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It began in 2016 when Jessica Huneycutt went on a yoga retreat. She was within the means of getting divorced and located herself fascinated with the life that she wanted for herself and her son. After living in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Recent York, amongst other cities, she suddenly knew she needed to return to Recent Orleans, a spot that had immediately felt like home to her when she moved there in her late teens.

She kept contemplating how she could make it work. After completing three different 200-hour teacher trainings, Huneycutt had worked as a yoga teacher for the last six years. Along with her work in an area studio, she frolicked teaching yoga to students in an after-school program in Philadelphia. As a single mom, she needed a dependable income.

A lightweight bulb went off. “I just had this crazy concept that I used to be going to maneuver back to Recent Orleans, and I used to be going to be the yoga instructor for the Saints,” she says. Although Huneycutt had a private background in other sports, including as a junior Olympic swimmer and a martial arts practitioner, she had never been the yoga teacher for knowledgeable sports team. That didn’t deter her.

Landing the Job

Immediately upon her return home, she read up on Dan Dalrymple, the strength and conditioning for the Saints on the time, and wrote a PowerPoint for him titled “Yoga for Elite Athletes.” In her report, she detailed the advantages of the practice and identified 4 other skilled sports teams that offered yoga to their players.

Huneycutt, who was still living in Philadelphia, gave herself per week to make her goal a reality, starting by hopping on a flight to her desired home. She literally stood within the Saints’ lobby for hours at a time, waiting to talk to Dalrymple. Eventually, on the fourth day of waiting, the front desk staffer emailed Dalrymple to tell him Huneycutt wasn’t leaving. She presented her report back to him, explaining how yoga could help prevent injuries to his athletes and save the team money.

“He was identical to, ‘Thanks for the knowledge. There’s really no precedent for yoga within the NFL—but stay in contact,’” says Huneycutt. Dalrymple’s hesitation on the time didn’t stop her from making the leap to Louisiana. She and her son moved to Recent Orleans, regardless that Huneycutt hadn’t landed the gig. Six months after her move and no word from Dalrymple, she was considering applying for a job at Whole Foods when she spotted an article about NFL players practicing yoga. She emailed it to Dalrymple.

It worked. She finally got a text from him, asking her to return by the training facility that Friday. When she arrived, she quickly realized this wasn’t a typical second-round interview. There have been 90 guys on the indoor practice field when she arrived—and he or she was told she had quarter-hour to warm them up.

“I just literally popped them in a squat,” she says. “And I used to be identical to, ‘Hi guys. My name’s Jessica. I used to be a junior Olympic swimmer. I’m trained in yoga, martial arts, Russian kettlebells, and natural movement. I’m here to maintain you guys injury-free. Fold forward and touch your toes.”

That was her first session. She returned the next week. Seven seasons later, she’s still with the team.

Teaching Yoga to NFL Players

Starting each July, Huneycutt spends two to a few days each week at the power until the team is eliminated before or throughout the playoffs, which begin in January. By the point the players opt to move to her station within the afternoon, they’ve already weight lifted, practiced, and worked out for the day. They’re in need of a stretch.

She classifies what she teaches as “yoga for athletic recovery.” While, yes, the scholars she works with are skilled athletes, they vary in experiences—and mobility— in terms of yoga. Due to that, her practice must be inclusive and accessible.

The team’s schedule often features a couple hours for her “yoga station,” where anywhere between 10 and 30 players go through in search of a fast 5-minute individual session or a deeper hour-long practice. Unlike typical yoga classes wherein a teacher prepares a single sequence, Huneycutt works off of the requests of the players. One player may come over wanting to stretch out his hamstrings for five minutes, while one other should want to spend 20 minutes on his quads. She’s teaching different practices to multiple students at one time—jumping between players as she guides them from pose to pose. That’s the toughest a part of her job.

“I’ll have three linebackers are available…they usually want 10 minutes of a mild stretch,” she says. “But I’m already working with a quarterback who desires to do an hour of power yoga.” It’s a continuing challenge. Luckily, her long-standing relationships with the players has helped make cueing and leading different practices somewhat easier. “I can take a look at their feet, they usually’ll immediately fix their foot posture,” she says.

Typically, a lot of the poses she moves the players through include lying on their backs or prone, targeting the feet, ankles, and hips. Essentially the most common pose she leads them through is Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall Pose). Marjaryasana (Cat Pose) and Bitilasana (Cow Pose) are two other go-tos.

She also takes into consideration a player’s position. “In the event you’re a kicker, and also you’re continuously kicking together with your right foot, we’re going to work to counterbalance that,” she says.

More Than Stretching

As with teaching yoga in any situation, the flexibility to adapt to the needs of every individual student is vital. “With among the players, I’m using Sanskrit and talking about [philosophy], after which the opposite guys just need to stretch out for just a few minutes,” says Huneycutt.

“I remember the primary time that Drew Brees got here over, and I used to be so nervous,” she says. After he experienced one among the largest injuries of his profession—five fractured ribs and a collapsed lung—she continued to work with him on mindfulness and breathwork techniques. The 2 studied James Nester’s latest book, Breath, and Brees dove deeper into breathwork.

The team, in turn, has supported Huneycutt through one among the more difficult periods of her life: her two breast cancer diagnoses. “I’m no stranger to adversity, and the team and my yoga practice with them kept me going,” says Huneycutt. She credits the young men practicing yoga and meditation with switching roles and becoming her teacher in her time of need. They provided reassurance and constant support.

All the yoga sessions are voluntary for players. That makes their decision to interact with yoga that far more meaningful, Huneycutt says. Some players just have to stop moving for just a few minutes—a responsibility Huneycutt takes seriously.

“Most of them have to have their eyes closed for just a few minutes and never have their phones—and never should worry,” she says. “All of them have agents, business, foundations, wives, and children.” It’s often their likelihood within the day to take a deep breath. Because even skilled athletes need to seek out a moment of peace and quiet—identical to us.

Jessica Huneycutt is an independent contractor. Her views don’t represent those of the Recent Orleans Saints organization.