Inside Amanda Balionis' Journey: CBS Commentator and Certified Yoga Teacher

Amanda Balionis, a familiar face in sports broadcasting as a CBS football and golf commentator since 2017, is also an insightful yoga practitioner . From the peacefulness of her southern California home, she became certified in Baptiste yoga following an intense 200-hour training.

In a GOLF.com article from 2020, she elaborated on the benefits of yoga: "Through controlled breath and meditative movements, practicing yoga has taught me how to stay calm during difficult situations," and "It was an intense 200-hour journey that transformed my mind because it forced me to sort through my own issues before having the capacity to teach others. I now teach whenever I can, and I continue to practice yoga at least a few times a week-the length of each session ranges from 10 to 90 minutes, depending on how stressed I am that day."

While Balionis is primarily seen on the PGA Tour these days, her initial sporting passion was volleyball. She shone on the court during high school in Pittsburgh and spent two seasons playing for Kutztown University locally before transferring to Division 1 team Hofstra.

• Amanda Balionis admits she 'feels guilty about cheating' as she drinks whiskey in video

• Amanda Balionis makes feelings clear on Ernie Els and how he treated her

Starting her broadcasting career at Fios 1 and MSG Network, she later joined the PGA as an in-house reporter in 2011. It was in the following year that she discovered her love for yoga after attending her first session, thanks to a Groupon deal for a $30 month of yoga.

This experience sparked what she calls a "healthy addiction" to the practice, reports the Mirror US .

Fast forward three years, Balionis embarked on an intensive journey to become a licensed yoga teacher. Despite describing the process as "exhausting," she praised how it changed her reactive mindset and helped her focus on the elements of life she could control.

Over recent years, Balionis has gained increasing fame within the golf world, amassing over 300,000 followers on Instagram. This platform has allowed her to reconnect with her childhood love for golf.

She reminisced about playing junior golf for several seasons and has attributed many of her yoga techniques to her success on the green.

In an interview with Alomoves, Balionis drew parallels between golf and yoga, saying: "Golf and yoga have so many similarities, it's crazy! It's about staying calm and present in the moment, not thinking about what pose or golf shot is coming up next - just focusing on what's at hand,".

"Learning to connect with your breath in yoga is hugely beneficial on the golf course. Learning not to get emotionally reactive to a bad shot or bad round and just enjoying the surroundings and the people with me is all something I learned from yoga. Physically, yoga will help with spinal rotation, shoulder opening and rotation, lower back strength, and so much more that you need to play golf and not feel in pain afterwards."