These days most of us know about yoga and what it can do to our body. It becomes more important when we talk about yoga for sports. Many athletes do yoga for sports performance enhancement as it improves their flexibility and agility. Indeed, regular practice of yoga can improve every part of a sportsperson’s body, from endurance to power to speed. Both, yoga and sports are inter-connected. Even some of the most experienced coaches advise yoga for athletes as it helps them ease out their muscles and nerves, and soreness present in them. Many people are of the opinion of practicing yoga as sport. Many parents believe that yoga training should be provided in schools and colleges. Some are even of the opinion that yoga as a subject will help improve their child’s physical and mental growth, and should be added in the school’s curriculum.
Here are some ways how yoga can make you a better sportsperson:
Prevents injuries
Regular practice of yoga helps against injuries by toughening up the body against nature. If you fall or slip by chance, you won’t suffer with any severe injuries due to practice of yoga. Among female athletes yoga for women is considered important for this very reason.
Increases power
Regular yoga practice helps in increasing the power of your body. So that when you are doing some heavy duty work such as pushing, pulling or lifting something heavy, you will be able to do so easily without feeling too much pressure.
Improved muscle-functioning
Practicing various styles of yoga will help athletes with improved muscle-functioning and they will be able to bring out the best from their body. There will also be better muscle to muscle coordination.
Increased mental toughness
Meditation which is part of yoga practice, helps increase mental toughness. Meditation is considered as best yoga for athletes (mind yoga) as it helps them focus and improve their attention to learn on-field tricks faster.
- Full body control
Yoga helps in effective full body control and you can choose and act as which part of the body you want to turn, twist or bend and up to how much. This is where yoga and sports connect.
Faster recovery and muscle repairing
Athletes get drained from daily practice of their sport and even suffer with torn or damaged muscles. Yoga aides them as there are certain poses which help in recovering by stretching and relaxing those tense nerves and muscles, and helps repair damaged muscles.
Reduced tension and stress
Yoga for athletes is important as it helps calm down mind and tense muscles. It relaxes your mind and body and reduces tension and stress. This further improves work ability.
Improved focus
Yoga for sports is very important as its daily practice helps improve focus and the person is able to do his work diligently without getting disturbed.
Surya Namaskar that has 12 poses in it is considered as best yoga for athletes. Athletes doing yoga as part of their daily routine is the best example of sports and yoga. Yoga as sport is very helpful for all and everyone should try and practice it.