I walked into that locker room ready to impress. That was my first mistake.
The first time I taught yoga to players who would go on to the NFL, I made every mistake possible. I overcomplicated my sequences. I used language they didn’t understand. I tried to prove I belonged there instead of actually helping.
And I almost lost the opportunity entirely.
I’ve been teaching yoga to athletes for over twenty years now. Division One college teams. Programs that produce NFL talent. But I didn’t start out knowing what I was doing. Not even close.
In this post—and the video below—I’m breaking down my three biggest early mistakes so you don’t have to make the same ones.
{{youtube_embed}}
Mistake #1: Overcomplicating Everything
I’d been invited to teach the UNC football team. These were elite athletes—some would be drafted into the NFL. I was terrified and wanted to prove I belonged.
So I designed an incredibly complex, football-specific sequence. I researched which muscles different positions used. Created elaborate progressions targeting hip mobility for linebackers, shoulder stability for quarterbacks, ankle flexibility for running backs. I had anatomical cues memorized for every movement.
I walked into that locker room with my detailed plan ready to impress.
Here’s what happened: The athletes were confused. They couldn’t follow my complicated transitions. They didn’t understand my anatomical terminology. Instead of feeling helped, they felt frustrated.
I was so focused on demonstrating my expertise that I forgot to actually serve their needs. I was teaching for me—to prove I belonged—not for them.
The lesson: Elite athletes don’t need complex yoga. They need simple practices they can actually use. The more sophisticated your athlete, the simpler your teaching should be. Save the elaborate sequences for yoga practitioners. Athletes need accessible, practical tools.
Mistake #2: Speaking the Wrong Language
I’d say things like “Ground through your sit bones. Find length in your side body. Engage your bandhas.” The players looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language—because I was.
These athletes had never taken a yoga class. They didn’t know what “sit bones” meant. “Bandhas” might as well have been Martian. And they definitely weren’t interested in learning yoga vocabulary.
I was asking them to learn my language instead of speaking theirs. That’s backwards. It’s my job to communicate in terms they understand, not their job to learn yoga terminology.
Here’s what works instead: “Feel your weight in your heels. Stretch through your side. Tighten your core like you’re about to take a hit.” Same concepts, but in language athletes actually understand.
Even better, focus on outcomes they care about. “This helps you recover faster between practices. This prevents the shoulder injuries linemen get.” Now you’re speaking their language. And that’s what teaching yoga to athletes actually looks like.
Mistake #3: Trying to Impress Instead of Serve
This was the root of everything. I wanted these elite athletes to see me as an expert. I wanted to prove I deserved to be in that locker room. I wanted them to think, “Wow, this yoga teacher really knows her stuff.”
But here’s the thing: they didn’t care about my expertise. They cared about feeling better. They cared about recovering faster. They cared about performing better on Saturday.
When you’re focused on impressing people, you make everything about yourself. You show off your knowledge. You use fancy terminology. You design complex sequences to demonstrate your skill.
When you’re focused on serving people, you make everything about them. You ask what they need. You use language they understand. You keep things simple enough that they actually get the benefits.
Once I made that shift, the athletes started trusting me. And I stopped dreading the sessions.
The Moment Everything Changed
A few sessions in, I was still struggling with my complicated approach. Then one day, a linebacker looked up at me from the floor and said, “Coach Sage, can we just do breathing and savasana?”
My first instinct was panic. Just breathing and rest? That seemed too simple.
But I looked around and really saw these athletes. They were exhausted. Pushed and analyzed and optimized all day long. They didn’t need more complexity. They needed permission to rest.
So I threw out my plan. We spent the entire session on simple breathing and restorative rest. No complex poses. No anatomical cues. Just basic practices anyone could do.
Afterward, players thanked me with genuine gratitude. One said his shoulders hadn’t relaxed like that in months. They asked when I could come back.
That was the day I learned: my value to athletes isn’t in impressing them with complexity. It’s in serving them with simplicity.
What Actually Works with Elite Athletes
After twenty-plus years of teaching athletes—from weekend warriors to future NFL players—here’s what I know:
Keep it simple. The more elite the athlete, the simpler your teaching should be. They don’t need fancy yoga. They need practical tools.
Speak their language. Use terms they understand. Focus on outcomes they care about: how to recover faster, how to prevent injuries, how to perform better on game day.
Serve, don’t impress. Make it about them, not about proving yourself.
And trust the basics. Breathing, simple movement, rest. These are more powerful than most yoga teachers give them credit for.
When I stopped fighting my instinct to overcomplicate things, the work got better. Athletes started requesting me. Coaches started recommending me. I actually enjoyed showing up.
Want to skip the painful learning curve?
I put everything I know about teaching athletes into a free workshop: How to Double Your Income Teaching Yoga to Athletes. The whole system, so you don’t have to piece it together the hard way like I did.
More stories like this one live on the podcast. And if you want a community of yoga teachers who get it, The Zone is free.
