georgia tech does yrg

8/3/2019 Georgia Tech does YRG

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Yoga stretches Jackets to limit Page 1 ofJ

Yoga stretches Jackets to limitMauWinll>nSlaffSunday, July 16. 2000AUdressed down wilh nowhere 10 go, several s limy Georqia Tech pla.ye l'$ theother day look it in Ihe chops - and glutes, pees and quads - wilh sweatpouring, musclesscreaming arid hearts pounding as Diamond Dallas Page yelled1 . 1 1the Yellow Jackets' "Do you own Notre D a m e or whalT

It wasn' t quite a hardy retort as they countered with a collecnve 9ur91e thatapproximated, ''Yesl''Vllhen ent renched in "Voga for Regular Guys, " nothing's easy. And when Page, aformer wor ld champion ,professiona l wrestle r, shows up to dril l Tech's weeklyclass, irs like boot camp. GiVen a choice, IblacKing out might rank ahead of yellingback,"I know you're going to kick Notre Dame's [hint: hedidn't say leprechauns]!"be llowed the freak ishly l ithe Page. a 50-year-old human cab leHere, he ordered, "ex tended side angle, position one," Cue the moaning andgroaning', as the faces ofquarterback Reggie Ball, cornerback Kenny Scoli, safetyDjay Jon es and 11 5 others t l.vis ted into masks of agonyQIl, the lengths to which the Jackets will stretch for aoy edge to send Notre Dameaway yelping after the Irish visit Tech Sept , 2. If it' s good enough for Steeters widereceiver and Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward, irs good enough on The Flats,"I t helps me with f lexib il ity and re laxes the muscles." said de fens ive end Darrel lRObertson. "But lh.ate the 'downward dog,' where you' reoo all f ours and, yourbut t's in the a ir ."The Downward Facing Dog is a positionthat epitomizes the vision of YRG co-founders Page and Dr, Craig Aaron, Irs inregular, a.kind of "commando yoga,"Aaron said, in which the difference is more than new positions . There's alsoadding one's own muscle resistance - isometrics- to many maneuvers,It leads 10 a lot of t rembling dudes'We' re engaging the muscles right onto the bones," said' Aaron, who'S also alicensed kines ioloqist and chiropractor ' 'Yoga people hav'e a tendency to look atwhat we do and say that's not really yoga, I say you're exactlyriqht. Yoga is thefoundat ion, but .. . we have modified it into a,better workout while using aUthehttp://ajc.printthls,clkkability.com!ptfcpt?acti on=cptectitle= Y {1ge+stretches+Jeckets+to+l i . ., 7/1712006
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Yoga stretches Jackets to limit Page 2 of3

grea llhin.gs Iha tyoga has to of fer ."Heart rates can soar, at least one. player rea.ching 153 beats per minuteWednesday."The reason I wanted 10 try it was 10wamkon my f lexibi li ty ," said Kansas CityChiefs linebacker and former Tech star Keyaran Fox, who was in town. " lt 's verydemanding."A business is bornIr\'hen Page soug ht Aaron at age 42, ttley had no deSigns on a bus inesspartnership. I Iwas about professional surv ival ."I had a back injury I had' 10 find some way 10 continue my dream," Page toldcur ren t and termer Tech p laye!S before Wednesday's session. "M y wife said, 'Whynot try yoga to heal your body?' I was Ihe last ,guy 10 .do th at."Star ting safety Jamal Lewis believes_"I p.la.ydefensive back, and Y O l ! need core streng th and f le~jb il tty. " Lewis said.''The more f lexibility you have, the faster you are. l thlnk fromlasl year [whenAaron began working with Ihe team] to this year. my core :ismuch slronger andas far as flexibility, I'm able to move my hips more, open my hips faster [to tumand ruo]."Aaron, wha p layed. co l iege l ineback.er a t LaFayet te and Union in Itl e 1980s.explained, "I won anauditicn [at Tech] . Paul Hewitt" who's-one of the moreprogress ive basketball coach es in the co untry, set out to find a yoga leach er --because Phil Jackson was doing that with the Bulls and Lakers ~ and he had oneof his assistan ts cal l' for refer ra Is"Those who met the criteria met wilh the staff, and thai's how we began. That wasAugust of 2001_ Then, Ihe tennis teams wanted to Know what , ilwas a ll about,then gol f, then foo tbat I i . "Gailey med il onceJames Butler, a rookie safely w~ the New York Giants last season after pl.ay.ingat Tech, was back Wednesday for more yoga_Even coach Chan Gailey gave il a try _Once_"He wenllhrough a session and came up to me af terward and said, 'I have neverexpenenced anything like thai in my Ijfe," Aaron recalled.Aaron (www.yoga-doc.com). who also contracts with Tech for advancedone-on-one st retchlnq sess ions, has worked as a chiroprac tor, yoga inst ructor or both wilhFatcons Chauncey Davis , Bryan Randal l and Wayne Gandy_ Braves reliel :pi tcherTyler Yates has been a client , as have Orioles pit cher Kris Benson, BillsI .inebacker Takeo Sp ikes., Ravens nunning back Jamal Lewis, Ward and Raiderscornerback Tyrone Poole ~ all with local ties."Most of what I do with these guys is YRG because il seems 10 f il their needs,"Aaron said. "Ycu wou ld think that a th letes COUldper fo rm n O ! 1 1 1 a l yog,a or YRGpositions maybe to a level far beyond you and I, but they have a 10 1 moreresistance because Ihey have a lot more muscle mass around joints "h1tp://ajc.prinlthis.ciickability .com/pt/cpti'action=cpteztitle=Y oga+stretches+Jackets+to+li.; 7I t 7 / 20 0 6


