Yoga is a part of every culture these days.
Yet, we still consider it “stretching” when it is much more. This is evident because yoga has been a valuable addition to our training, from NFL players to Ultramarathon runners for elite athletes.
Yoga can improve your performance in every area, from endurance up to speed and power to speed. It also promotes overall health, well-being, and good health. We’ll discuss yoga’s benefits and how to start a regular practice.
The Yoga Foundation and Background for Athletic Performance
Yoga, like martial arts, is a part of a long and rich tradition. The yogis discovered that our physical condition has a profound impact on our mood as well as our mental ability.
They discovered that yoga’s physical postures helped them to be calmer and achieve greater focus.
It was also discovered that returning the body to its natural state could dramatically increase physical ability. Many top athletes consider it an essential part of their training.
Yoga’s Athletic Performance Benefits
You might be skeptical if you have seen videos or read articles about yoga. However, the benefits of even the most rigorous yoga program differ from deadlifts or interval training.
This is true, and it’s why, even though I am a practitioner and teacher, I still include sandbag exercises, hill sprints, and sledgehammer practice in my daily routine.
Yoga can not replace traditional (or unorthodox) training. It can only enhance it.
Yoga can improve flexibility, posture, body mechanics, and awareness. It can also make any form of training more efficient and effective. Regular yoga practice can provide the following benefits and more.
Powerful Increase
Power, strength, speed, and speed all depend on the body’s mechanics. When our bodies are correctly aligned, we can transmit more force efficiently and perform better.
Yoga can improve your running gait, efficiency, and punch, jump or throw more explosively, regardless of your sport.
More endurance
Yoga can improve your respiratory capacity by opening your posture. Many people have successfully overcome asthma and other respiratory problems through regular practice. This is a great benefit for athletes.
It has been shown that yoga can dramatically improve circulation and digestion. This will further increase energy and endurance.
Better Balance/Proprioception
Yoga opens the body and increases body awareness. This includes balance, stability, proprioception, and balance. This results in higher performance and a more efficient training program.
Improved Injury Prevention
We all know that an injury is a single thing that can impede progress more than insufficient training.
Yoga significantly reduces injury risk by improving your body mechanics and awareness. This can lead to greater competitive longevity and consistent progress in the sport.
Enhanced Recovery
An overlooked, but an essential benefit for athletes is faster recovery. Yoga improves strength and endurance by increasing circulation and lymphatic flow. It also speeds up the metabolism of metabolic byproducts, which can dramatically speed up healing and regrowth.
Improved Focus
Lastly, regular practice can dramatically improve our focus and clarity. This is why it matters.
Rich Roll, Ultraman world champion, stated that all athletes at the highest levels of sport are incredibly talented and work hard.
What is it that separates the Olympic champion from an ‘also-ran’? The mind. Yoga can help you to have the awareness and mindfulness to improve your performance and training.
The list could go on. Yoga has been shown to balance hormones, improve stress management and improve immune function.