Why Aaron Steinfeldt Took Up Yoga This Offseason: 'One Way I Could Gain an Advantage'
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana tight end Aaron Steinfeldt believes he has something to prove in 2023, and he wanted to find a way to improve as a blocker.
One of his strategies – perhaps different from his teammates and opponents – was yoga.
"It was really noticeable in the spring. I could just get under somebody and drive," Steinfeldt said, describing how taking up yoga this offseason helped him become a better football player. "I think I didn't have that last year, my redshirt freshman year. It also helped me to be more confident."
Though his coaches did not specifically suggest to Steinfeldt that he take up yoga in the summer to prepare for the season, they wanted him to work on his body. The message was sent that he needed to make physical improvements, and the coaches have noticed marked changes in the way that the tight end moves and plays.
"With Aaron, he had a really good spring. We challenged him to get in the best shape of his life," Indiana's tight ends coach Kevin Wright said. "It’s really amazing to see at the end of the summer how he transformed his body. He’s leaner, he runs better, he’s moving better. He’s always had really good ball skills. I just like the way that he’s gone about his business and tried to take another step."
Steinfeldt has been around Indiana football for as long as anyone on the roster. He attended Bloomington North High School and led the Cougars to their first conference championship in 2019. He committed to the Hoosiers after winning the IFCA Mr. Football position award at tight end and being ranked the No. 4 overall football player in the state of Indiana in the class of 2024, according to 247 Sports.
He managed to accomplish all of that despite beginning his football career in 2017 as a high school freshman.
Steinfeldt redshirted in 2021 and started two games for Indiana in 2022, with the first coming against No. 4 Michigan. He finished the season with six receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.
It's a two-man competition for the starting tight end position on Indiana's 2023 team between Steinfeldt and James Bomba — both of whom are redshirt sophomores and Bloomington natives. Bomba attended rival Bloomington South, so there may even be high school bragging rights on the line in the position room.
But for Steinfeldt, though physical improvement was the reason he took up yoga this offseason, mental improvement has been just as, if not more, important. It's helped him stay calm on the field and reminded him that this is a sport that's meant to bring joy, not stress.
"[Yoga] just helps me be in a calm state of mind," Steinfeldt said. "It helped me not play as anxious or as tentative, just go out there, be me and have fun. My Dad has always said that the best football is a fun game, so just go out there and have fun with it."
Though it was his father's message that he referenced here, it was Steinfeldt's mother who originally suggested yoga to him.
"My Mom has always bugged me for the longest about doing [yoga]," Steinfeldt said. "Ever since I was a little kid. I was always like, 'No, I'm not going to do that Mom.' I was kind of rebellious in that. But I took her advice after last year."
Last year and last season were mentioned often by Steinfeldt on Monday. It's been mentioned often by every Indiana football player and coach that has spoken during fall camp.
The team clearly is not okay with what has happened to Indiana football the past two seasons. A 6-18 combined record and only two total conference wins, right after IU had experienced two of it's greatest football seasons ever, is not good enough.
Everyone from the quarterbacks to the kickers if trying to find ways to improve the margins, and for Steinfeldt, yoga was just one extra way to do that.
"Just how the season ended for me I had a chip on my shoulder and something to prove," Steinfeldt said. "[Yoga] was one way I could gain an advantage."
The third-year tight end is far from the only Indiana player who's entering the 2023 season with a chip on his shoulder. Words like "tough" and "edge" have been used over and over again by coach Tom Allen and players alike.
Yoga might not be the first thing everyone thinks of when they try to find ways to get tougher, but for Steinfeldt, he believes it's going to help him be the best possible version of himself this year.
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