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As the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off in a Super Bowl rematch this Sunday, some will tune in for football. Many will remain glued to the screen for Taylor Swift sightings. Others will drop in for the commercials. It’s safe to say no one will swing by for the yoga.
Although maybe they should. Not the poses, that is, but the payoffs from practicing them. Plenty of NFL players have become wise to including yoga in their training in recent years. It’s reportedly been integral for Chiefs’ defensive tackle Chris Jones. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also incorporates yoga into his workout routine. We’ve also heard whisperings that several Eagles players also include yoga in their training. (Heck, even GOAT Tom Brady busted some yoga moves on the sideline way back when.)
To find out exactly how each team could benefit from yoga in their preparations, we turned to performance coaches Mike Aidala, a former college football player who works with NFL players, A-list celebs, and Fortune 500 companies, and Bruce Kittle, a former college football coach as well as devout yogi and meditator who began to teach his son, NFL star George Kittle, visualization techniques when the younger Kittle was in fifth grade.
After weighing the strengths and foibles of each team, these experts outlined the poses they’d incorporate into each team’s Super Bowl workout regimen and why. Whether you’re tuning in for the football, the commercials, or the Taylor Swift sightings, keep watch for some shapes similar to yoga—or at least the results of practicing them.
How Yoga Could Determine the Outcome of Super Bowl 2025
The Chiefs’ Road to Victory: Stop the Tush Push
One of the most controversial—and aptly named—plays in recent football history is the Tush Push. It’s a move perfected by the Eagles after a 2022 rule change that allowed teams to push a player forward in a rugby-style scrum to gain short yardage. Although many football insiders and fans have petitioned that the Tush Push return to the realm of illegal formations, it is currently legit.
The Eagles have had unparalleled success with this move, in part thanks to the absurd strength of their quarterback, Jalen Hurts. In the NFC Championship game that propelled the Eagles to Super Bowl 2025, Hurts scored two touchdowns on Tush Pushes.
So how do you thwart it?
“The Tush Push is a very dynamic move that requires a lot of forward momentum to start and stop,” explains Aidala. If the Chiefs’ defense is to hold the line, they’ll need immense power and flexibility in the glutes, hamstrings, and calves shut this down.
Aidala suggests Downward Dog to help build flexibility in the lower body. Leverage is key. Downward Dog helps build power so you can push from your hips and glutes. He notes it also stretches the calves, which “also come into play as you push back against the human sled of the offense.”
“For resisting the kind of push the defensive line will face, I would be spending time in Malasana [Squat or Garland Pose],” says Kittle. To maximize the hip stretch, it’s essential to lower the body so the hips drop below the knees, he notes, and then either settle into the stretch or repeat sets of squats to build strength. Similarly, Goddess Pose functions as a complementary shape to a Squat that similarly challenges the hips, quads, and calves, explains Kittle.
The Eagles’ Road to Victory: Find Defensive Agility
A football dynasty, the Chiefs have taken home three Super Bowl championships in the early 2020s thanks to wunderkind quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the death-by-a-thousand cuts offensive approach that keeps the opposing team’s defense guessing who will make the next big play. Witness the Chiefs’ 32-29 AFC Championship victory, in which star tight end Travis Kelce caught only two passes while rookie Xavier Worthy led the team in receptions and scored a touchdown.
This kind of unpredictability as to who will have hands on the ball requires a defense that can switch directions on a dime.
Aidala recommends players train with a dynamic Side Lunge (aka Flying Monkey), transitioning from one side to the other to build fast-twitch strength in the hips. Also, Aidala explains that the stronger your core, the easier it is to move quickly and keep up with the offense. For that, he recommends Forearm Plank.
And to work on reaction time, Kittle suggests the Eagles practice holding and transitioning in between the Warrior poses (Warrior 1, Warrior 2, Reverse Warrior, and Warrior 3). “While yoga, in general, is not typically inclusive of rapid-fire movements, the Warrior series works all of the muscle groups and is very challenging. The flexibility and strength this builds would be helpful for quickness and speed,” he says.
Both Chiefs and Eagles: Hold Onto the Ball
Throughout the playoffs this year, the team that has turned the ball over fewer times has gone 11-1. Protecting the ball from defenders trying to dislodge it requires staying strong in the core and arms. Yoga can help.
“Ball security is a matter of constant concentration and must be practiced daily over and over, much like yoga,” says Kittle. “So engaging in a slower practice, holding poses for three to five breaths, and really concentrating on the pose and being in touch with your body through movement and breath will help.”
He suggests shifting from Plank Pose to Downward Dog to One-Legged Downward Dog with some low push-ups mixed in: “Each of these works the arms, chest, shoulders, and core, building strength and awareness in the core muscle groups that are required for top-level ball security.”
Also falling under the theme of unexpected training to hold onto the ball, Aidala suggests spending time in Half Moon Pose. “This posture is great for balance, focus, and core strength,” says Aidala. “All of which are needed to hold onto the football.” He also suggests Crow Pose, which is sorta like being on the receiving end of a penalty kick—it happens pretty infrequently but can make all the difference. Aidala cites the strong upper body, hands, and grip that result from holding the body aloft in the arm balance as essential in not fumbling the ball.
Bonus (penalty) points for any player who can summon the core strength and body awareness required to manage the transition from Half Moon Pose into Crow Pose, whether graceful or otherwise.
Both Chiefs and Eagles: Mental Resilience
And then there’s the mental tenacity required to keep your composure as you vie for one of the most coveted sports titles in the world. The evening is long, emotions are high, and the pageantry can be more than a little distracting.
“Being able to stay in and stay committed even when it’s difficult is a practice of resiliency,” says Aidala. “Both teams are going to need this.” Resiliency includes being able to bend without breaking, to withstand the immense build-up, and to navigate the dramatic twists and turns with some measure of equanimity. That applies to coaches as well as players.
“A yoga asana (physical) practice can bring up a lot of personal edges, including spaces inside your mind where you want to quit, either because you’re distracted or because the pose is hard and you want to move onto the next one,” explains Aidala.
Luckily, there is a practice that involves such physical and mental bending, twisting, and turning. For athletes in the upcoming Super Bowl 2025, a few super asanas could make all the difference in determining who champions that space.
