Yoga for athletic physique: improve Athlete’s balance, mobility

Yoga for the athletic physique is specifically designed to improve their balance, strength, mobility, flexibility, & stamina.

Yoga is quite legit for athletes and they are not doing it for no reason. Professionals reportedly practice yoga designed to complement weight lifting, running, boot camping, rock climbing, sports, or CrossFit.

Some types of yoga can do more harm than good if some types of yoga don’t exactly meet the fitness-focused needs and demands of athletes.

How yoga helps athletes

Yoga can help improve balance and strength in athletic performance. Better balance gives more strength and stamina to control the body. Holding asanas in yoga for a long time will increase muscle mass and build stamina, giving better support to your joints and connective tissue.

Yoga can help reduce the risk and keep you in your training program for your joints and connective tissue to use in athletic movements.

Apart from the physical benefits, yoga for athletes is beneficial in stress management. Reducing stress can help athletes perform better in their training programs.

Making some of the yoga postures a regular part of your relaxation routine promotes calmness and vigor while improving the quality of your sleep. Sleep will help the body to prepare for the next day and to rest between training sessions for optimum performance.

Check out these Yoga for an athletic physique to focus on more strength, balance, mobility, and flexibility.

Stretches Poses of Yoga For Athletic Physique

Stretches yoga poses that you can adopt for balance and mobility & stamina training and may even increase your patience.

Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward Dog Pose

• First of all, stand straight on the ground.
• Bend your waist and bring both hands down on the ground.
• Your knees should be straight and your hands should be slightly ahead of your shoulders.
• Raise the waist as high as possible.
• Your ears should touch the inner parts of your arms.
• If possible, in this state, keep your eyes on the navel.
• Keep in mind that in this posture you have to make an inverted “V” shape.
• Remain in this position for a few seconds, then come back to the normal position.

Benefits

• Strengthens your bones. 
• May helps prevent carpal tunnel syndrome 
• Tone the lower abdomen muscles
• Improve mobility at your hips, knees, and thoracic spine

Utthita Trikonasana – Triangle Pose

• To practice Triangle pose, stand straight on the ground. Now keep your feet at a distance of three feet from each other.
• Keep in mind that your right foot is at 90 degrees in front of you and your left foot is at a 15 degree angle behind you.
• During this, keep the weight of the body equally on both the feet. Keep taking deep breaths.
• Now place your right hand on the right toe and raise the left hand straight towards the sky. Keep in mind that the left hand should be exactly above the head.
• Raise your head also towards the sky and open your eyes and look upwards.
• During this both your hands should be in a straight line.
• Stay in this position for as long as possible and keep breathing deeply and exhaling.
• Now repeat this asana on the other leg.

Benefits

• Stretches and strengthens various muscle groups
• Opens the hips, groins, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest and spine 
• Warm-up exercise to improve overall health
• Energizes, balances and improves focus.

Ardha Chandrasana – Half Moon Pose

• Stand in Tadasana, now keeping your hands on the waist, spread the legs in such a way that there is a gap of 4 feet between them and pay attention that your spine and neck are straight.
• While inhaling, raise both your hands from side to shoulder (90 degrees), now you bend to the right side and keep the right hand on the ground.
• Now raise your left leg, paying attention that your left leg should be 90 degrees from the ground, in this position, keep your left hand straight up towards the ceiling. Maintain this position for 30 to 40 seconds, take normal breath.
• Stand up while breathing slowly and lower your hands and stand in Tadasana.

Benefits

• Roots thighbones to help alleviate backpain.
• Strengthens abdomen, buttocks and spine.
• Improves your balance and core strength.
• Alleviates back pain.

Skandasana – Side Lunge Pose

• Stand straight on your yoga mat and then stand straight by giving a gap of 2-3 feet between both the feet.
• Now, keeping the running leg straight, bend the knee of the other leg and sit keeping some distance from the shin. And while staying in the same position for 10 seconds, stand back straight and in the same way, keep the leg which was sitting with bended, keep it straight and the one which was kept straight before, bend the leg from the knee and sit with a little difference from the shin of the same leg.
• Stay in the same position for 10 seconds and take deep breaths for 5 to 10 times and release slowly and rise back and stand straight.
• If your balance deteriorates in this posture, then keep the palms on the ground, if the balance is correct then you can make a Namaskar Mudra of your hands.

Benefits

• Open hips and heart
• Improves balance and core strength
• Improves flexibility and strength of knees
• Stretching the lower body

Supta Baddokonasana – Reclined Bound Angle Pose

• Lie down on the yoga mat in the posture of Shavasana and slowly bend the knees inwards.
• During this, bring both the feet together inwards.
• The outer part of the feet shall be in contact with the floor.
• Keep your ankles close to the groin and keep both the palms near the hips and press down.
• Now while exhaling, pull the lower abdominal muscles inwards.
• Feel the stretch in the lower back.
• Keeping the pelvis stable, try to bend the spine.
• Breathe in and then release it out.
• Remain in this posture for one minute.
• Now take deep and slow breaths.

Benefits

•  Improves blood circulation
• Strengthens and improves flexibility in the inner thighs, groins and the knees 
• Helps relieve the symptoms of stress, mild depression, and menstruation
• Stimulates abdominal organs

Conclusion

Yoga is effective for improving athletic performance, improving balance, strength, mobility and flexibility.

Poses of Yoga for athletic physique will challenge your balance, strengthening the glutes, calves, and core, improves the flexibility/ mobility at your hips and abdomen strength , the strength in your calves, hamstrings, and glutes, and focus on your breathing for stress management.