Olympic beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings talks yoga … – ESPN

Courtesy of lululemon

Kerri Walsh Jennings is featured in lululemon's new ad campaign.

This month, lululemon launched its first global ad campaign, "This Is Yoga," featuring seven inspirational stories of people from around the world. One of those stories is that of three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, who is also a lululemon ambassador. She is featured for her practice of self-discipline.

We caught up with her to talk about the ad as well as her own experience with yoga and the next steps in her career.

espnW: What does it mean to you to be involved in this campaign?

Kerri Walsh Jennings: In a nutshell, it means the world to me. Being part of "This Is Yoga" means being part of the lululemon team and what they stand for as a brand. I've come to learn that the concept and principles of yoga apply to my life even if I'm not doing yoga. I love it and respect how beautiful a practice it is and how yoga comes to life off the mat, whether you're painting in the studio, pounding on drums or on the court like I am. This is the power of yoga, of lululemon and the power of this campaign.

espnW: Do you practice yoga? If so, how did you get started?

KWJ: I do practice yoga and am newly inspired to practice more often. Before every volleyball practice I do a flow-style yoga on the shoreline to get prepped in my body, mind and spirit. It connects me to my breath and brings my feet back under me, which is important when my mind is racing. It was my husband who actually introduced me to yoga. He has this DVD that he loves and always goes back to practice. Knowing the stress we put on our body, the philosophy and decompression that comes from yoga is powerful. I'm a strong person and through practicing yoga, I've felt discomfort and vulnerability. By opening myself up to it, I've been able to grow and learn, which is a really powerful thing.

espnW: Can you talk about your practice of self-discipline?

KWJ: I really love what I do and I don't take anything off the table to get the job done, but to me, self-discipline is actually liberating. It allows me to prioritize my "ABC" fundamentals and create a strong foundation, which is empowering. As a person, those fundamentals are my mind, body and spirit. On the court, it's my attitude, ball control and footwork, and as a mommy, it's being present, patient and loving. As long as I have the freedom to focus on the fundamentals, no matter what I do or the setting I'm in, I'm empowered and prepared both on the court and in life.

espnW: What do you see as the next thing in your career?

KWJ: My mission throughout life has been very singular and my focus has been to make the most of everything I have been blessed with mentally, physically and spiritually. I want to keep growing and evolving as human. My platform is beach volleyball. I'm chasing my Olympic dreams for Tokyo and have a parallel mission to grow our sport. There are a number of tenets I really want to hit with wellness, community, personal empowerment, accountability and growth both on the court for myself and in the community taking my sport to the next level. Being part of campaigns like "This Is Yoga" and co-creating with powerful people supports my passion by showing people the beautiful principles of my sport.

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Olympic beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings talks yoga ... - ESPN