Twenty years ago it may well have created mirth to say the world's top athletes would be using yoga as an intrinsic part of their training.
However, now, it is the norm rather than the exception.
Yoga instructor Lance Schuler, and owner of Inspyre, told the Queenstown Times he would be surprised if any of the golfers in action at this week's Michael Hill New Zealand Open did not have their own personal yoga instructor.
The former Tauranga man, who has been living in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, for the past 20 years and established Inspya [Institute of South Pacific Yoga Academy] about 15 years ago, was in Queenstown at the weekend holding a yoga workshop at Studio Sangha/Bikram Yoga, organised by Peggy Preston.
He said yoga was vital for professional athletes' preparations, teaching them all the skills they needed to focus, using a holistic approach.
Mr Schuler said he had trained many yoga teachers now working with individual athletes, including Michael Campbell, or teams, for example a Gold Coast-based rugby league team.
Other athletes and teams using yoga in their training included the Australian swim team, rugby teams, surfers, tennis players and racing car drivers.
"Believe it or not, Michael Campbell's . . . yoga instructor was trained by me - a guy called Kester Luney."
Following his win in the US Open in 2005, he called Mr Luney and thanked him, he said.
"[Yoga] has been around for years, but I think it's only the last decade, many professional people are partaking in it.
"They've seen that it works.
"When anybody's doing yoga . . . they've got to [try to] balance resilience and relaxation.
"If you're going to swing a golf club, you've got to be pretty relaxed.
"When you see these guys . . . like Tiger Woods . . . [they] are totally present.
Two of the main components of yoga were learning focus and attention - crucial for golfers who needed to concentrate to play 18 holes, which often took up to five hours.
"Walking towards the next ball you're thinking about your strategy, what club to use etc. You have to be present.
"People who get a hole-in-one, when you talk to them about [it], they'll probably say `It was the easiest shot I've ever taken. It was just like a dream'.
"That's being present."
