Yoga To Enhance Sporting Performance

June 10, 2024 Danielle Craker

Yoga has long been seen to enhance performance in a wide variety of sports, from those who play sports for fun to professional players.

One of the teachers I did a teacher training with 14 years ago taught each week at a premier football club. And I’ve seen it myself in classes where yogi’s who either play sports for fun or it’s their full time job, have found the benefits of yoga enhances their performance.

There have been many scientific studies on the linkages between yoga and sports performance. And I’ve shared links below for those who want to read in more detail. But in this article I’m going to share my thoughts on how I believe Yoga enhances sporting performance.

I’m going to get started with one of the most obvious. Mobility and Flexibility.

I’ve heard from many yogi’s that adding Yoga to their training regime significantly improves their flexibility and mobility. Which counteracts the tightening of muscles and soft tissues from their everyday training and match days. For many sports, and general health, we need to maintain and improve our Range Of Motion (ROM). When watching a player, it’s not just their skill that is impressive, or their strength and stamina, it’s also their ability to move with such a high degree of ROM.

And it’s not just a specific ROM, that’s needed for the key movements they make when playing. The whole body is connected, a tightness or low degree of ROM in another part of the body will hinder the movement in the body areas most used. And it can also increase the chance of injury as the body is compensating for a low ROM in a neglected area of the body.

Let’s move onto Strength. Many of those playing sports will do strength training as part of their overall training, targeting the areas of the body they most use when playing. There is a misconception that in Yoga you don’t really build strength. There are some classes that are not aimed at building strength, that’s not their primary purpose. But there are many classes where strength building is a core component. Often through longer holds, but also through activating throughout the body in postures, and controlled movement when transitioning between postures, to build strength in all areas of the body, not just primary muscle groups.

Within the postures, I cue to help people feel into the sensations in their bodies, to make micro movements to get more out of the posture. Let’s take a classic Warrior II, I could do what I think of as a ‘floppy Warrior II’, or I can really do Warrior II, an active Warrior II. Floppy version I could probably stay in for 15 minutes. When I do an active Warrior II, at a push, 5 minutes (I might have to time myself as a little non-scientific experiment!).

Floppy Warrior II

Fully Active Warrior II

I’ll group the next benefits into one section; Stability, Control, Coordination and Balance. It’s more obvious to see these benefits in any of the postures where we’re balancing, standing on one leg or arm balances. Balancing and stability, are key areas that Yogi’s improve in as they practise regularly.

But I also believe in the power of transitions. I teach with an emphasis on the whole movement, not just the posture. The transitions between postures are an area where we can gain so much, having that body awareness as we move in and out, activating different areas of the body, so that we move with control and coordination. At the same time building more strength, flexibility and mobility.

A simple example, Crescent Lunge.

Starting from standing you could just step a foot forward and come into the lunge, job done, you’re in Crescent Lunge.

Or you stand tall, engaging through the body, life one knee up to chest height, flex through the foot so the lifted leg is fully active, take an inhale and on a slow exhale you take the lifted leg back through the air and softly, with almost no sound, land it to the back of the mat in exactly the right position as you bend into the front leg and arrive into Crescent Lunge. Full body activation, control, stability, balance, and coordination needed.

P.s. I actually get a little bit excited in a class, when I can’t hear a single person land their foot down in Crescent Lunge.

Moving into Crescent Lunge

Crescent Lunge

Moving onto Stamina and Endurance. Again not what people would associate with Yoga, well maybe until they’ve found the right class for them! Stamina and endurance can come from a class with longer holds. So a simple Hatha class. Or from a faster flowing sequence with a Vinyasa class. I teach both styles, but my belief with some of the faster flows, is that when we move faster we can barely touch the posture. There is a commitment needed from the Yogi, and a bit of experience, to be able to get into the postures, and be active through the transitions, to really get the full benefits from a faster flowing class. Which is why in the more flowing classes I teach, you’ll find a mixture of longer holds, and then flow.

