At first it sounded like a tacky, made-for-TV testimonial, a way to solicit more players from the UNM football team to join in the yoga sessions held twice a week inside the Indoor Practice Facility.
"You put in the work, you get the results," said UNM linebacker Jaymar Latchison.
But you come to realize that Latchison isn't a crafty pitchman. He's dead serious.
The workouts, led by Mike Locksley's wife, Kia Locksley, really work - and the guys take them seriously, Latchison said. So seriously, in fact, that Kia, who has been a yoga instructor for almost five years, said she hasn't even had to remind the players who her husband is to get them to participate.
"I haven't had to do that. They've been receptive (to it)," she said after working out with about 15 players. "But maybe it's because of coach Locks they haven't given me a hard time."
More than likely, though, the players' enthusiasm for the exercise stems from Kia's ability to make the workout fun - not out of fear of the other Locksley.
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"You have to (adapt)," she said, "because it's sort of viewed as a women's practice or something that's a little bit less masculine. So, I told them in the beginning - so many pro athletes really live and die by yoga."
Still, some players are a bit apprehensive to embrace the practice - such as quarterback Donovan Porterie, who didn't attend the class, as it isn't mandatory.
But his teammate Latchison will be elastic - stretchable like pizza dough - and able to slip through the cracks and crevices in the offensive line, he said.
"That's what a lot of the job entails," he said. "Coming off the edge, you get caught up between the offensive linemen. You'll need that flexibility to get through."
However, while all the stretches are aimed at improving dexterity and strengthening the core, the biggest incentive to players is helping keep them healthy throughout the season, Kia said.
"It'll help prevent injury, because when they're lifting and running, muscles are constricted and tightened," she said. "With yoga, we elongate those muscles."
Kia said she's integrated basic and complex stretches to maximize the effect.
