ATHLETE PERFORMANCE AND YOGA

Chetan Kumar* Deepti Grewal**

INTRODUCTION

We all know that yoga, much like the martial arts, is part of an ancient and deep tradition. In

their quest for greater self-knowledge, the yogis realized our physical state deeply influences

both our mood and mental capacity. They found that by practicing the physical postures of yoga,

they could become more peaceful and in turn achieve greater focus. They also found by returning

the body to its natural state that they could dramatically improve physical capacity, part of why

many of today’s top athletes consider it a staple in their training. Yoga may be the ultimate cross-

training for athletic Endeavour’s. Professional athletes in virtually every sport have taken up a

regular yoga practice to increase endurance, energy economization, and overall enjoyment in

their training.

EFFECT OF YOGA FOR BETTER HEALTH

It is proved that there is an immense benefit of yoga offers in uniting the body, mind and soul.

Here, we look at some benefits of regular yoga practice.

Strengthens underused muscles: Athletes engage the exact same muscles in the exact

same way pretty much each time they work out. Imbalances in the body through

repetitive overuse will cause the body to compensate and tug uncomfortably on

ligaments, joints, and the entire skeletal system. Before a regular yoga practice, running

long distances would cause trigger a dull ache in my hip. Through yoga, I was able to

overcome the brick wall I had encountered in my mileage. Yoga poses challenge muscles

by demanding total engagement and deep stabilization, often in muscles we rarely

consciously engage in our favorite workout. Balanced muscle strength promotes injury-

prevention and will improve your athletic performance.

*Physical Education Teacher, D.P.S. International School, Saket, sNew Delhi.

** Yoga Expert and Physical Education Teacher, Government School, Moradabad.

1

Greater lung capacity: Your muscles and brain need oxygen to perform. Yoga asks that

you take bigger, deeper breaths and often includes pranayama or breathing exercises to

further increase lung strength and capacity. A strong diaphragm and sturdy lung walls let

you pump the air through your body more efficiently and thoroughly. Also, deep yoga

stretches, backbends, and twists open your chest muscles and thus improve capacity to

take in even more air to be used by our muscles. Using smooth, conscious, slow breaths

to get more oxygen steadily into your body during an athletic endeavor stimulates the

parasympathetic nervous system and will give you a competitive edge against those who

struggle with deep breathing over long periods of time.

Longer, more efficient muscles: Yoga decreases muscle tightness and builds longer

muscles. Longer, leaner muscles mean more endurance – they simply do not fatigue as

quickly. Long muscle fibers do take longer to build, but they are the long-lasting energy

source for athletes. Besides fuelling, muscles shorten to perform work, so a longer muscle

has more area to contract, allowing for more work to be done before being completely

used up. Additionally, longer muscles give more shock absorption and therefore better

protect the joints, which can be important if your sport of choice is high-impact. Compete

with more endurance now and continue strong athletic performance well in your old age.

For All-round fitness- Yoga helps: postures, pranayama (breathing techniques)

and meditation is a holistic fitness package. Through Sun Salutations and Kapal Bhati

pranayama yoga helps to lose weight loss. With regular practice of yoga, a good

sensation is built up about how much food and what kind of food should be taken to

check on weight.

For Stress relief - A few minutes of yoga during the day can relieve us from the stress

that accumulates daily - in both the body and mind. That apart, Yoga postures,

pranayama and meditation are effective techniques to release stress.

Yoga Improves immunity- Yoga poses massage organs and strengthen muscles;

breathing techniques through pranayam and meditation release stress and improve

immunity. Yoga also prevents some existence diseases in the body.

2

Yoga helps Living with greater awareness -Our mind is constantly oscillated with

some activities such as swinging from the past to the future. Through meditation we bring

the mind back to the present moment, where it can stay happy and focused.

For Better relationships- Yoga and meditation work on keeping the mind happy and

peaceful therefore, a good relation is being possible to keep with our near, dear and other

ones.

Yoga makes Better flexibility & posture-Through regular yogic practices muscles are

stretched and toned up as a whole the body is being strong. It also helps improve our

body posture when we stand, sit, sleep or walk. Yoga practices relieve us from body pain

due to incorrect posture. Increases sleep pattern and make the body flexible.

Better intuition- Yoga and meditation have the power to improve our intuitive ability so

that we effortlessly realize what needs to be done and when and how, to yield positive

results. It works. We only need to experience it ourselves. Yoga helps in secretion of

hormone from different glands in balanced conditioned. It regulates the blood circulation

properly. It forms the antibody to prevent diseases.

Quicker recovery: Post-workout, athletes often have sore, energy-depleted muscles. A

few yoga poses after a workout can make the difference between rearing to go again the

next day versus a three-day bout of muscles stiffness. Try Downward-Facing Dog pose,

Half Pigeon, Frog, Big Toe pose, and some Spinal Twists on the floor. When you feel

like cinder blocks have replaced your feet, try Legs-Up-the-Wall pose for 2-3 minutes,

which drains blood from the legs so that when you stand up the legs are flooded with

freshly oxygenated blood and improved circulation. With regular stretching after a

workout, you can speed up your recovery time and prevent build-up of scar tissue.

Allowing your body to fully recover between intense workouts is smart training, and by

making that recovery time quicker, you can be a healthier, higher-performing athlete.

3

Conclusion

Yoga is the application of physical postures, control of breath, purification and relaxation of

mind / body and spiritual principles aimed at bringing greater unity and balance to the mind and

body. Yoga teaches a person how to link the mind and body and to come into the present. The

use of pranayama and breathing techniques prescribed in Yoga enables a person to focus on

breath and helps to calm and still the mind and cultivate concentration ability. Through

pranayama, man’s will-power, self-control and concentration power improves and enhance.

Yoga offers a holistic Approach to a physical activity intervention and an alternative strategy to

enhance mental skills in sports.

References

B.P.Bam, Winning Habits, Techniques for Excellence in Sports, India, 2008.

Christensen, Alice. “Who Can Practice Yoga? General Yoga Information. American Yoga Association. Retrieved 28 October 2012.

De Michelis, Elizabeth, A History Of Modern Yoga. Patanjali and Modern Esotericism. London, 2004

De Michelis, Elizabeth (2004). A History of Modern Yoga. London: Continuum.2005.

Jugal Kishore (2005). National health programs of India: national policies & legislations related to health. Century Publications, ISBN 978-81-88132-13-3, Retrieved 2 September 2012.

Bera, T. K., & Lolage. (2002). Effect of Pranayama on cardiovascular endurance in Kho-Kho players. Yoga-Mimamsa, 34(1), 13-26.

Balasubramanian, B., & Pansare, M. S. (1991). Effect of yoga on aerobic and anaerobic power of muscles. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol., 35(4), 281–282.

Datar, S. V., & Kulkarni, V. A. (1997). Yogic practices and cardiovascular efficiency. Yoga Mimamsa, 32(1&2), 8 – 13.

Ganguly, S. K., Gharote, M. L., & Jolly, S. R. (1989). Immediate effect of kapalbhati on cardio-vascular endurance. Yoga Mimamsa, 28(1), 1-7.

4

Charabose, A., (1993).”Effect of Yoga Training on Reaction Time, Respiratory Endurance and Muscular Strength”, Indian Journal of Physiological Pharmacology.

http://www.yogapoint.com/mainstory%5CTopstoryContents%5Cyoga_sports.htm#sthash

http://www.onnit.com/blog/6-athletic-performance

5