2012-GameRelease-Divisional

49ers' Brian Jennings stays balanced
By Michelle Smith, espnW
Player Feature Story
From the vantage point of San Francisco 49ers specialist Brian Jennings, every NFL player will eventually
leave the game behind.
"Some people do it with their health and some people don't," Jennings said. "My goal is to play as long as
I can and finish the game as healthy as I can be."
Jennings, a 12-year NFL veteran, has already carved his path to a long, healthy career. It helps that he is
a long-snapper, on the field maybe a dozen times a game, the position minimizing the number of
punishing hits he has taken.
But he also owes his health and career longevity to what he calls a "wellness lifestyle" that includes the
practice of yoga as a major component.
"The first time I did yoga, it just felt right to me," Jennings said.
Jennings' wellness lifestyle also include massages, chiropractic care, acupuncture, Chinese herbs,
nutrition and supplements.
"I do a lot of things that are considered alternative," Jennings said. "It's probably unusual being in a selfdestructive
business."
Jennings is 36, with a durable NFL career that goes beyond the physical. Drafted by the 49ers back in
2000, he has survived four coaching changes, hundreds of new teammates and thousands of pages of
new schemes and plays. His name is on the team's 10-year wall, next to legends such as Jerry Rice and
Bryant Young.
"He's seen a lot here," kicker David Akers told the San Francisco Chronicle of Jennings last year. "He's
been able to experience good times and not-so-good times."
At the moment, things are very good. The 49ers are 8-3-1 in the NFC West and viewed as Super Bowl
contenders after reaching the NFC Championship Game last season. Jennings was the only player left
from the last 49ers team to reach the postseason, back in 2002.
Jennings is getting to the point in the long season where he is beginning to feel some yoga withdrawal.
He does not practice during football.
"It feels good," Jennings said. "It clears the meridians [the paths through which the life energy known as
"qi" flows, in traditional Chinese medicine] and energy systems. During the season, those get blocked and
sometimes you aren't moving as fast. I need to get my body back in balance."
In the offseason, Jennings maintains his yoga fitness by attending three or four classes a month in his
native Arizona. He said he will get some rest immediately and "recharge" after the season ends.
"Once I stop being tired and needing sleep, I will begin to train," Jennings said.
In 2008, he became a certified yoga instructor, substituting in classes for instructors he liked in Arizona,
and once or twice in the Bay Area.
"But I lost a ton of weight doing it," Jennings said. "I didn't practice as much the next couple of years
because I didn't want to lose the weight."