……as a way to prevent injuries, stay in shape, recover from injuries, and extend careers.
Defensive Back, Adam (a.k.a., "Packman") Jones of the Bengals was Carmella's first N.F.L. client. At the outset, Carmella Rackham (instagram @brazilyoga), had no intention of working with athletes…..
…but Packman Jones began recommending her to other athletes. Within six months, Carmella Rackham said she had more clients than she could handle.
“Yoga has played a big part in my life and career, because it works my mind and body,” Michael Adams, Saftey, Carolina Panthers said, adding that he had recommended it to younger teammates.
Adams, 34, said he was introduced to yoga and the wheel by his teacher, Carmella Rackham, who owns Brazil Yoga, and has 13 N.F.L. players among the 17 athletes whom she trains privately.
[below] Carmella's student, Todd Gurley, Running back, Los Angeles Rams. Gurley Was offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015!!
(Todd's Yoga photo from Carmella's Brazil Yoga Instagram Page)
Other students include Adams’s Indianapolis teammate D’Qwell Jackson, a linebacker. Rackham often travels to her client’s city and spends three to four days there conducting private yoga sessions.
Other players practicing yoga regularly include the All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, now with the Dolphins; Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo; Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart; and Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph.
[below] Carmella's student, Atlanta Falcon's wide receiver Mohammed Sanu. According to Carmella, having Mohammed in the "camelpose" (assisted with a bolster because his knees and quads are not ready for the full pressure of this pose) will help aid in him having a healthy back.
Carmella begins each Yin Yoga-style workout with the Dharma Yoga Wheel, which was invented by international teacher Yogi Varuna, along with another teacher, Raquel Vamos.
Asked how the wheel most particularly aided him, Adams [next photo below] said: “It specifically helped with the arch in my back and when rolling out on the wheel.”.
[below] Carmella's student, on the Dharma Yoga Wheel, Carolina Panther's Safety, Michael Adams. Adams said that the stretching from yoga was particularly helpful for his hamstrings and hips. His workout regiment includes night sessions three times a week with the wheel, rolling it on his back and legs.
“Traditional class starts with breathing and warm-up,” Carmella said. “But I let them roll out the wheel; they usually are coming off a hard practice, so it will relax the body, help them feel mellow and calm.
Then we go into breathing; I stress breathing with the guys — it helps them on the field and to remain calm in a stressful situation.
[2 photos below] Carmella's student, Carolina Panther's Safety, Michael Adams, is going on 37 years old in 2017 and still ballin' in the NFL, no doubt in part to incorporating yoga into his routine.
“We do some flow sequences, some yoga poses. Depends on how a guy feels that day, depends on how practices have gone.”
[below] Carmella's student, Detroit Lions Tight End, Eric Ebron
Carmella also emphasized the mental aspect of yoga for her clients, and its ability to heal emotionally and psychologically.
“I tell everybody: These guys’ lives are completely different from our lives; we don’t know what it is like to live their lives day by day,” she said. “They walk in to our sessions with the stress of it. I can see it on their faces at any session, the tiredness.
[below] Carmella Rackham says she designed an inexpensive yoga space for her yoga student, Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver, Nolan Carroll @carrollcity in his home! Carmella says, you might think it's a huge investment, BUT IT"S NOT. She designed Nolan Carroll's yoga space for under $300 !!! 
“But by the time they breathe and do a little bit of yoga, there is something that disappears, and a calm that comes off of them."
"The mental wellness of yoga is by far the biggest part for an athlete. It gives a Zen calmness their sport doesn’t teach them.”
[below] Carmella's clientele extends beyond the NFL, as Cleveland Cavs Baller Derrick Williams, and Carmella pose for an interesting photo after a session.
My comments, and a few words of wisdom from Carmella Rackham…..
…as much as I look at women's sites on the web for my Blog photos and such, Carmella is intrigingly different from all the other girls "presenting" (and often "over-killing") themselves on social media.
These are actually the only photos of her I could find on the web. Most nice looking "cyber girls" have endless hundreds to choose from (That was a big, hmmmmm, that struck my curiosity about Carmella….)
She's beautiful, yes, but Carmella does not post a gazillion "selfies", even though she's shapely enough to overkill her voluptuousness if she choose to do, so like so many girls do on social media.
