Yoga and Hoops

Duke University’s different athletic teams use yoga as part of their training routines:

“They use it as a treat because they look forward to it,” [Lisa] Jindra said. “They enjoy the stretch. They enjoy the relaxation. You’re using it to help them recover, and they like doing it as a team-building thing, too. Like with lacrosse, we always say they’re out their beating on each other-at least they can come in here and be quiet together.”

And the players agree. They look forward to the deviation from the normal training methods, even though it’s not necessarily less arduous than taking a pounding in their pads.

Yoga, of course, is not as easy as it appears, especially for players with tightness from contant, repetitive motions:

“It was brutal,” sophomore attackman Zach Howell said of his first time doing yoga. “It was honestly one of the most challenging things I’d ever done. And the funny thing was the yoga instructor told us she was taking it easy on us that day.”

“[There were] a lot of painful stretches-a lot of moaning going on in the background with weird positions going on,” fifth-year senior Chris Loftus said of the team’s first go with yoga.