Sid McNairy (HHS’93) may have spent a good deal of his life coaching football, but he found his calling not on the field but on the mat. The former Northern Illinois University coach tried the centuries-old practice of yoga in the mid-1990s as he struggled to overcome an injury. Twenty years later, he teaches at his expanding studio in Maryland, speaks to groups and teams, trains other instructors, and has recently released a second book on yoga and life empowerment.

McNairy, whose biomedical researcher and fellow Purdue graduate father, Sid McNairy Jr. (MS A’62, PhD A’65, HDR S’02), encouraged him to attend his alma mater, started out playing sports and majoring in movement and sports medicine. As he coached around the Midwest after graduation, he continued practicing meditation in his daily life as part of his sports regimen. Yoga felt like a natural extension a few years later, when a colleague recommended it to aid in healing an ankle injury. 

“We don’t give credit to how much our mind plays a part in our discomfort,” says McNairy. “You begin, with yoga, to slow down enough to see where your thoughts are going. The world needs a new operating system, and yoga helps us find that system that is really innate in every human being.” 

“You begin, with yoga, to slow down enough to see where your thoughts are going. The world needs a new operating system, and yoga helps us find that system that is really innate in every human being.” 

—Sid McNairy

Other players and friends began asking for guidance, and after a while, McNairy decided to shift his focus from sports coaching to wellness through yoga. Today, his business, Sid Yoga, employs nearly 35 teachers and operates on a donation-based system, part of the spirit of community he feels is imperative to the practice. 

Tori Kovelman, the studio manager at Sid Yoga in Towson, Maryland, says people are attracted to McNairy’s positivity and his commitment to the community. “Any time they come in, it’s a donation, cash, or card, whatever works for their pockets that day,” she says. “It stands tall and strong as a donation community. It’s a lighthouse.”

Pat Skerry, men’s basketball coach at Towson University, agrees. As a regular at Sid Yoga, Skerry often sends his players to classes as well. “You get a much better workout than you realize and an ability to focus,” he says. “You underestimate the importance of breathing. I’ve never left a workout there where I didn’t feel good about myself afterwards. That holistic piece is a big thing.”

McNairy hopes to see Sid Yoga continue to empower and bring people together. He’s opened studios in Boston and Pennsylvania and is eyeing the West Coast. “People are hungry for understanding and connection, but what we’re looking for is already inside of ourselves,” he says.