One typically hears yoga and pictures folks performing elegant, stress free movements in the peaceful sunshine of a brisk morning. Take a walk into Winona State’s basketball gym on Monday/Thursday evenings and you’ll find a very different image; a full roster of collegiate football players packed into the gym for a yoga-like Restorative Flow Movement Pattern (RoFlow) that most participants would consider anything but “elegant”.
The Warriors head coach, Tom Sawyer, has always fostered any opportunity to keep players healthy and on the field where they are needed. Beginning in 2014 in collaboration with football coaching staff, training/strength staff, and the Health, Exercise and Rehabilitative Sciences (HERS) Department of Winona State, RoFlow has become a huge part of the Warriors weekly training schedule. Developed specifically for football by HERS Assistant Professors Connie Mettille and Justin Geijer, RoFlow combines performance and rehabilitation while focusing on training movement patterns rather than training specific muscles. Combining yoga principles, functional movements, strain/counter-strain, and various other training principles achieve all this. Traditional yoga movements are essentially modified to improve function, recovery, mobility, and stability.
As pleasant as all that may sound, members of the football team assure the general public that RoFlow is as tough as any of their other training regimens. Lauden Wood, Senior defensive lineman and WSU football leadership council president said, “We sweat bullets in there. RoFlow has posed quite a challenge for our entire team. Not only physically but mentally. Since we began the RoFlow sessions our injuries as a team have substantially decreased as our ability to correctly do the different movements has increased. I must say I get a kick out of watching the huskier guys do the positions, but they are all starting to execute RoFlow well.”
Like any other training aspect associated with collegiate football, it’s a tough yet necessary component for the overall well being of the athletes. Head instructor, Connie Mettille says, “an added bonus of the RoFlow sessions is the psychological impact. Athletes have reported improved concentration, improved sleep and improved moods.” A necessity whereas stress and mental health of student athletes has been a growing concern in the NCAA in addition to the countless physical injuries they already endure.
As mentioned by Wood, there have been significantly fewer body injuries this past season on the team, injuries that have proven costly in previous years for the Warriors. I can personally attest to the positive effects that RoFlow has had. I don’t just feel stretched out, I feel rejuvenated, like my circulation is better than when I walked in. Mettille, Geijer and HERS student assistants are constantly making adjustments to our postures so we may benefit as much as possible. It’s a grind; another sweat to break during our already tight schedules, but having a healthier team will pay dividends in the coming 2016 season.
Credentials
Connie Mettille: M.S., FMS, Core Power Yoga Certified, NCAA DII and NAIA Head Volleyball Coach
Justin Geijer: PhD, FMS, NASM-CPT
Assistant Professors at Winona State University, Health, Exercise, and Rehabilitative Sciences Department.