John Capouya - Real Men Do Yoga: 21 Star Athletes Reveal Their Secrets for Strength, Flexibility and Peak Performance

REAL MEN DO YOGA

REAL MEN
DO
YOGA

21 Star Athletes Reveal Their Secrets
for Strength, Flexibility
and Peak Performance

John Capouya

www.hcibooks.com

Disclaimer

Yoga is fundamentally a very safe exercise, but it is also a challenging workout. As with any exercise program, check with your doctor before beginning your practice. And if you are in acute pain from an injury or experiencing a flare-up of back problems, allow yourself time to heal before starting. Yoga shouldnt hurtif it does, ease up and/or stop exercising immediately. Dont force yourself into the positions and dont expect to emulate our yoga model, Glen, right off the bat; these stretches take time and patience to master.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Capouya, John, 1956
Real men do yoga : 21 star athletes reveal their secrets for strength, flexibility and peak performance / John Capouya.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN-13: 978-0-7573-9521-5
eISBN-10: 0-7573-9521-x
1. Yoga, Haha. 2. Exercise for men. I. Title.

RA781.7.C355 2003
613.7'046dc21

2003051102

2003 John Capouya

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442-8190

R-11-06

Cover design by Larissa Hise Henoch
Cover photo of Eddie George by Rob Lindsay
Collaborator and yoga consultant: Michael Lechonczak
Yoga photography by Erica Berger
Yoga model: Glen de Vries
Author photo by Suzanne Williamson
Inside book design by Dawn Von Strolley Grove

To Suzanne, beautiful in yoga and beyond.

To Dave, who brought me to yoga.

To Hugo, who taught me meditation.

To Eric, who gave me the idea for this book.

Contents

F irst Id like to thank Michael Lechonczak, my collaborator and consultant on this book. Not only for his invaluable yoga insights and expertise, but also for the encouragement he gave me and the enthusiasm he brought to the project.

Hilary Lindsay, who teaches yoga in Nashville, Tennessee (see activeyoga.com), was incredibly generous and helpful. She knows yoga should be fun, and the folks in Nashville and I are lucky to have it that way.

Much appreciation to Paul Frediani, New Yorkbased trainer and flexibility expert, for freely sharing his time, knowledge and contacts.

Eddie George, one of the first and most accomplished pro athletes to take up yoga, is also one of the most thoughtful and articulate. Thanks so much for being a part of this project, including posing for the cover picture.

Thanks to my agents, Nina Collins and David McCormick, for their counsel and support.

Im grateful to the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City, where this addict gets his fix. They have the good stuff.

Im also very thankful to yoga instructors around the country who gave their time and shared their experiences, including:

Alan Jaeger, who teaches yoga to pro baseball players at the Jaeger Sports Academy in Woodland Hills, California. His enthusiasm is contagious, and several of his prominent alumni are interviewed in this book.

Dr. Craig Aaron, who, with his wife, Jennifer Aaron, teaches Extreme Yoga for the Warrior Athlete in Atlanta.

Danny Poole (Yoga Danny) in Denver; Charles DeFay of Synergy Yoga in Encinitas, California; Eric Paskel, owner and teacher at Sanga Yoga in the Detroit area; Katherine Roberts of Yoga for Golfers, based in Colorado; Sarah Pryor, who works with golfers and other athletes in Orlando; Jennifer Greenhut in L.A.; Nancy Nielsen in Denver; Sarah Margolis at New Yorks Yoga Connection; Eben Dennis in Plano, Texas; Annette Lang, flexibility expert and trainer in Brooklyn, New York; and Richard Allon of the Rasa Yoga Center in Manhattan, New York.

This book wouldnt have been possible without the pro athletes who told their yoga stories, starting with Eddie George. Joining him on the All-Yoga, All-Interview team (in no particular order): Sean Burke, Barry Zito, Kevin Garnett, Amani Toomer, Al Leiter, Steve Reed, Shannon Sharpe, J. L. Lewis, Mike Lieberthal, Lional Dalton, Diamond Dallas Page, Justin Gimelstob, Wally Sczcerbiak, Jack Krawczek, Tanner Eriksen, Dean Goldfine, Rod Smith, Robby Ginepri, Eric Hiljus, Kerry Kittles and Keith Washington.

Real thanks to all the Real Men who were interviewed. Your fellow men, starting with this one, really appreciate it. You are: David Cooke, Nick Cardillicchio, Tommy Bernard, Ken Canfield, Dan Levitan, Jerry Grossman, Peter Scirios, Jonathan Kelley, Ted Roman, G. W. Struz, Marty Stein, Mark Massara, Carey Bolton, Andy OKeefe, Michael Flynn, Craig Bromberg, Bob Eriksen and Dave Herndon.

Thanks also to the sports coaches who talked to me about yoga and elite athletes, including Steve Watterson of the Tennessee Titans; Paul Hewitt (basketball) and Kenny Thorne (tennis) of Georgia Tech; Troy Wenzel of the Milwaukee Bucks; Jim Gillen and Steve Hess of the Denver Nuggets.

To all the sports reporters around the country who helped with this book: Great job. They include Luis Fernando Llosa, Pete Williams, Lynn DeBruin, Jon Rizzi, Mike Wells, Ohm Youngmisuk, Bob McManaman, Sarah Lorge Butler, Tom Keegan, Ryan Malkin and Gregg Goldstein.

Nancy Smith, your shrewd advice and encouragement meant a lot. Cant wait to read yours.

John Leland, Jerry Adler, Eric Messinger, Dave Herndon and David Friedman gave me great reads and editorial suggestions.

On the photo front: Kudos to Rob Lindsay for his cover and inside photography, plus extracurricular assistance and amiability.

Thanks to Erica Berger and John Engstrom for the great yoga photography.

And to Glen de Vries, our yoga model: looking good.

Suzanne Williamsons photo editing eye was sharp as always, and much appreciated.

The folks at Yoga Journal, in addition to putting out a great magazine, have been open, receptive and helpful, including Nora Isaacs, Matthew Solan, Guiv Rahbar and Dayna Macy. Namast.

If Ive overlooked anyone, I sincerely apologize. (Gotta meditate more and achieve greater clarity.)

Introduction:
Real Men Do Yoga

N o, you wont have to stand on your head. There will be no strange and painful contortions here.

No chanting, no incense, no gurus.

And, no, it isnt a chick thing.

These are probably the biggest misconceptions that some men still have about yoga. In the last few years, yoga has exploded in popularity in this countrysome 15 million people do it. But because so many women practice yoga, and its had a fringe or New Age image, lots of guys havent tried yoga yet, and they think it really isnt for them.

Wrong! You see, none of these stereotypes need apply. Doing yoga doesnt require freak-show flexibility. Yogas not some weird Eastern religion. In fact, its not a religion at all. Andlet me say this again its not just practiced by women. There are roughly 3.5 million men in the United States doing yoga right now, including some of the top athletes in professional sports.