In the eastern suburbs of Sydney it’s commonplace to see large groups practicing yoga at any time. It’s fair to say few of those groups are made up entirely of professional sportsmen, and probably for good reason.

Imagine trying to get in excess of 40 young, active footballers to listen to instructions on remaining still and quiet for any extended period.

But for an hour every Monday afternoon after training, the Swans players enter a physical, spiritual and mental realm with all the intensity and vigour they usually display on the field - well, for the most part anyway.

Championed by former captain Brett Kirk, and sworn-by by current co-captain Adam Goodes, the benefits of yoga for a football player are many, and the next generation of Swans players are buying in.

“There’s days where I’d probably rather do something else, but it’s definitely beneficial,” Dan Hannebery told SwansTV during the week.

“Physically it’s good for your recovery; it helps you stretch your muscles after a solid training session.

“Mentally it’s good also. You can switch off, and a lot of guys like to relax and generally fell pretty rejuvenated after an hour of yoga.”

Hannebery, who is on the comeback trail following minor knee surgery just under two weeks ago, said the introduction of other elements to football rather than just the main training sessions helps keep the players fresh during the long months of pre-season.

“Monday, Wednesday and Fridays are the hard two-to-three hour sessions where a lot of the guys do the bulk of their training, so it’s important on the off days that we mix it up with our training and make sure we keep ourselves active in other ways,” he said.

“Yoga’s a really important part, and other things like Zumba, off-legs and boxing are good things to keep our bodies ticking over, but not with the stresses of training.”

Any regular viewer of SwansTV would know that Dan likes a chat, and keeping quiet for any stretch is not an option for him - a trait that can backfire during the ancient discipline.

“I definitely get a few words in during yoga. I whisper a few things to Benny and Joey, and whoever’s next to me,” Hannebery said.

“Goodesy always gives me an evil eye when I talk, but I definitely couldn’t go an hour without muttering a few words.”

And which teammates does Hanneberry think could represent the Swans in yoga?

“Definitely Goodesy. Parkes gets right into it,” he said. “Teddy’s right into it too, but you try and stay away from Teddy because he has some interesting smells coming from his corner.”