Dramatically Increase the Effectiveness
of your Training (and life) with Yoga!

By Chuck Blumenthal @ Natural Fitness, a MapMyFitness Partner

As featured in the July 2007 Newsletter

As athletes look for ways to enhance performance such as cross training, nutrition, psychology and even steroids, millions are discovering the phenomenal benefits of incorporating yoga into their training regimes and into their personal lifestyle. Yoga creates lasting long term life enhancements but for the athlete there are many physical benefits that will be noticed immediately.

Starting with special breathing techniques taught in yoga (pranayama) allows your lungs to fill completely with air on your inhale and empty completely on your exhale bringing your heart rate down and saturating your muscles with oxygen. Pranayama is a great stress-relieving practice that alone can make a huge difference in your workout and your life. It can be incorporated into any aerobic exercise for maximum performance and increased stamina.

An important benefit that yoga provides western athletes who practice is the body awareness that comes with the fine-tuning and alignment of yoga postures. Concentrating on moving small specific muscles in order to perfect and align your posture adds to your recognition of pain, misalignment and correct positioning in daily activities and exercises. Keeping that awareness that yoga develops during running, riding and other repetitive physical training helps you tune in, stay efficient and prevent injury. The inward focus of yoga also centers your mind, keeps you relaxed and allows you to push through discomfort that may come with extended training sessions or races.

Yoga focuses considerably on balance. Standing balance postures, such as tree pose (Arkansan), are practiced in most yoga sessions and within most yoga poses there are body balancing demands that ensure that you are developing full body balance awareness. Both elements of balance are helpful in overall body conditioning, efficient performance and gives you an edge over competitors.

For hikers, the balancing practice is valuable in improving your response to uneven terrain. Stabilizing exercises like the Side Angle poses (Utthita and Parivritta Parsvakonasana) help prevent injury and also contribute to good management of the terrain. Yoga and hiking are thought of as a wonderful combination because of the appreciation for life and nature encouraged and nurtured in yoga.

The repetitive movements of pedaling and leaning forward experienced by bikers are counterbalanced wonderfully in yoga poses with backbends such as Cobra (Bhujangasana), Camel (Ustrasana) and Wheel Pose (Urdvha Dhanurasana) and hip openers like the Warrior (Virabadrasana) series, Crescent Pose (Ajaneyasana) and Pigeon Prep (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana). Muscles that are overtaxed get stretched and those that are underutilized get strengthened. These counterbalancing exercises allow you to become more explosive and powerful once you're back in the saddle and help prevent discomfort and injury.

Runners can counteract the pounding, tightening and shortening of their muscles with yoga's restorative, lengthening and loosening effects. Yoga increases range of motion with poses like Reclining Hero Pose (Supta Virasana) and Double Pigeon and helps prevent injury with body balancing strength and stability. Running becomes easier and more enjoyable with the practice of yoga.

A unfortunate misconception is that yoga does not build strength, nothing could be further from the truth. The western concept of strength is focused on very large bulky muscles in the major muscle groups. Yoga vigorously works the major muscle as well as all of the smaller complimentary muscles and develops strength, endurance as well as actually more effective strength through better coordination and muscle efficiency. Large bulky muscles will work better which enhances their strength.

The general alignment principals learned in yoga can help every exercise regime. Correct pelvic tilt with Mountain Pose (Tadasana) can improve walking, spinal twists like the Marichyasana series and shoulder openers done in Eagle (Garudasana) and Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana) can help improve posture while the stretching increases flexibility and range of motion.

All of the listed physical and psychological benefits of yoga can give the athlete an edge to help the athlete be stronger for longer and easily push through your training challenges and the competition.

If you haven't already added yoga to your training -- you should do it today!