Yoga For Every Athlete!

All to often when I invite people to my yoga classes I encounter responses such as “I prefer more high intensity workouts” or “I need more cardio than what yoga offers.” It is almost as if people consider yoga a waste of time, especially if they only have an hour to work out each day. Well I’m here to tell you, that it is not a waste, and in fact, every athlete, regardless of sport or discipline, has the potential to enhance his or her performance by adopting a consistent yoga practice.

Benefits of Yoga For Athletes:

1. Improved Strength. Studies have found that a consistent yoga practice that incorporates various asanas (poses) can help to build strength and improve lean muscle mass; (especially the muscles used for many of the high intensity sports such as running, cycling, and swimming). In addition, yoga helps strengthen the under-developed and less-used muscles that surround the more utilized muscles, and in return can improve overall stability and prevent injury.

2. Improved Flexibility. There is no doubt that yoga improves joint and muscular flexibility, which is vital to the body’s overall structural whole. Enhanced flexibility will lead to greater range of motion, which can lead to more conditioned muscles.

3. Improved Coordination and Balance. Yoga can help increase both of these tremendously. Better balance and coordination means enhanced control over the body. This can lead to better technique and form in nearly any sport or practice. Whether it is a baseball swing, swim stroke, running stride, or dance pose, yoga can help you refine it.

4. Improved Mental Control. This is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of any well-trained athlete. Most people think of yoga as simply a great “workout” or a means of tightening the core or toning their stomach. Of course it does do that, but it also does so much more.  As soon as the rigorous vinyasa portion of the class is finished, we close class with savasana and a meditative period. As an athlete, it is easy to brush this portion of class off as the less important part, when in reality it may be the exact opposite. The mind is what distinguishes the best athletes from the mediocre ones. I think it is safe to say that regardless of how hard you train physically, if you don’t have control over your thoughts, have the ability to remain focused, and the capacity to visualize success, you can only go so far. Just like any muscle, the mind can and should be trained. By doing so, you will find that you will be able to achieve goals that you never thought fathomable.

So next time you find yourself tempted to skip out on a yoga practice in exchange for your regular mundane cardio routine, think again! You will be amazed at what your body can achieve, on and off the mat!

-Namaste

www.gobodiyoga.com