to help prevent injuries.
Graham Henry, the New Zealand All Blacks coach said “We do not travel anywhere without the teams personal yoga trainer”.

Marcus Trescothick MBE England batsman

“Yoga is becoming more popular among sport stars as a means to slow down the wear and tear rate”

Billy Johnstone, leading National Rugby League trainer and conditioner.
Yoga is part of the regular training schedule for the newest team in the NRL, the Gold Coast Titans.
“When I first discovered yoga I thought: ‘How stupid have I been?’ It just seemed to offer so much. I had started sports very young and towards the end of my career I was looking for something else. I had a hip replacement and yoga helped me a lot. And it wasn’t just the physical side of it. It really helped to give clarity and balance to where I was going. “Rugby league is a collision sport,” he said “It’s a painful occupation. You have to prepare to be hurt. The doctors will tell you that the injuries the players sustain are similar to those of a car crash victim. Yoga can help a lot to reduce this effect, and I use it to try to minimize injuries that can often affect players for the rest of their lives. I’m confident that down the track it will be a normal part of every team’s program.”
The impact of relaxation on the players is one that Billy sees as critically important. This is in the carry-over to the mental preparation for each game and the mental strength of the players.
“Yoga is no short term experiment, I see it as an integral part of the training program”.

David Myles, senior professional rugby league player for the United States National team.
“It’s been great. I’d never done yoga before but now I feel so much better. As a rugby league player there are not many times when you’re not sore, except after yoga and then the next day. I’m 30, so I’m getting towards the end of my career, but it’s taken five years off the way I feel. As an elite athlete it gets you thinking about things. I’m much more aware of my body now. I see yoga as a means of long-term maintenance for my injury. It has made a big difference in relieving the tension in my lower back, my hamstrings and my glutes. I’m beginning to see how I can relax into the postures and go deeper and better. I understand my body in a different way. I go every week and I’ll be going back next year too.”

REAL MEN DO YOGA

Sgt. Gurdev Singh, a Indian Army master physical fitness instructor, leads Soldiers from C Company, 3/21st Infantry, in a Yoga exercise during morning fitness training as part of Exercise Yudh Abhyas.

US Marines of the 2/4 Marine Regiment do Yoga during the joint Indo-US army exercise code named “Shatrujeet” or “Victory over the enemy” in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, south of Mumbai, India.