South Dakota State University athletes are incorporating more yoga into their training regimens, and they are liking the results they’re seeing. 

B|Well Company, a workout studio in Brookings and Sioux Falls, has recently brought yoga for athletes to many SDSU sports teams. In season and offseason athletes are working with Bri Fiedler, the founder, and owner of B|Well to find success for the Jackrabbits.

Fielder said the SDSU women’s basketball team was the first to start taking advantage of B|Well’s services about a year ago. The football, soccer and golf teams are also taking up the exercise. The football team was very consistent with visiting B|Well during this past season that ended with a national championship. 

The concept of yoga for athletes has been an increasing trend within the health and fitness world. B|Well Company has also expanded to a Sioux Falls location and the Augustana athletes are also starting to partake. 

“More and more programs are starting to understand and notice the benefits of incorporating flexibility and mobility exercises,” Fiedler said. 

B|Well offers many workout classes but the SDSU teams participating are working on some specific areas. 

“In season we focus on mobility and flexibility and the benefits of those two combined will enhance their performance, as well as help with injury prevention and recovery,” Fiedler said. 

During the offseason, they strive to incorporate more active mobility work. The goal is to work muscle groups that are sometimes neglected and missed during lifting and other weight-training exercises. 

Kaycee Manding, a junior defender for the Jackrabbit soccer team, said she has enjoyed attending yoga workouts and has found success within them. 

“Bri does an excellent job balancing stretching while firing muscles, which is important with recovery,” Manding said. “She also has focused on targeting and strengthening muscles to help prevent ACL injuries.” 

The soccer team hosted Fiedler as a guest speaker for the team last year. They also attended B|Well workouts a couple of times last year, but they have been more consistent this semester. 

“I have seen substantial changes in my athletic performance,” Manding said, crediting the yoga. 

The soccer team is currently doing B|Well workouts once a week in replacement of a team lift workout. 

“I am very grateful for the SDSU strength coaches to trust me with their athletes and believe in my work,” Fiedler said.   

Many football players are also attending B|Well once a week. This includes defensive end Quinton Hicks and linebacker Adam Bock. 

“I started doing yoga at B|Well the first week it was available to the SDSU football team, which was the week after the Iowa game,” Hicks said. “Football is a physical sport and doing this the day after to loosen up your body has been great for long-term recovery.” 

The football team often does workouts in the infrared heated room. Heat provides physical benefits to the body as well as mental. 

“The muscle tissue in your body will soften at a quicker rate with the heat helping the workout be more efficient as well,” Fiedler said.

Football athletes have gone and continue to attend B|Well on Sundays. They say effective recovery is a big reason they enjoy it so much. 

“Being able to start the upcoming week fresh after a stretching session is a big benefit,” Bock said. 

The football team has stayed consistent with B|Well since the Iowa game at the beginning of the season, including all the way up to the national championship. Fiedler even met with the football team in Frisco, Texas, to help prepare them for the final game. 

“It was great to be a part of that season and to be able to play a really small role in their success,” Fiedler said. 

Hicks was happy to see Fiedler in Frisco and offered this explanation, “I am very superstitious, and after we started to go to B|Well we never lost a game so I could not miss a workout.” 

Hicks has also dealt with hip flexor, hamstring and groin injuries in prior seasons. This past season, those injuries were far less frequent for Hicks. 

Fiedler is a former collegiate athlete, and she says that experience has given her the advantage to work with the student-athlete population. 

“I understand what the athletes want and have figured out how to package it in a way that keeps them interested and engaged,” she said.

The rise of South Dakota State University athletic teams working with B|Well Company is happening fast, and Fiedler has been grateful and excited about these opportunities. 

“Bri and everyone at B|Well has been super generous with their time and talents,” Bock said. “You can just tell they care about our success and helping us find ways to get that edge in recovery and overall health.”