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Yoga stretches Jackets to limit Page 3 oD

And every Wednesday {Mondays dur ing foo tbal l season), Tech muscles protest.Flexible at 50"Al l r igh t guys, four th quarter, the last two minutes. It 's herel This is where youwil l, " Page screams, 'Ten-nine-e igh t,seven . .. 'The fingertip p us n- up s - done very, very siowry - gut the JaCkets_"Hey, guys, Notre Dame's not doing Ihis," the Yoga Doc declares.' 'U,ggghhh' I' ' i s the response. Some players col lapse . Others perch from kneesra ther than toes, Pa_ge p lows onwa rd, flawless ,li1 fa rmPageeartier dropped to his knees, upper body upright to forman "L," then layback, touching back to heels, and said, "Flexibilit y is youth_ l'm 50, was hit by acar when r was 12, been thrown aroundlise a rag doll, and here's my f le)(,ibility_"Veins bulging, Page turned to a shutterbug: "Photo op! "The Jackets aren't looking to be in pic tures. They want to win, and f igure Y RGmay he lp by increas i ng f lexib il ity, ag i li ty and possi b ty red ucln g the l ikel ihood ofinjury through wark on the body 's core. -'The push-ups, they k ill me. The standing on.your f ingert ips, oh, man," Lewis saidalter a 50-minute session. "Some guys, mends or whatever, tease me. . . Ijustthink about get ting better on the f ie ld ."aje.eom> Head online to see more photosof Georgia Tech's foo tbal l tea .m doing yoga_

Find Ihi s .uti. cl e at::http://Www.ajc.m/searchicontenUa~ lOIeP'>perleditions/s"ndaylspom._ 449b1 OG7f4e70125000b_~tm'l

D Ch" "" " the box to , include (he l is t of : link . referenced in the article.

nttp:llajc.printtn;is.clickabiJjty .com/pt/cptvaction=cpteetitle= Yoga+stretches+ Jackets+to+li.i. 7/17/2006


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Tech footbal.1 in state of f.lex!Ii'" < B A C K 313 N[XT~Page wears a T-sh in t ou ti ng t i le book "Yoga forRegular G u ys :' w r it te n I ; > y P.agaand'Aaron_Cha~ot te B .Teag le I AJC

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Tech football in state of flex < B A C K 418 ; N E X T I>

Page. ( le ft ) and Aaron keep t il ing . loose,

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Defensive l ineman Travis. R(>gers (front) s tepsinto a stretch.

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5/6' BACK NEXT~Dar rel l Rober tson manage s to s rn i le th roughthe pain.

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~BACK 818Sanbo rn d rops into a squat as .Aaron watches .

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~BACK 716 NUTII-Cr. igAaro n helps l ineback.er David San 1 > 0 mstretch h is snou leers ;

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georgia tech does yrg

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