81the stands, TV crews were doing their pregame broadcasts, and phenomenal
athletes were doing warm-up drills. The energy was electrifying!
A.J. spotted us and trotted over. He expressed tremendous gratitude for
my Ultimate Yogi program and described it as being one his secret training
weapons. In the off-season, he used the stronger power yoga practices, but
during the regular season he used the more relaxed practices, especially
yin yoga.
But apparently, his secret weapon was no longer a secret. His teammates
noticed a difference in his performance and started to inquire. One of his
teammates was Paul Goldschmidt. At the time of this writing Paul Gold-
schmidt, commonly known as Goldy, was one of the best baseball players
in the world. He is a multiple MLB All-Star and has won the National League
Hank Aaron Award, Gold Glove Award, and Silver Slugger Award.
A.J. called Goldy over to meet us. Immediately, I was struck by how kind
and humble he was. Like A.J., he gave thanks for the yoga and also singled
out yin yoga for being extra special. He said he had not heard of yin yoga
until A.J. turned him onto The Ultimate Yogi. After he had been practicing
yin for some time, his physical therapists and trainers noticed a huge dif-
ference within his body. They noticed a profound shift within his fascia and
tissues. Blocked areas of deep tension had released, pain in the body had
decreased, and his mobility had improved. For a guy who has been recog-
nized as “America’s First Baseman” these results were a big deal.
A.J. then called over the Arizona Diamondbacks third-base coach, Matt
Williams. Matt Williams is a former professional third baseman who went to
the World Series with the San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians
and won the championship with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. A.J. and
Goldy had inspired Coach Williams to start doing yoga, which he described
as medicine for his aging body. He said that yoga didn’t come easy to him,
but he always felt tremendously better after doing it, and he was now a solid
fan. Then we all had a few laughs about how much yoga can hurt like hell!
Soon after I met Matt Williams, he was hired as the head coach for the
Washington Nationals. In 2014, he managed the team to an NL East division
title and was named the National League Manager of the Year. One day, I
was l scrolling through the news and came across the headline, “Washington
Nationals Do Yoga.” The article talked about how Coach Williams wanted the
entire team to do yoga. As I was reading the article, I couldn’t help but smile.
Yoga was spreading and was helping teams reach their fullest potential!