Yoga and Football: Mutually exclusive or the perfect pair?

Think of the typical yogi. Are you picturing a 6’5” 300 pound offensive lineman? If not, maybe you should be.

Did you know the Seattle Seahawks made yoga a mandatory part of practice before going on to win the 2014 Superbowl?3 If you’re thinking this sounds crazy, you’re probably not alone. But, I promise in the next few minutes it will make a lot more sense.

As an athlete, one of the most important aspects of injury prevention is flexibility. When you spend time building up your flexibility and making sure your body is able to withstand the constant twisting, turning, and bending of your sport, you are much less likely to injure yourself in practice or in a game. When speaking specifically of football, this is the measurement known as “fluidity through the hips”; basically how well you are able to move in any direction at any moment.4 Great examples of exercises that will help loosen up the hips and allow you to be quick and agile would be yoga poses such as the low lunge pose, the pigeon pose, and the frog pose.1

Frog pose

When practicing yoga, a major aspect is taking time to re-center yourself and focus on the tasks in front of you. When engaging in a competitive sport, being able to focus or “get your head in the game” can be a make or break for an athlete. Allowing yourself to get out of your head, or lose focus, can be the deciding factor between making a crucial play or missing it entirely.

Now, you may be thinking “Well won’t adding yoga just take up time that I could be spending lifting and getting stronger?” Don’t be afraid that you’re wasting your time; yoga can make you stronger in more ways than one. While yes, doing a yoga workout will help build muscle, learning to control your breathing and accessing parts of your respiratory system that you may not have been able to access before will make you more efficient.2

So before you hit leg day again, think about adding a day of active recovery yoga to your exercise regimen. Give yourself the time to re-focus yourself, improve your breathing, and gain flexibility and it will benefit you on and off the field for many games to come.

References:

1 Anderson, D., & Snyder, S. (2015, June 22). 9 Yoga Poses for Better Mobility in Your Hips | Hip Opener Sequence. Retrieved February 09, 2017, from http://www.yogajournal.com/article/practice-section/hip-enough/

2Eanes, B. (n.d.). How to Breathe for Efficiency, Longevity, and Stress Relief. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/how-to-breathe-for-efficiency-longevity-and-stress-relief

3Roenigk, A. (2013, August 21). Lotus pose on two. Retrieved February 09, 2017, from http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/9581925/seattle-seahawks-use-unusual-techniques-practice-espn-magazine

4Smith, L. (2014, April 20). Why Every Football Player Should Do Yoga. Retrieved February 09, 2017, from http://www.thefootballeducator.com/every-football-player-yoga/