Ambra Vallo: Meet the yoga teacher working with Aston Villa and John Terry to improve player performance and fitness
The Italian yogi has been brought in by the Villains this season to aid their stars' fitness, as well as teach academy kids the benefits of doing yoga
MODERN footballers have to be fitter than ever to compete at the top level.
That means they will turn to anything to ensure their bodies are ready for the rigours of first-team action.
John Terry and Ryan Giggs are just two legends of the game that turned to yoga in an attempt to prolong their careers.
And now many clubs are employing yoga instructors to improve player performance and fitness.
SunSport sat down with Ambra Vallo in a downward-facing dog position to discuss the benefits footballers are getting from the ancient practice.
The Italian-born yogi, who recently began working with 37-year-old Villa captain Terry, other first team stars and their academy, revealed her techniques to us.
Ambra, 46, helps players stay injury-free, while also making sure they are mentally prepared for games.
"There are many benefits for footballers when they take up yoga," Ambra told SunSport.
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"It gives the body the natural ability to perform at higher levels, it's a very ancient technique.
"It works in conditioning the body by giving it strength.
"But more importantly, it strengthens the mind of the footballer, so they are in touch with their body.
"Footballers need a specific yoga for their requirements and they improve on their efficiency of movement.
"That improves performance because mentally and physically they have more range of movement.
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"They can establish great control, improve stamina and focus, while relaxing nerves while they're in a match or before a game.
"Yoga can improve balance, posture... and that's just mentioning a few benefits.
"What's also very important is that they can prevent injuries and speed up the recovery time in-between matches."
Ambra admitted that she tends to use yoga after games and training to aid body recovery for her athletes.
Her sessions can be anything from 20 minutes to an hour, given how much time she gets with the players.
Working with Villa's physiotherapists, Ambra is given instructions on what the players' needs are.
"I do a very simple bitesize session, because they have a busy, existing training schedule," she told us.
"I can spend 20 minutes, half an hour, sometimes an hour individually or with a group.
"They'll send me players with injuries or they'll send me players that they want to improve on the mental side of their game or improve them physically."
The key to Ambra's teachings with footballers is about helping them build power, balance, flexibility and strength.
"We all know to move in a functional way, you need stability, strength and flexibility," she said.
"Footballers are quite strong and they need a tailor-made program that's specific to their requirements. It's not like a standard yoga class.
"Most of the posture work I'm doing with footballers is about flexibility and stability.
"For example, I try to emphasise posture that improves the flexibility of their hips and legs and stability of the abs and the core.
"I like them to loosen all the tissue around the hip, the thigh, the calf, the hamstring, hip flexors...
"I teach them breathing techniques too that are directly related to posture and stability and it helps them find that point of calmness before the game.
"Footballers have told me they've felt the difference after a few sessions."
The science behind Ambra's methods is down to her teachings.
With achievable force she's lengthening her players' muscles with her exercises.
"A lot of them are very tight in the hip injury, the gluteus, because they kick and run and skip a lot," she said.
"So you have to think about lengthening the muscle with achievable force.
"A lot of the time I try to explain to the younger players why we do it.
"It's like an elastic band. The more you lengthen it, the more force it will have when you release it.
"It also helps players get more power in their kicks, because they're strengthening that area."
Ambra, herself, was a latecomer to yoga - learning the craft at 36 years old.
Before that, she was an established ballet star with the Birmingham Royal Ballet company.
She credits yoga as the reason why she was able to dance professionally until she was 41 years old.
The supple teacher wants to pass on what she learned to help footballers carry on playing into their twilight years.
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"When I started doing yoga towards the end of my career, I noticed a strong improvement in my ability," she said.
"I feel that I should share what I learned and help others, especially older athletes in keeping injury-free."
Ambra began working with Aston Villa after she received a call from their chief medic, Danny Donachie, who is also a yogi.
The Midlands giants have now made yoga compulsory for their academy players, understanding the benefits it has in player performance and fitness.
"The younger players are very receptive," she revealed.
"It was obviously a bit different than what they were doing before, but I think they are really enjoying it.
"It's very common now. Footballers like to use yoga techniques to get the most out of their bodies.
"In the end, they're the ones who do the work.
"I think it's very good that they are open to such new techniques - breathing, meditation and yoga.
"I'm just a small part. It's about the players being receptive, absorbing and using the technique.
"I am just there to guide them."
Ambra travels to the UK for workshops, retreats and individual classes. to book a class.