Marc Soltis is an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Arkansas. His expertise in yoga, however, makes him one of a kind. 

Soltis coached at Southern Methodist University for four years prior to making the move to Fayetteville. At that time, Soltis was taking yoga classes regularly and began to realize it could benefit athletes in many ways. After discussions with head coach, Chad Morris, and strength and conditioning coach, Tru Carroll, Soltis enrolled in a program to become a certified yoga instructor. 

“It took almost eight months,” says Soltis. “But coach Morris and coach Tru were supporting me the whole time. They helped pay for all the certification fees and really were just open minded to the whole process of it all.”

Carroll previously stated that Soltis is the only yoga certified strength coach in the country. Which is why the Pig Trail Nation team decided to take a class with Soltis, and learn more about how yoga will help the Razorbacks. 

“For some of our bigger guys or offensive linemen, they struggle at the start when in down dog for long periods of time. As you can imagine, for a 300 plus pound guy having a ton of pressure on his shoulders,” says Soltis.

Yoga is used for rehabilitation, but also as a preventative measure for the athletes. 

“We’re going to get them strong and we’re going to get them fast,” says Soltis. “But mobility and flexibility are big pieces of being a solid athlete. To prevent injury throughout the whole course of a year when you get in awkward positions, but also to give the guys a chance to recover and have some stress relief.”