CHIN BALANCE VARIATIONThere are so many times in a football game when
you have to recapture yourself and recommit
to yourself. It could be during a long play, when
you come back to the huddle winded and have
to keep on going. Yoga helped me during those
times. When I got fatigued during a game, I’d tell
myself, “Breathe. Calm down.”
With my current job, yoga helps me be more
effective so I don’t burn myself out.
I’m retired from the NFL, and now I’m a
coordinator for the NFL’s Legends Commu-
nity. We assist players who are retiring, help-
ing them with continuing education, financial
matters, medical benefits, job placement,
and counseling. For a lot of them the change
is emotionally difficult. They go from being
someone everybody recognizes to feeling like
they’re sort of past-tense. I check up on them
regularly, and if someone is going through
tough times, I can recommend resources to
help him.
I try to be there for my friends and family,
too. My friends know if they come talk to me,
there’s no judgment. I hear about finances, mari-
tal problems, and work stress. I’m also involved in
a lot of charity work, including raising awareness
of violence against children.
I guess my interest in helping people goes
back to my childhood. My dad was in the military;
I was born in Germany, and my parents always
opened our home to soldiers there without fam-
ily. My football career got me into a position
where I could give back, and it just snowballed.
If I can make a difference, like meeting a kid in
the hospital, I will show up. My dad always says,
“There are twenty-four hours in a day. What are
you going to do with them?”
Yoga is a way to put all of this in perspective.
No matter what kind of problems or situations I
am dealing with, when I practice, I leave every-
thing on the mat. I walk out of class free from it
all and can start all over again.