If you took 10 random tennis and pickleball players, you’d very likely have people playing for a variety of reasons.
Some are just playing their first camp.
Some are going for varsity.
Some have aspirations of going pro.
Some play to stay in shape.
And no matter your reason for playing, part of playing on the court is directly impacted by the things you do off the court.
In this Game Changers video, Billy, Joe, and Kalindi delve deep into the off-court, wellness side of tennis and pickleball.
The following is a transcript of part 6 of this Game Changers video.
Billy:
Up next, I’m going to move over to Kalindi. I know you have some things going on right now in the wellness realm. And that’s the thing I love the most; it’s on court, off court. On AND off the court aids and resources.
Whether it’s mindset, wellness, or these different areas, there’s this whole line of great off-court focused things that I wonder if you wouldn’t mind sharing some ideas, products, and even some practices you have.
Kalindi:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, with wellness in mind, we just did a long stretch on tennis and pickleball, so why don’t we all take a quick stretch break? I’ll lead you through a little, calming stretch routine you can do at your desk or just about anywhere.
This is one of my favorite stretches, but it’ll be hard to show all of it from this camera angle, so I’ll go over the upper body part, which is super easy to do, especially if you’re at a computer a lot.
We have so much forward motion going on all the time. At the computer, driving, of course, tennis, and pickleball. There’s so much forward motion in all of this.
Which means the other side of our body doesn’t really get much attention. You tend to see people as they get older they might lean forward. This can help undo that constant, forward pull we have in life.
So all you’re going to do to start is open up your arms out and to the side like a gentle stretch of the chest.
We want to hold this for about a minute. I see Joe’s eyes get big there, a minute might feel like a long time, and there are some things, like breathing exercises, to help that minute go by.
But there’s a reason holding the stretch for a minimum of a minute is important. That’s the amount of time it takes for the body to realize that it’s safe and really allows the stretch to work.
As far as breathing goes, especially if you want something to focus on to help that minute go by faster, focusing on intentional, deep inhales and exhales.
And make sure this is a real minute. I think we’ve all been guilty of perhaps taking 10 seconds to do a stretch and think that’s good enough. I used to do that when I was younger, and I had a lot of injuries because of that. So, I really wish I had taken my time stretching.
I like to actually start with an exhale first. That lets us get all the air out of our lungs and get new, fresh air in there.
Another reason is that it can feel like a sudden shock to be told to take in a breath, and we might do more harm than good.
We can be done with that stretch now.
Joe:
So, the reason my eyes got big there is that sometimes after about 30 seconds, it can feel like my muscles are firing, and I can feel tension in my back.
Kalindi:
That’s a great point, Joe.
All of these stretches that I’ll be going over can all be done with modifications to help them be more suited for you.
So if it’s a little bit too much to hold your arms up, you can also have your arms lower and still open up your chest to get that stretch.
Or if you wanted to make it more of a workout, you could add small, intentional pulses behind you, slowly working and strengthening those muscles.
That’s just a little stretch I wanted to share that you can do just about anywhere, you can change up how you do it, and it really helps undo that constant pull we have in our life.
Billy had mentioned products and our whole wellness line, and I realized this is Game Changers number 4, and I haven’t shared, what is my passion, my wellness line.
I got into the off-court side and the wellness side of the business because of injuries with tennis, anxiety, and all kinds of things.
I did my yoga teacher training, mindfulness training, and mindful self-compassion; and I realized I really wish I had a lot of this when I was playing.
So this wellness line is my way of sharing that with other players. And we came out with this really innovative line of wellness products with a couple of cool yoga mats. So, this one is the Foldable Yoga Mat.
It’s really neat. You’ll notice that instead of being rolled up, it folds, sort of like an accordion.
What this does is it allows the yoga mat to be so much more. Most yoga mats are just that – a yoga mat.
But this one also works as a meditation cushion, bolster, and long blocks.
It’s made out of eco-friendly materials, and it’s incredibly lightweight, so it’s easy to throw into a racket bag and bring around with you. Though it does come with a bag.
If you already do some yoga, you might have some equipment already at home. And this mat is great for that because it can be so many additions to the mat you have, like a bolster or block, so it adds to what you’re already doing, helping you do more.
Or if you travel, this lets you travel with just one thing and still have access to a mat, a block, and a bolster.
On our site, you can find a few videos on how to set it up, and, if you want to develop more of an everyday wellness practice, we have a video for you here.
There are ways to fold the mat, so if you are doing downward facing dog, you can add extra support right on your hands and knees, making yoga accessible for more people.
Multipurpose. Lightweight. It’s something I’m super excited about. I’m happy that everyone I have shown it to and has gotten their hands on it has had really great things to say about it.
We also have a complimentary mat called the Get-A-Grip mat.
This one is much more heavy-duty and also eco-friendly. It’s extra wide, which is nice for people who are taller or just prefer to have more room on their mats. I know I really enjoy having that extra space sometimes.
It’s very non-slip and super grippy. I’ve had a friend use this under the hot Flordia sun, and she accidentally spilled some water on it, and it got more sticky. It’s just that solid of a design.
These mats work really well together.
I love to put down my grip mat and then use the foldable mat for extra cushioning, even if I’m not worried about grip.
Most high-quality yoga equipment out there is very expensive. You can easily find mats over $100, and we wanted something that wasn’t bad for the planet, was high quality, and wasn’t expensive.
It’s under $70, and we are routinely giving out coupons and making it even more affordable. And they come with free shipping.
Plus, if you run a yoga shop or run your own wellness line, we do, for all our products, these included, have an active distributor base and wholesale price list to make it an even better deal.
The last thing I’ll add that goes with these two products is our Yoga Mat Bag.
This actually fits both bags together, if you happen to have both with you. It’s a fun pattern and has a great, extra little pouch for extra storage, and just trying to make the product better for everyday use.
Joe:
I would like to say, that if anyone wants to add a nice flair to an event, you can add either the event name or company name to the mat, design, and logo. With proper notice, we can have our factories make them.
And we stand by those products, everyone knows the quality they’re receiving. They know they’re dealing with a reliable company that is clear about how long it takes and trying to find favored pricing.
Kalindi:
Yeah, for those that don’t know, that’s a part of our business we’ve also been doing for many years. We have this whole private label side. We have a lot of tennis and pickleball nets out there, so you might be using our products and not even know it.
With enough notice and meeting at the minimum, we are incredibly flexible and accommodating and always looking for new partnerships.
Being a family business, we’ve always had this flexibility and adaptability. We don’t have an ego as far as that is concerned, we don’t need our name on everything.
You know, we make it for you so you can lean into our expertise and represent your brand or event well.
A vital part of every wellness product we create is that it is accessible. It doesn’t matter how great of a yoga mat we design if we don’t make learning and practicing yoga approachable.
Check out our wellness page right here, and you’ll see a variety of wellness aids that can make all the difference.
Kalindi Dinoffer is trained in multiple aspects of mindfulness in life and in sports, sharing on her blog MindfulKalindi.com. She is also certified to teach yoga, fitness, reiki, and MFR. Kalindi also serves as VP marketing at OnCourtOffCourt.com, a leading supplier of tennis, pickleball, fitness and yoga training aids and equipment and has been published in Tennis industry Magazine and Pickleball Magazine, and has conducted workshops at conferences around the world. In her spare time, Kalindi plays tennis, pickleball and table tennis and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and biking and cross country skiing in the winter.
