Teaching Power Yoga for Sports
Author: Gwen Marie Garro Lawrence
$8.99 USD
Show your athletes how yoga can propel their performance to the next level. Teaching Power Yoga for Sports prepares you to develop and teach yoga programs that are directly relatable to specific sports and player positions, resulting in more resilient athletes who consistently compete at the top of their game.
Author Gwen Lawrence shares her approach, developed through years of work with sports’ top professional teams; NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, and MLB coaches; and elite athletes. She takes into account the athlete’s training cycle, the position they play, and common movements and injuries in the sport. In this book, she offers detailed, easy-to-implement instruction on the following:
• Safe and effective poses that complement common movements in sport
• Yoga routines, organized by sport and season
• Ways to spot and fix posture and alignment imbalances before injury occurs
• Five restorative sequences to facilitate recovery and long-term stability
• Six facets of Power Yoga for Sports: balance, strength, flexibility, focus, breathing, and mental toughness
• Mindfulness tools for developing focus, clarity, and determination
Exclusive to this book are invaluable sport-specific sequences for athletes participating in a range of sports: football, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball, hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, wrestling, golf, tennis and racket sports, skiing, swimming, running, cycling, and mixed martial arts. For each sport, you’ll find the top five poses that most closely mimic that sport’s movements, along with accompanying images that compare each pose to an athlete in action.
Gain valuable teaching and coaching skills you can immediately put into practice with your athletes. Learn to train the whole body and mind with powerful yoga poses, breathing techniques, and mental focus activities. With Teaching Power Yoga for Sports you will develop balance, strength, flexibility, and performance in your athletes and help them thrive in a long and successful sporting career.
Audience
Strength and conditioning coaches, personal trainers, sport coaches, yoga instructors, and physical education teachers; also a reference for athletes, particularly those who engage in power sports.
Chapter 1. Why Athletes Need Power Yoga
Chapter 2. Anatomy, Alignment, and Assessment
Chapter 3. Mindfulness Tools
Chapter 4. Maximize Your Yoga Practice
Chapter 5. Standing Poses
Chapter 6. Seated Poses
Chapter 7. Floor Poses and Inversions
Chapter 8. Sport-Specific Sequences
Chapter 8. Ready-to-Use Yoga Sequences
Chapter 9. Restorative Sequences
“Gwen Lawrence led my players in yoga exercise for 12 years. She is a highly motivated individual who has the tremendous skill of applying the principles of yoga to meet the specific needs of athletes. Her creativity and knowledge of yoga enabled her to provide exercises that worked around a player’s physical limitations. Many professional athletes have a history of injuries that limit them from bending their bodies in certain positions. Whether it was an arthritic knee or an ailing back, Gwen was able to manipulate an exercise so that the athlete was able to benefit from the movement.”
Tom Coughlin, Former Head Coach of the New York Giants
“I really loved my five years of yoga sessions with Gwen Lawrence. She is a great teacher and helps you achieve whatever goals you set. She is always positive and in a great mood, which makes her sessions that much better!”
Prince Amukamara, Cornerback for the Chicago Bears
“I feel that I get the most benefits from Gwen Lawrence’s yoga as part of my recovery routine, with her restorative postgame yoga. I find my soreness reduced, and I gain flexibility and feel ready for the week ahead!”
Kerry Wynn, Defensive End for the New York Giants
“I have been doing yoga with Gwen Lawrence for the past six years, and I find it to be a necessary part of my training routine. Gwen takes her time to guide each of us through every one of the positions, thoroughly explaining the importance of each stretch. Gwen is personable and knowledgeable, and she brings a gentle spirit to each class.”
Mark Herzlich, Linebacker for the New York Giants
“Since coming to the New York Giants, working with Gwen Lawrence has been a great addition for me in my training and recovery routines. Her yoga sessions allow me to set aside time to focus solely on improving flexibility, strength, and power-through movements designed perfectly for football players.”
Ryan Nassib, Former Quarterback for the New York Giants
“The fact that Gwen knows the sports—she takes the time to get to know the different positions and the different needs of the specific athlete she’s working with. And I think that’s what sets Power Yoga for Sports apart. . . . It’s just one of those things that I gotta incorporate into my life every day.”
Amani Toomer, Former Wide Receiver for the New York Giants
“The Yankees have utilized Gwen Lawrence’s services as an alternative way of improving the core stabilization program of our players through her system of Power Yoga for Sports. I have found her to be extremely professional and look forward to working with her more.”
Brian Cashman, Senior Vice President and General Manager for the New York Yankees
“We have been clients of Gwen Lawrence’s for 12 years and cannot give her a stronger recommendation. She has given us a tremendous boost in taking care of our various aches and pains and sports injuries over the years.”
Joy and Regis Philbin, Television Personalities
“Gwen has been the yoga coach for the New York Giants all of the years I’ve been in the franchise. Our players flock to her sessions to improve their flexibility, balance, and breathing awareness. She has had a tremendous impact on our performance enhancement.”
Bill Sheridan, Current Linebacker Coach for the Detroit Lions, Linebacker Coach for Boston College, and Former Assistant Coach of the New York Giants
“Gwen is great; she ALWAYS makes you feel like you can do it!”
Hoda Kotb, Television Personality
“I have worked with Gwen for only a couple of months and I have recognized tremendous gains in my flexibility, core strength, and balance, which are essential to staying healthy and explosive. I consider myself lucky to have learned as much from Gwen as I have in such a short time.”
Kevin Boothe, Former Offensive Guard for the New York Giants
“I had some unusual thoughts and preconceived notions about what yoga was really going to be, and she kinda wiped those totally out . . . I really felt like it was going to be breathing and light stretching, but nothing could have been further from the truth.”
Shaun O’Hara, NFL Analyst and Former Offensive Lineman for the New York Giants
“My mom tried to get me to practice yoga for a long time before she found Power Yoga for Baseball online. I was 14 the first time I did it, and as a senior in high school I was using the DVD a few times a week. Now I use it at least three days a week as a professional. I believe it has helped me with my flexibility, obviously, but also with my focus and ability to calm myself down if I need to, and with my balance. It’s a great addition to my strength training. I am so glad to have found these DVDs because I am not sure I would have been open-minded enough to really give yoga a chance if I had to do my mom’s videos or take regular yoga classes. Power Yoga for Baseball is the perfect way to introduce athletes to the benefits of yoga.”
Dante Bichette Jr., New York Yankees First Pick in the 2011 MLB Draft
“Gwen Lawrence has been a personal friend of mine for over 10 years. She has developed a unique profession that combines the best from the worlds of yoga and massage therapy. She combines conventional stretching and strength and balance training with the teachings of mental discipline and breath awareness—all of which are so vital in the world of professional athletics.”
Frank Gifford, NFL Hall of Famer
“She conducts class with tremendous professionalism and makes it challenging to the athletes. She relates very well to our players and commands their respect. I believe that Gwen is an outstanding yoga coach who provides a valuable experience for those athletes who consistently participate in her class.”
Jerry Palmieri, Strength and Conditioning Coach for the New York Giants
“I’m a triathlete. The swimmming part was the hardest for me because my technique wasn’t very good. Then I met Gwen Lawrence and her innovative method, Power Yoga for Sports. Since then, I’ve gotten more flexibility and I improved my swimming technique, becoming faster and breaking my personal records! Thank you very much, Gwen.”
Gabriel Ruivo, Triathlete from Portugal
“It is vital for the team and the player to have this skill: to be able to divorce themselves from what just happened to them, like a referee’s bad call or issues with an opponent. You must be able to center yourself again.”
Phil Jackson, Former NBA Coach and Basketball Hall of Famer