OOH, SPANISH THIGHS: Puyol denies Honduras forward Walter Martinez at Ellis Park Stadium in the group stages of the tournament Picture: SIMON MATHEBULA

Then there is the Carles Puyol who studies yoga and Pilates, and eats his favourite Japanese food with chopsticks. Or the Puyol who retires to his hotel bedroom after a game of cards or a chat with his Spain team-mates and opens up his laptop to complete his contribution to squad “bonding” while they are away on long tournaments: “Puyi” is in charge of the squad’s sweepstakes, and on his computer keeps tallies of whose predictions, or results and goalscorers are doing best and whose worst: Puyi is their meticulous book-keeper.

Partly, it is the hair, that thick, floppy, unstyled mane that gives off a mistaken impression of Puyol The Primitive. But it’s also the in-your-face-competitor Puyol enacts so vividly on the field for his club, Barcelona, and for the Spanish national team.

“He’s someone who, even if you’re winning 3-0 and there’s a few seconds left in the game will shout at the top of his voice at you if he thinks your concentration is going,” remarks Gerard Pique, who forms a formidable central defensive pairing with Puyol for club and country. Ninety minutes alongside Puyi means an hour and a half of roar and rant. He is not from the, say, Franco Baresi school of centre-half that believes the task is best interpreted exuding calm.

Without Puyol, Spain would not be in their first World Cup final; or at least they may very well have not reached the appointment without extra time against Germany in their semi-final. His third goal in 89 internationals, 17 minutes from full-time, decided the outcome. After goalkeeper Iker Casillas, Puyol is probably the last man you would stake money on to score at the beginning of a fixture involving Spain. He is the defenders’ defender in a back four where the two full-backs, Joan Capdevila and Sergio Ramos, like to get forward and where Pique is in charge of the long passes.

Not so last Wednesday night in Durban. Puyol’s goal – as much as any of the many Spain goals whose seed gets planted with a tight knit of short passes, grows in the flourish of a quick exchange between a Xavi, a Xabi or a Iniesta and flowers with the sting of a David Villa shot – bore witness to the good, second-nature habits that a team containing so many close colleagues cultivates.

It was, as any of the seven Barcelona players or the three Real Madrid footballers on the field would have recognised instantly, a close replica of the last, seismic goal scored by Puyol, in a 6-2 victory by Barcelona over Madrid 15 months ago: A Xavi cross from a dead-ball, a crashing Puyol header from some distance, his impact powered by a thunderous charge to address the ball.

Xavi and Puyol are connected by so many matches, so many strategic discussions, so much telepathy that when Xavi, who aimed the corner to meet his colleague’s run, says “I knew it was going to be goal”, he can be assumed to be speaking the truth. He and his club captain have been playing football in the same sides since they were children at the Barcelona academy. They played their first matches for Spain on the same day almost a decade ago – against Holland, neatly – and have shared in six league titles together, two Champions League triumphs and a European championship 14 months ago in Vienna. “He is a luxury to have in your team,” says Xavi of Puyol.

Once upon a time, it used to be said of Carles Puyol that he was too much of a luxury. His physical assets are several: strength, a firm tackle, the sort of pace that once made him a marauding full-back, the kind of speed useful in recovering on those occasions when his positional instincts have let him down. As a young footballer, growing up in a Barcelona that emphasised sure touch, nimble movement and precise passing, some coaches doubted if Puyol, a Catalan from a remote Pyranean town, would develop as their style of player.

“He has worked very hard for everything he achieved,” his club coach Pep Guardiola says.

With Barcelona, he has known plenty of highs in 13 years in their first team. With Spain, the first eight years would be unfulfilling.

He recalls inheriting the role of squad sweepstake organiser from the now retired Luis Enrique who told him it could be a frustrating hobby because Spain always left tournaments before the end so there was little chance to see out together the results of the betting. Yet here Spain find themselves in their second successive major final, poised to match France’s achievement of a decade ago and hold both the world and European titles.

The World Cup had been in important target for Puyol. He has looked rejuvenated over the past 12 months. When, in May 2009, he raised the Champions League trophy for Barcelona, there was a hint of uncertainty over his future.

He played as a fullback in the Rome final against Manchester United – and won a bruising duel with Cristiano Ronaldo – not as a central defender, where Pique, still only 22, had begin to thrive and where Guardiola appeared to prefer other candidates. His contract was due for renewal.

By October, he had reconfirmed himself as Pique’s best partner at the heart of defence, both for Barca and Spain. Here’s a statistic that should chill the Dutch. In 78 matches as partners in central defence, Pique and Puyol have been on the losing side only three times.

“They are good for each other,” says the former Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

“Puyi gives them that energy and strength, and Pique the elegance and distribution.”

This evening’s collision with the Dutch marks a watershed in the career of Puyol, 32. He may call time on international football after his 90th cap, on 10 years of representing Spain.

It’s also possible an even more significant part of his identity may be shed.

“We reckon we should shave off his hair if we win the final,” chuckles Capdevila. All 22 squad members would need to pin him down first and then get busy with the scissors

By YJ Staff

First, you have to distinguish between dizziness and nausea. Nausea is the feeling of queasiness in the stomach, as if you are about to vomit, and can be caused by disturbances in the inner ear or incorrect pressure on the abdominal organs. Dizziness is most often experienced in the skull with a feeling of lightheadedness, ringing in the ears, difficulty focusing the eyes, and loss of balance. Dizziness can have many causes, from the serious (strokes and tumors) to the mundane (temporarily restricted blood flow from standing too quickly, commonly known as a headrush). If you experience one or both on a regular basis, you should consult your physician.

Nausea and/or dizziness in your yoga practice can also be red flags if experienced to a debilitating degree, says Robert Gray, director of the Park Boulevard Yoga Center in Oakland, California. “First, ensure you are not practicing at the wrong time with regard to your eating cycle,” says Gray. “Don’t be stuffed nor starving. Empty your bowels and bladder. Hydrate to a reasonable level before you begin, then refrain from drinking during your practice. For women, where you are in the cycle of your menses is significant too, and there may be days when backbends are just not for you.”

But Gray also explains it this way: “Inside our body is a living mammalian core that extends from the anus to the top of the head and encompasses all our organs, glands, blood vessels, and nerves. It is woven together and to the spine with webs of connective tissue,” he says. “All yoga postures are designed to effect this inner core. If our postures do not honor the integrity and intelligence of this core, we can experience symptoms like nausea and dizziness.

“To do a backbend, or any posture for that matter, we must use the strength of our arms and legs. If our shoulders and hips are restricted, the strength of our arms and legs will violate the integrity of this core body.”

So what can you do to prevent nausea and dizziness? Gray offers these suggestions: Work at continuing to open the hips and shoulders with standing poses and seated twists. In the backbends themselves, concentrate on relaxing your neck. First, lie on you back with your legs relaxed and comfortable. Let the force of gravity soften your voice box and move it back into the neck vertebrae. The soft tissue from the upper lungs to the inner ears and brain should also be relaxed.

Lie very still and observe the quality of your breath. Feel and remember this relaxation in the neck and try to maintain it as you move into the backbend. Remember to move slowly and listen closely to what your core body is telling you.

MAT-ROOM ONLY At the donation-based Yoga to the People in the East Village, Sunday evening power vinyasa flow classes are packed.

By MARY BILLARD

Published: April 23, 2010

Casey Kelbaugh for The New York Times

AND DOWN Greg Gumucio, standing, emphasizes practice, not star instructors, at Yoga to the People.