Gwen Laurence - Body Sculpting with Yoga The Revolutionary Way to Sculpt and Shape Your Body

Gwen has been the yoga coach for the New York Giants all of the years Ive 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, Assistant Coach, New York Giants

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 Booth, Offensive Guard, New York Giants

The Yankees have utilized Gwen Lawrences services as an alternative way of providing the core stabilizations 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, New York Yankees

Gwen is great. She always makes you feel like you can do it!

Hoda Kotb, television news anchor and co-host of NBCs Today show

Gwen Lawrence has been a personal friend of mine for over 10 years. She has developed a unique profession that utilizes the best from the worlds of yoga and massage therapy. She combines conventional stretching, 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

We have been a client of Gwen Lawrences 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 & Regis Philbin

Gwen Lawrence has been a trusted friend for many years. More than just a friend, she has helped me maintain my health and rehab me through surgeries and injuries. Without a doubt, she is one of the finest teachers and practitioners in the whole country. Gwen Lawrence can change your life.

Regis Philbin, television personality and host of Live! with Regis and Kelly

We have worked with Gwen and her Power Yoga for Sports system for years and have found not only her style, but also her methods, to be as approachable as the girl next door. Far from scaring anyone off, Gwens teachings make the practice of yoga something that anyone can do, at any time.

Lee Woodruff, author of In an Instant and contributing reporter for CBS This Morning

You have prepared me for everybody and anybody. There is nothing I cant do that they ask of me, and I know how to listen to them explain what they want. Thank you for teaching me how to grow confident in my own body! This is an immeasurable gift!

Christina Mason, competitive squash player

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Body Sculpting with Yoga
Text copyright 2015 Gwen Lawrence

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-57826-527-5
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57826-526-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Cover and Print Interior Design by Heather Magnan

Clothing provided by lululemon athletica (www.lululemon.com) and Under Armour (www.underarmour.com)

v3.1

Dedication

I completely dedicate this book and its inspiration to the love of my life
My husband

My one and only
Who does everything
So I can pursue
My life
My dreams
My purpose

M.E.
&
B.T.C.

Introduction

Gwen Lawrence , fitness professional and creator of the Power Yoga for Sports training program and the VYX (Vinyasa Yoga Extreme) system.

I have been a dancer since the age of 3. It was a world far different from the current Dance Moms mentality; dance kept me on the straight and narrow, committed and organized. I continued dancing through high school as a principal contributor and leader of the company. My dance teacher was strict and crystal clear on her objectives. At the time, I resented her style, but I now realize her approach was the seed that spawned my no-nonsense, tough love approach to teaching yoga to high-level athletes today, so thank you, Mrs. Kopp. My love of dance continued through college as my minor and eventually set the stage for my love of movement and my ability to choreograph the original body sculpting yoga flow series that are found in this book.

I have been a working fitness professional since the age of 18. I placed fourth in Miss Fitness America when I was in college and have always loved the feeling of lifting weights and cross-training my body. I worked and ran fitness facilities and created programs to help people reach their fitness goals. I even trained in step aerobics until the minute my first son was born. It is not surprising that he loves fitness and thrives on working out as all my sons do they were exposed in utero!

After college I attended The Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences in New York City and have been a massage therapist to the stars and elite athletes since 1990. With massage, I have worked with physical therapists, in fitness facilities, with chiropractors, and on doctor referral. All of this experience has given me a deep knowledge and understanding of how the body works and rehabilitates, and also how to train the body to maximize performance. To be a yoga teacher you are required to study only 20 hours of anatomy, yet I easily have 100 times that and growing. (I know this because I own a Yoga Alliance-accredited yoga school, Laws of Yoga School of Yoga, where I teach people to become yoga instructors!)

Finally, I have a unique ability to read bodies. I position my clients and athletes to analyze them for imbalances and symmetry that inevitably (if left unaddressed) will lead to injury. Leaving symmetry problems unresolved is like never rotating the tires on your car and then just driving and driving on the balding tire until it blows! I have people around the world sending me photos to analyze their posture, and I help to relieve some nagging mysterious pains. To me, its all about preventing injury in the first place and enhancing performance thereafter.

What Can This Workout Do for You?

Many of you are likely busy and motivated women, overworked moms, or just someone looking to bring better health habits into their life. Body Sculpting with Yoga will show you how to achieve your health and fitness goals through the powerful sculpting, toning, and strength-building benefits of yoga-inspired exercises.

It is not my intention to scare or intimidate you about my lifes work with professional athletes. Quite the contrary. I tell you my journey so you can rest assured that the exercises and workouts in this book have been built off of my time-tested techniques and will bring results.