In all of the areas above, I’ve been focused on the improvements, the improvements that enhance sporting performance. But it’s also important to recognise that building flexibility, mobility, strength throughout the body, control, stability, coordination and balance will also help prevent injury. And improve the condition of the body as we grow older. Both significant factors for any keen sports person.

I’ll just mention here the final more physical element of how Yoga enhances sporting performance which is Lung Function. There are specific Pranayama’s that we may do in class (breath work), which help improve lung capacity. For some even learning how to breathe efficiently and effectively for the first time. But there’s also the breathwork throughout the whole of the class. Slowing down and deepening the breath even when we’re in postures or transitions which are challenging. That control over the breath is key for sports.

Let’s move away from the physical. Next up is the Mind.

Through Yoga practice, we can feel into the sensations in the body, observing, becoming aware of our bodies. As we do this we let go of the mental chatter, we clear the mind, it becomes focused on one thing. We notice when thoughts come in, we can let them move by as we focus on the sensations in the body. The more we practise this presence, this mindfulness, on the mat, the more we can find this off the mat. Sports at competitive levels, can bring with it stress, anxiety, and a whole load of mental chatter. You can find many examples of professional players who have spoken about the benefits to themselves and their performance of mindfulness and finding ways to let go of the mental chatter. I’ve seen it countless times after classes where yogi’s leave with a sense of calm, almost a serenity as they float out.

Which brings me onto the Nervous System. Nervous system regulation is a hot topic these days. A regulated nervous system is one that can easily move between sympathetic and parasympathetic states. The sympathetic state, the one of activity, is often key on match days, when you need that fire, that edge. The parasympathetic state is also needed, it’s the one of rest and repair. We need both.

A dysregulated nervous system is one where we’re stuck in one state, often it’s the sympathetic state, where we can’t get out of the stressed, hyped up, manic state. This has numerous negative impacts on our bodies and minds. And can hinder physical recovery from training or match days.

Through Yoga we can get into the parasympathetic state, and in a class we can move between the two states. Often it’s the focus on the breath that helps us move into the parasympathetic state. Again if we can practise it on the mat, it’s that much easier to practise it off the mat.

Time to wrap up.

For those where sports plays an important role in their life, from those who play for fun, to professionals, Yoga is a tool to enhance your performance. By building flexibility, mobility, strength, coordination, control, stability, balance, stamina and endurance, for training and match days.

But it’s also a tool to reduce the risk of injury, to assist recovery, to help us play for longer as we age, and to help us deal with the mental stress and chatter that comes from playing at competitive levels.

Finding the right class and teacher is key. Do your research, and if the first one you try doesn't fit the bill, try another. There are many Yoga teachers and classes out there, find the one that fits you.

Sports can be a source of joy in people's lives, a key part of what helps them flourish. Helping people enhance their sporting performance, to look after themselves so they can keep tapping into their joy, what makes them flourish, lights me up.

My purpose in all that I do is to help people heal and flourish in their lives. Whether that’s through Yoga or through Wellness Coaching; where we look at shifting the mindsets and beliefs that hold people back from their dreams and potential.

If you have any questions, or want to get in touch to find out more about what I offer, then please get in touch.

Links for further reading:

Yoga for Athletes Performance by Nike:

https://www.nike.com/gb/a/yoga-for-athletes-performance

5 Ways Yoga Helps Improve Athletic Performance and Prevent Physical Injury:

https://yogauonline.com/yoga-practice-teaching-tips/yoga-for-beginners/5-ways-yoga-helps-improve-athletic-performance-and-prevent-physical-injury/#:~:text=Yoga%20helps%20enhance%2C%20not%20replace,the%20risk%20of%20physical%20injuries

Six Reasons Why Athletes Should Do Yoga:

https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/articles/six-reasons-why-athletes-should-do-yoga

Ryan Giggs article:

https://www.rsng.com/categories/movement-fuel/articles/ryan-giggs-reveals-how-yoga-helped-him-become-the-most-successful-british-footballer-in-history

LeBron James article:

https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2009/03/lebrons_extra_edge_cavaliers_s.html