Gwen Lawrence

Gwen Lawrence has been a practicing fitness professional since 1990. Her current practice includes private yoga training, class instruction and her sport-specific Power Yoga for Sports training program www.poweryogaforsports.com. Gwen’s unique combination of dance, massage and yoga training experience, coupled with her extensive knowledge of anatomy and nutrition, provide her clients and athletes with overwhelming benefits. Gwen is the yoga instructor for several New York Yankees baseball players, team yoga instructor for the New York Giants, New York Knicks, New York Red Bulls, New York Rangers, several major college teams including Yale and UNC, and many youth teams in a variety of sports. She is also the official spokesperson for AFRIN PureSea, and ambassador for Lululemon and Manduka, Gaiam, and Yoga Earth. Her writing appears in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Fitness Magazine, Details magazine, Shape.com and ESPN.com. She makes regular appearances on NBC Today Show as well as many other TV news and national radio shows. Gwen also owns her own yoga school where she trains people to teach the power yoga for sports system. She was just named to 2010 Westchester’s Best list. She was featured in the June 2010 issue of ESPN magazine as the “Best innovation in Sports Medicine.”

The most common reason for sports-related injuries — whether you’re a recreational athlete or a pro, from ages 10-80 — is overuse and abuse. In my experience, most injuries arise when athletes disconnect from their bodies. Their eyes are on perfection, or the competition.

It follows that the best prevention is to become acutely aware of your body — its shape, its symmetry, how it feels, the range in the joints. Many sports can create asymmetries in the body because they are one-side dominant (think of swinging a baseball bat or golf club or tennis racket). It’s your job to recognize these imbalances before they become injuries. To help you, I’ve identified the top 10 most common sports-related injuries and given you a few yoga poses for athletes to to help correct the imbalances and asymmetries that cause them.

Setting a goal to run a marathon is life altering and monumental. But the training leading up to your marathon may be filled with blisters, mental challenges, muscle fatigue, weakness and injury. Yoga can help you:

• decrease plantar fascia injuries
• decrease Achilles tendonitis
• run more efficiently with less effort
• increase flexibility in your hamstrings, quadriceps and calves
• open supple hips to decrease knee strain and injury

The NYC marathon and many other races are approaching. Here are my top six yoga moves for runners — from weekend warriors to serious marathoners — to do daily before training, after a workout and, most importantly, after the big day.

Traditionally, yoga focuses on inner beauty, but I recently came across a secret yogi technique to enhance the outer beauty as well. No scalpel, no down time, no pain, no magic creams — sounds like a slam dunk to me! Why wouldn’t you want to try it?!

Ancient yogic texts mention an exercise known as Kaki Mudra, which can be used to strengthen the muscles in your face. The routine was meant to be kept as a sacred yogi secret, but I aim to share the wealth.

For athletes, plantar fasciitis is one of the most common sources of heel pain. The plantar fascia is a ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes. Strain to the fascia weakens it, causing pain and swelling in the heel. It is a problem that plagues regular exercisers as well as football players, tennis players, soccer players and basketball players every day.

Causes:

• High arches or flat feet
• Working, running or standing on hard surfaces
• Being overweight
• Tight Achilles tendons
• Tight calves
• Weak inside edge of foot, causing roll-in (pronation)

Fix:

Aside from rest and ice, you can take anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin (consult your doctor first) to help with an acute case. I take a standpoint of prevention. There are several defensive approaches.

You know when you’re on an airplane and the flight attendants are doing their routine safety demonstration? They tell you that, if there’s an emergency, you should place the oxygen mask over your face first and then help those around you. I think this philosophy needs to be carried over into every aspect of your life.

Taking time to take care of yourself isn’t selfish — in fact, caring for yourself is what gives you the strength and energy to take better care of those around you. You are in charge of your life and health — make time to exercise! Stop the guilt and petty excuses. No amount of guilt or worry can change someone else’s misfortune or problems, so make time for you.