NEW YORK, March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Yoga has long been a secret weapon of the world's top professional athletes, and Gaiam, a leading lifestyle, yoga and fitness company, has launched new programming and marketing efforts to share the benefits of yoga to athletes of all levels. Featuring professional athletes and top yoga instructors, Gaiam's new series of Athletic Yoga programming is now available on DVD and digitally.

Yoga for Flexibility with Kevin Love and Yoga for Strength with Eddie George are led by trainer and yoga expert Kent Katich – whose dynamic approach to yoga has reshaped the attitudes and training methods of hundreds of the world's top athletes. In both programs, Katich demonstrates yoga practices to complement traditional sports training and to help deliver enhanced athletic performance:

• Yoga for Flexibility with Kevin Love – The star forward-center of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and 6'-10'' athlete is led through four 20-minute, dynamic practices designed to build flexibility and improve balance
• In Yoga for Strength with Eddie George – George, former NFL All-Pro running back and Heisman Trophy winner, is led through four athletic yoga practices designed to increase mobility and build strength

"Yoga is something that can give me an edge and continue to help grow my game, and hopefully, elongate my career," Love said. "My body has leaned out, and yoga has had a lot to do with that. It has also given me a newfound balance, stability, strength, and endurance and taught me breathing techniques. I'm still learning and that's the beauty of it."

"Every time I did yoga before a game, I knew I was going to perform well because I was fully stretched out and more connected to my mind and body. I never missed a game due to injury in my nine years of playing and I owe that to practicing yoga," said George.

Also part of the Athletic Yoga series is Yoga for Runners, led by NYC-based yoga instructor Matt Giordano, which takes practitioners through poses that are designed to create greater flexibility and stamina, better mental focus and to help prevent injuries.

To support the launch of these programs, Gaiam developed a new website geared toward athletes, GameOnYoga.com, and has launched a digital marketing campaign with media partners ESPN.com, Stack.com, USA Today and Slam that will run through April.

"This is a new audience for Gaiam and really for the yoga community as a whole," said Susan Haney, SVP of Marketing at Gaiam. "But we are excited to extend yoga's reach to athletes of all ages. Both Kent and Matt's expertise in training athletes to improve their performance through yoga is truly unparalleled, making them the perfect partners for this initiative. And by adding the star power of athletes like Kevin Love and Eddie George, we believe we can make a big statement about the benefits of the practice."

This May, two additional Athletic Yoga programs will be released as part of the collection: Yoga for Power featuring MLB All-Star Giancarlo Stanton and Yoga for Conditioning featuring MLS All-Star and U.S. Men's Soccer team member Jermaine Jones.

The current Athletic Yoga programs are available at GameOnYoga.com, Amazon.com and where DVDs are sold nationwide, as well as digitally on iTunes.

About Gaiam

Gaiam, Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIA) is a leading producer and marketer of lifestyle media and fitness accessories. With a wide distribution network that consists of over 38,000 retail doors, close to 15,000 store within stores, 5,000 category management locations, along with e-commerce and digital subscriptions platforms, Gaiam is dedicated to providing solutions for healthy and eco-conscious living. The company dominates the health and wellness category.  For more information about Gaiam, please visit www.gaiam.com or call 1.800.869.3603. 

About Kent Katich

For the past 18 years, Kent Katich has been implementing yoga training into athletic programs throughout the country. Kent had coached some of the best athletes in the world using yoga to improve performance, build total body strength and help injury prevention. Using a dynamic approach, Katich has reshaped the attitudes and training methods of hundreds of the sporting world's top athletes, including NBA stars Kevin Love and Blake Griffin. Katich has been featured on ESPN, "Inside the NBA," Men's Journal, People and Sports & Fitness magazine.

About Matt Giordano

International yoga instructor Matt Giordano has been teaching Yoga for Runners for more than five years at Pure Yoga in New York City. Matt's teaching style is a unique blend of alignment, breath, and movement. A Long Island native, Matt travels internationally for teacher trainings, workshops, yoga retreats and acrobatic performances.

Media Contact:
Ashley Julian
Krupp Kommunications
(646) 797-2041
ajulian@kruppnyc.com

Video - http://youtu.be/pRIN0usoRpM

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SOURCE Gaiam, Inc.