Female yoga is in an of itself visually provocative, but Carmella doesn't seem to wanna go there like so many of other "Fitness Vixens" on the internet…..
She describes her shape as "thick" and "square", she says she's only 4'11" tall, she's not your average "rail thin" yoga contortionist. I guess I just find her inspirational, but not sure why.
Not over thinking it, but I think it ties back to a comment Ballerina Misty Copeland once made….
"You can find a pretty body anyhwhere, but my own favorite artists don't even have all that. They've taken what they have, and made it into this incredible, beautiful thing…." [paraphrased] –Misty Copeland
But Carmella has got me officially "all in", I just purchased my Dharma Yoga Wheel, after purchasing message balls and foam rollers 2 weeks ago at after a session with a personal trainer.
….though I'm just taking my time. First, just a little stretching everyday to get a daily habit locked in, and letting it evolve "organically".
I just sense this will be important for my "youthful vitality" for decades to come. I've intensely and consistently worked out for decades, but never stretched much 🙁
Below are some quotes from Carmella……
"The "myth" that vegetarian/vegans are skinny is just that, a MYTH! A healthy body comes in MANY shapes and sizes! Get HIP! I have not been "slim" since 5th grade my body developed early and never stopped! This is just my shape but it DOES NOT mean just own being thick and let myself go, if anything I have to work HARDER with a thick body to maintain the thick in a HEALTHY way….BE HEALTHY AT WHATEVER SHAPE YOU ARE AND OWN IT!" –Carmella Rackham (from her Instagram page)
"MY INSECURITY: cellulite! 🙁 🙁 🙁 I HARDLY post me in Yoga Shorts because the back of my legs and bum have it! It's not a big amount of cellulite but I still HATE IT!!" –Carmella Rackham (from her Instagram page)
"I worry for our young ladies who are relying on they looks as a career on social media…. I worry the want to be great and make a impact as a woman is lost behind the misguided allure of gossip blogs, reality tv, exposing people for money and plastic surgery…. Everyone grows old it is not something you can change….. To my young ladies who are lost…. I was you…. Find a passion and forget about the dollar signs…. Find a lasting career and BE GREAT!" –Carmella Rackham (from her Instagram page)
"It's some people's human nature to possibly see something sexual in yoga post and many of my post…. I get it YOGA POSES LOOK SEXUAL AT TIMES….. The funny part is, THE CHANCES OF A YOGI BUSTING OUT A YOGA POSE DURING SEX IS VERY SLIM!!!! It's all fantasy…. like how the hell would you even have sex like this??? I am often told my yoga looks sexual, no you see what you want…. OPEN YOUR MIND, see the work a yogi dedicates to they practice just to be able to do these poses…. I don't care either way what folks say…. I am just addressing this so maybe It will make just one person think 1st b4 the comment sexually on another Yogis page….. YES SOME YOGIS TRY AND BE SEXUAL AND POST DAMN NEAR NAKED…. I see it a lot on IG but that is for them to do and I respect they lane as well! Just know this Yogi posts to inspire!!! My Instagram is not a dating app for me!" –Carmella Rackham (from her Instagram page)
"I keep being AFRAID to do certain things these days in worry of what others may say. I hold back because I hate when others disapprove in mean ways because I'm a sensitive being and I hate being hurt. Today I woke up and said F_CK IT! Im going to just Rock life out! TODAY I WILL BE FEARLESS AND IM GOING TO LIVE EVERYDAY LIKE THAT …. Todays the day!!"
–Carmella Rackham (from her Instagram page)
"Thick Ums can FLYYYYY!!! Your size has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOGA! One post at a time I will change the mindset of some that think yoga is for skinny folks, ITS FOR EVERYONE!! –Carmella Rackham (from her Instagram page)
"It [yoga] is the confidence maker for a thicker individual to see themselves accomplish what western yoga pushes is only for thin folks! YOGA IS THE GAME CHANGER FOR EVERYONE…. I am proof of that" –Carmella Rackham
Text from this article (other than my comments) taken from an article I ran across on newyorktimes.com
Most yoga photos of Carmella Rackham and the athletes doing yoga from Carmella Rackham's BrazilYoga Instagram page
~stay healthy~
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