Two weeks ago, I wrote about Duke University’s athletic teams incorporating yoga into its athletic development programs and off-season training. This article offers more specifics on why yoga is a great tool for athletic development:
- Will most likely make you more flexible.
- Improves your balance and body awareness.
- Can strengthen your core.
- Provides a chance for active recovery.
- Improves your mental state.
As the season nears its completion, players should take some time to rest and recover. Yoga offers an opportunity for the body to rehabilitate without losing too much through inactivity. Every player can benefit from increased flexibility – especially with tight calves and hip flexors – and core strength, as well as the opportunity to rejuvenate physically and mentally before attacking the off-season training in an effort to improve for the next season.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Brian,
Great Blog! Our women’s varstiy assistant coach is a Bikram Yoga nut and made arrangements for our athletes try Bikram once per week on Saturdays, the day after our most competitive games. We’ve been doing it weekly for most of the season and the kids love it, and so do I! They claim it helps them recover faster, they feel looser, and have increased the range of their flexibility. In addition, you feel great afterward!
I am not qualified to speak about the benefits of yoga, particularly the Bikram style, but what the kids like about Bikram is that it is the same stretches and poses each time, so they can observe their own improvement from one week to the next.
The only downside is that attending regular Yoga can be very expensive. We are fortunate in that the teacher whom we work with generously donates his time, thus we only pay a small fee to cover the cost of the space rental.
I really liked the way they came off