15My legs feel good," in baseball, it's not just, wow. “It's, wow! This is amazing!”
This is like, "What's going on here?” [laughter] So yeah, I feel like there's a lot
of blood flow. I feel like there's a big, warm sensation going on in my legs. It
feels like my body is doing a flush, flushing inflammation out. I usually wake
up feeling great. It helps with my range of motion. My body just feels more
pliable the more I do it. I imagine it helps with injury prevention, and I definitely
do it as a recovery.
T.E. How many time a week do you practice yin yoga?
A.P. I do it two or three times a week. The actual full hour that I want to do,
maybe once a week. I’d say at least twice a week I’ll be doing a version of yin
yoga where maybe it’s a half hour.
T.E. Do you have a favorite yin yoga pose?
A.P. At the moment, when I’m doing them, I don’t like any of them! [laughter]
T.E. It’s sort of a love–hate relationship. [laughter]
A.P. They’re challenging. I like the one where we’re falling forward, grabbing
both legs, caterpillar pose. There’s also dragon pose. That one gets into the
groin, hamstrings, and the hip flexors. When we get to that one, as much as
that one hurts, that one’s excellent for me.
T.E. What about a least favorite yin yoga pose?
A.P. Fire log pose. I don’t get it, and I’ve tried and tried. I’m not sure if my body
is built to get my legs on the ground. I get through them and I do as much as
I can. That one’s a tough one for me, not exactly my strongest pose. [laughter]
T.E. Could you share any last inspiring thoughts?
A.P. Well, people ask how I got to the big leagues and why some other people
haven’t. I just say it’s commitment. Just like anything in life, if you really want to
be the best at something, then there’s a huge commitment you have to have.
Your actions have to follow that commitment. You never lose sight of what
your ultimate goal is.