Yoga For An Athlete
Patrick M. Lamb April 30th, 2008
An Interview with Patrick Lamb by Matt Meko (Instructor in Seattle)
MM: Patrick Lamb is 30, recently married, a Commercial Real Estate Appraiser and the Director of Business Development for his family business. He still has time to attend yoga class on a regular basis. What surprises me week after week is this big guy can do amazing things with his body. His practice has inspired me to continue doing postures “out of the box” because “it feels right to do”. Patrick really is a leader in many ways.
Patrick, how did you get into practicing yoga?
PL: My first experience in yoga was about five years ago. At the time, I was rowing for a crew on Lake Washington. In rowing, two important terms commonly used by coaches was to make your body “long” and “elastic”, like a rubber band fully extended. In doing so, you can maximize the resistance against the water by utilizing every inch of your body- from your fingertips on the ore handle to your toes against the blocks. Even though I didn’t know much about yoga, I assumed it involved a great deal of stretching and strengthening that I figured could only help.
So I started yoga as a cross-training activity to improve my rowing skills. The results were amazing! My only regret is that I didn’t start my practice far earlier in life, possibly as early as elementary school. I think the skills and lessons taught in yoga are an excellent foundation to all athletic activity.
MM: You’re married. Congrats. How has your yoga practice influenced your partnership?
PL: I see yoga as an act of self-improvement. It helps me to achieve mental states of calm, completeness, satisfaction and joy. From what I’ve found, the more of these traits I can possess the easier I am to be around, and I think Saragh (my wife) appreciates that fact.
MM: Have your learned any life lessons doing yoga?
PL: My practice has allowed me to expand the threshold of what I previously thought was physically possible. For example, when I first heard of athletic yoga from a fellow member at the club, it was explained to me that the instructor has the students balancing inverted on two hands or on their heads. On first thought, this was not something that really appealed to me. I thought I knew my body very well at the time- its limitations and its strengths- and I was comfortable knowing I may never do that. However, I realize now that my personal assessment was way off. In a matter of a few months, I’ve surpassed all of my expectations, in addition to losing track of my perceived gravitational boundaries.
In short, the idea that I’ve exposed is that self-doubt is sometimes ignorant. This is one of the most beneficial lessons I’ve taken from my practice. It now makes me wonder; where else do I sell myself short through doubt? And what if success in these areas can be achieved as easily as the success I’ve encountered in my practice. Proving myself to be wrong was a real motivator and now drives me to confront new challenges in all aspects of my life.
MM: Are there spiritual aspects to your yoga workouts?
PL: Some aspects of my practice remind me of praying, like when I was a child. I close my eyes, clear my mind, and mentally focus on all the positive things I want to have happen for myself and the people in my life.
MM: You work with your family. Does yoga affect your work?
PL: The good thing about working for the family business is that I have the opportunity to be close to the people I love the most nearly everyday. Moreover, the trust we have in each other is far greater than anything a typical business partner or associate can offer. These things make our business very rewarding.
The bad this about family business, however, is that we tend to treat each other like family members instead of business partners. Whereas, sometimes we express our frustrations with each other in a very emotional way without much tact, (similar to the Tuddle family from Orange County Choppers, if you’ve seen that show).
One thing my practice encourages is to have control over my ability to find a sense of calm and clarity. This is most prevalent in the first minute of class, when I close my eyes and find my breath. Despite any angst I felt toward my family members that day, at that moment all of those conflicts vanish, (it’s like a reset button for stress). Subsequently, confronting the root of these conflicts the next day always seems more bearable.
MM: That’s great PR for yoga. Thanks for practicing, Patrick.
PL: Thanks.