Barry Ennis

I have a vast amount of experience with yoga- specifically in the framework of sport and the active lifestyle. I began practicing yoga nine years ago at a sports camp and fell in love with it. I first began to notice my flexibility increasing as well as my strength in more difficult postures within just a few weeks. As time passed, I found how much I loved the way the practice made me feel. I felt much more in tune with my body as well as my mind, my mood, and my attitude, and my thoughts throughout the day- whether positive or negative. I began to grow much more present and focused on the moment. Since I began practicing yoga I have not had a single injury.

Since this early exposure to yoga, my own personal practice grew tremendously. I have been a student of Alan Jaegar for the past seven years. Alan has worked with over one-hundred professional athletes and baseball players including Barry Zito and Mike Lieberthal. At his camps he broke down the practice of yoga into a specific practice that would yield benefits specific to competitive sports and the active lifestyle. Through his physical yoga practice as well as his meditation and mental game practice, I quickly learned not only how to implement these elements of yoga into my own game, but also learned how to teach it myself.

At Occidental College my yoga practice as an instructor flourished. After being certified through the Yoga Alliance I began to teach bi-weekly classes. I taught classes that focused on flexibility as well as classes that focused on strengthening, incorporating aspects of many different practices. For the past two years I have gained a lot of experience teaching not only students, but also athletes. I continue to teach in the community not only at Silver Lake Yoga, but also through my yoga business, Yoga With Barry. I have taught and continue to teach classes for Lululemon Athletica, the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy, West Coast Baseball School, and the Jaeger Sports camps. I am also an on-call instructor for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As an athlete who has played sports my entire life, I know the physical and mental demands of sport and physical activity firsthand; I know what it takes to take your body and mind to the next level; and I know exactly how the practice of yoga can benefit today’s professional or amateur athlete. Yoga can greatly increase flexibility and reduce injury; but also, from my experience, the aspects of body awareness, confidence, focus, inner stillness, and peace have been the what have most strongly influenced me as a person and as a player. These intangible aspects are what can take you to the next level, help you achieve your goals, and are exactly what I hope to instill in my students.