Bio – Katherine Roberts is the founder and President of both Katherine Roberts’ Yoga For Baseball and Yoga For Golfers. She served 13 years as a Major League Baseball with the Oakland A’s, LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds,Texas Rangers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Katherine also works with both PGA and LPGA golfers and her Yoga for Golf program is being taught by certified instructors in 22 countries. Both of her world famous programs are based around bio mechanics and the demands of the two sports, both physically and mentally. Katherine is also a renowned author, instructor and public speaker.
When Did your Athletic Career begin?
Katherine played every sport growing up and was a self-confessed tom boy. In terms of competitive sports, Katherine competed in tennis and basketball. She has been playing golf since she was 15 and continues to play. She has been practicing Yoga for 18 years and it serves as one of her main athletic ventures along with golf, paddle boarding and running.
What Adversity Have You Had to Overcome as an Athlete?
Katherine was very athletic growing and she experienced some very fast growth with led to a lot of knee problems. She also experienced a serious back injury that required her to go through rehab, which she has said made her “a more compassionate teacher, a more educated coach and a more well-rounded athlete”.
What Type of Warm-Up do you Recommend for Baseball Players or Golfers?
“When you’re preparing your body for an explosive movement from a static position, then the preparation must include dynamic movement patters.” Katherine explains that dynamic movements are any which incorporate movement into your stretching.
In terms for preparation for the specific movements of the two sports, her goal is to build more power, more strength and more stability and to teach an athlete how to,“use the ground and reaction forces.” Katherine’s static power yoga poses can help facilitate such types of strengths. These types of stretches become an integral part of your strength training program.
What Other Tips do You Have for Golfers, Baseball or Softball Players Who Want to Remain Injury Free ?
“Dynamic stretching and yoga poses help reduce injury,” Katherine states matter-of-factly. She has developed an entire program based on regeneration and injury recovery. A good example of what the program can for a golfer who might go and play 18 holes and notice that they have lower extremity and lumbar fatigue. “Putting their legs up the wall can reduce some of that fatigue, passively stretching the hamstring and helps restore homeostasis.”
What other variables can optimize performance
An integral part of Katherine’s philosophy is the incorporation of breathing and mindset conditioning. One of Katherine’s MLB clients stated, “what I learned from Katherine is that breathing and staying grounded helps me feel that I’m in control of the pace of the game which enables me to focus, visualize and execute efficiently. “ Katherine stresses “It is important to be fully present in what you are doing, as everything happens one swing a time, one pitch a time, one rep at a time and one breath at time.”
Lorne’s Take – I really like what Katherine had to say on the benefits of dynamic stretching and how her unique brand of static power yoga poses can increase strength and stability.
