Football standout, fitness model team up for ultimate health experience

How Yoga saved two lives and created a lifestyle.

Keith Mitchell and girlfriend Amy Lynn Grover are a lot more alike than you would think.

Mitchell was an All-American linebacker in college and played in the National Football League for eight seasons. During his stint with the New Orleans Saints, he was selected to the 2000 NFL Pro Bowl. 

Grover spent over a decade modeling, most notably for Playboy, and has starred in the last two seasons of HDNet's hit reality travel show "Get Out!"

While both came from different backgrounds, they found common ground in one thing--maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Dor Mitchell, it was hard enough keeping in shape in the NFL offseason. Try 16 games and tons of practices during the actual season, going week-to-week through the aches, pains, and injuries that come with being a professional football player. While Grover wasn't hitting the pads, she was working hard to maintain a healthy and great-looking figure for her modeling career. 

One day, the two decided to turn their attention to Yoga. It's only ironic they met during a Yoga retreat.

What started out as a great workout became a lifestyle. And what became a lifestyle lead to the couple creating Kuladevi, a multifaceted wellness company. Kuladevi strives to help people utilize Yoga, dieting, and positivity to create their own healthy lifestyle.

Mitchell and Grover recently spoke to The Sports Courier about their respective backgrounds, how Yoga came into their lives, and the concept of Kuladevi.

Amy, with your background in modeling and fitness, where did Yoga fit in?

Amy: I started Yoga around the end of my dance career over 15 years ago. I found the art of it very similar to dancing. The practice of Yoga was helpful with getting my body balanced out from all the stress I had put on my body over the years of hard training.

I had done pretty much every sport in high school, ran track, did taekwondo, and still to this day, am an avid snowboarder, swimmer, runner, and player in the weight room. When I was first practicing Yoga, it was on a purely physical level. I didn't get into the spiritual aspect and even know to make the mind body connection until much later on in my journey.

All I knew was that I loved going to Yoga and that Yoga made me feel amazing (more so than anything else I was doing physically). I bounced around and tried all kinds of fitness workouts and I'm still open to try new things. However, out of all of the possible choices, Yoga just stuck with me. I love practicing in a group, but I can also practice alone, with no equipment which is especially great for when I'm on the road.

Yoga makes me feel strong, confident, and at peace with myself. The practice of Yoga helped me cultivate calmness on my mat and transfer it to my world off the mat. The principals of Yoga can be applied in all aspects of life and are far beyond the extent of being flexible and touching your toes... It's not a fad, it's a way of life that teaches you better skills.

Keith, how did Yoga enter your life as a professional athlete?

Keith: Unfortunately, Yoga didn’t fit in my career. For me, it came into my life after I had injured myself. I injured myself making a tackle that I had made a million times prior, but on that particular day, I got paralyzed. Yoga was the only possible rehabilitation for me in the state I was in. I had no movement in my extremities and a spine that had been traumatized. My personal trainer recommended really subtle movements and breathing practices to start my rehabilitation: Yoga!

What is the concept of Kuladevi and how did it come about?