How Can Yoga Help You Become a Better Athlete?

Yoga is known for benefits that include stress reduction, mental focus and reduced back pain, among many others. Most athletes push their bodies to the edge and consistent yoga practice can contribute to improvements in strength, mobility, balance and concentration. Both physiological benefits and mental rewards support performance and allow athletes to handle mental and emotional demands of a tough training day and competition.

Here are more details on a few of the perks of yoga for athletes:

• Routine and consistent practice of various yoga poses can help build strength and improve lean muscle mass. Other physical workouts are vital in protecting your joints and spine. Yoga helps strengthen all of the little stabilizing muscles that people tend to miss.
• Yoga helps improve coordination and balance. This is important for an athlete to have ease of control to body movement which can result in better techniques.
• Yoga also improves joint and muscular flexibility. Athletes in sports that require swinging action can greatly benefit from practicing yoga. Not only that it helps prevent injury, it increases flexibility and ease of movement for better performance.
• Yoga also helps athletes recover after injuries and losses. The meditative portion of the yoga sessions has huge ephemeral benefits. It can help change your way of thinking and approach to everything in life. The mind is a mysterious contraption and sometimes could be an enemy, constantly influencing us with negative signals. Much like a muscle, the mind can be trained.
• Yoga is a mind-body practice incorporating morality, self-discipline, physical postures, breathing exercises, control of the senses, inner awareness and concentration, meditation, and openness to the infinite. Constant practice will result in better sleep, increased flexibility, strength, weight loss, a refreshing optimism and faith in humanity—which can benefit athletes greatly.

At PIES, we are focused on ensuring that you have the best Yoga Experience in Northern Virginia. We have various beginner yoga and senior yoga programs and classes at our studios in Alexandria, Virginia, please give us a call at 703-887-9574 to schedule your class.

• Trade Center Studio: 374 South Picket Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22304
• Valley Forge Studio: 33 South Picket Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, Virginia 22304 (Entrance 5201 Valley Forge Drive)

Check out our blog for additional posts about yoga and our other classes.