Yoga for Athletes
As a professional athlete, the body has to be very well maintained. It is a valuable instrument and if it is not cared for, performance can take a hit. No matter what sport you play, strength, endurance, and flexibility are all important aspects and the balance can only be achieved by variety of workouts.
To keep a well balanced body a lot of athletes turn to other forms of fitness. Many athletes are incorporating yoga into there training. Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James, Tom Brady, and Ray Lewis are just a few who are rolling out their mats, or in Shaq’s case 2 mats. They all do yoga for the almost the same reasons. 1. They do yoga build strength and flexibility. They use different muscles than what they use in their field of sports. Flexibility to loosen up over used areas in the body. This helps them to have fewer injuries and allows for quicker recoveries. 2. Being the top athletes in the world, they are under a lot of pressure. These athletes value the mental clarity they find by practising yoga. Some claim it helps them to stay focused in the game and during the season of their sport.
It is common for athletes to do unbalanced work. Meaning, a football player throws with one hand, basketball players always running, hockey players use one predominate arm for puck handling. Over use is the biggest cause of injury. This is why training in yoga is so important. It gives them the opportunity to work their body evenly, stretch out the over used muscles and strengthen the under used ones. When athletes increase their flexibility allows them to have less injuries. Balancing poses in yoga help to gain more stability and improves coordination.
Yoga is also good for stress relief by calms the nervous system which can be very high during a game or a race. The pranayama (breathing exercises) done in yoga, are tools athletes can use when they are prior to an event, while performing, and for unwinding after. This also helps with calming the nervous system, giving the athletes longevity, energy and focus. Their attention is sharpened, allowing for quicker reaction.
This is one of the most enjoyable parts of yoga, it literally benefits everyone. 7 feet tall or 4 feet tall, professional athlete or new to fitness, 3 years old or 93 years old. There is always something to gain by staying with your yoga practice.