Nevada (US), Dec 22 (ANI): Many American athletes are reportedly adopting yoga practice.

Ray Lewis, famous American football linebacker from Baltimore Ravens, reportedly told the Chicago (USA) media: “I’m talking about an hour-and-a-half yoga classes at times. And the crazy part about it is, once you actually get into it a good two or three times, you really miss if you don’t do it. It stretches you that much.”

Lewis, first linebacker to win Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award on the winning Super Bowl team, has been reportedly doing yoga in the offseason for the past two to three years.

Yoga reportedly makes a great complement to athletic training and various types of athletes are incorporating the practice into their training for bettering sports performance by improving flexibility and functional strength, building muscle energy and stamina, preventing sports injuries, dealing with stress, overcoming back pain, improving breathing and focusing, increasing endurance, etc.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, extended invitation to yoga practicing athletes to explore the spiritual dimension of yoga also because actually yoga is a mental and physical discipline by means of which the human-soul (jivatman) unites with universal-soul (parmatman). (ANI)