Did you know that there are more than 300 million people practice yoga across the world?

WOW! That number is remarkable as this number is not far from the population of the United States. 

As we all already know, Yoga has countless benefits towards both our physical and mental healthbut in this article I would like to specifically focus on the benefits of Yoga for athletes.

You might ask why specifically for athletes? It’s something personal as I myself am a competitive tennis player and  have observed first-hand how junior players are getting injured more frequently. Similarly,we often hear about the same happening to professional players. 

Over the years, Tennis has become a faster sport with better equipment, better court surfaces, longer baseline rallies and aggressive tournament schedules. 

Therefore, as an athlete we need to find ways to support our training to balance the effects of this intensive training. 

Yoga can be that magic component.

Playing a sport results in some muscle groups becoming over developed, due to increased usage. As a result other muscle groups are ignored. Over usage results in an imbalance within the body and this in turn results in injuries. 

So how can Yoga help? Yoga is able to supplement athletes , as it’s asana involves the use of  full range of motion using a large variety of muscles, tendons and ligaments. This helps with injury prevention as it lubricates the joints and allows them to move more freely. In addition, yoga movements are holistic and stress free and a right routine can help overcome imbalances. 

The other big advantage of Yoga is that the Asanas involve holding a physical position which builds strength and helps with stretching. These are coupled with breath movements. Breath movements require the person to concentrate to execute the deep abdominal breathing which helps to  relax the mind and increase focus.

Although Yoga asanas are non-aerobic, they actively help with increasing the quantum of oxygen due to the focus on deep breathing. A lower heart rate is also a key outcome of the asanas which helps athletes, along with the improved strength and flexibility.

To sum it up, Yoga exercises have a holistic effect and can bring body, mind, consciousness and soul into balance.

A study published in the National Library of Medicine has proven  that Yoga does actually help athletes. In their study, two groups of athletes were observed over a 10 week period, one group which practised Yoga in addition to their regular sports training versus the other group which did not practise Yoga. Performance measures were tracked from the start of the 10 week period and post the 10 week period.

Measurements of flexibility and balance, included: Sit-reach (SR), shoulder flexibility (SF), and stork stand (SS); dynamic measurements consisted of joint angles (JA) measured during the performance of three distinct yoga positions (downward dog [DD]; right foot lunge [RFL]; chair [C]).

Significant gains were observed in the Yoga Group for flexibility (SR, P = 0.01; SF, P = 0.03), and balance (SS, P = 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the Non Yoga Group for flexibility and balance.

The core principle of why Yoga is useful is it’s  combination of active and passive stretching. Active stretching is moving and stretching dynamically (as in Sun Salutations, for example), resulting in the suppleness of tissues. Passive stretching, is about holding a posture for a minute or more in a way that’s relaxed wherein the muscles are lengthened.

An example is knee pain related to the irritation of the iliotibial band (IT band), which is a  thick band of fascia that runs from the top of the outer hip to just below the outer knee. It’s a common misconception that stretching the IT band itself will fix this. Often, the hip muscles that attach to the IT band become tight, creating tension along the band. 

Asana which help

Standing Forward Bend, variation (Uttanasana)

Stretches the hamstrings where they meet the IT band

Low Lunge, variation (Anjaneyasana)

Stretches the difficult-to-reach tensor fasciae latae at the top of the IT band.

Supine Cow Face Pose (Supta Gomukhasana)

Stretches the gluteus maximus muscles, which attach to the IT band.

I have learnt from my research that Yoga is a good way to supplement high intensity training that competitive junior and professional athletes normally have to undergo. Yoga helps with injury prevention, better body flexibility and strength and also has the added benefit of improving mental focus and concentration. 

In conclusion,  I hope this has helped you think about exploring how Yoga can help. The idea of this article is to bring new ideas to each other to improve our lives and the method in which  we live, 

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