5 Ways Yoga Enhances Athletic Performance (even if you can’t touch your toes)
By Mara Abbott
Olympian and CTS Contributing Editor
I promise you this: yoga will change you as an athlete and it will change you for the better. Practicing regularly will increase both your athletic potential and longevity, and it will do so regardless of whether or not you can do the splits, or stand on your head, or balance on one hand with both feet curled behind you. The strength of a yoga practice is derived from consistency and quality. If you only have five or ten minutes a day for yoga but you take that time to fully experience the sensations of your movement, it will benefit you far more than a two-hour advanced workshop on a Sunday afternoon spent thinking about the laundry you need to do when you get home and how the girl next to you has cool stretchy pants.
While racing professionally, I took four different yoga teacher trainings. I traveled with a mat in my carry-on and used it in corners of airports around the world, in abandoned stairwells, basements and meeting rooms of European hotels. I turned myself to face the wall and took my contacts out, assuming that if I couldn’t see other people while acting like a lunatic, they couldn’t see me doing it either.
I used my mat to pad my bike in its case during travel, covered it with grease and dirt and crumbs, wore holes straight through it from overuse and had to buy a new one. I have no doubt that the trajectory of my cycling career would have been very different without my yoga practice and I am also quite certain that its influence had nothing to do with whether I could touch my toes – because I can’t.
I could list my five favorite poses for endurance athletes, and give you tips and cues to work on. I will do that, eventually, but the “what” of a yoga practice for athletes is far less important than the “why”, or the “how”, or the “who” (the “where” and “when” are up to you). If you want to stretch, go stretch. Hit those quads and hips and you’ll do yourself some good – but a deeper exploration of yoga offers so much more.
***
Get to know your body
When you move through a yoga practice slowly, paying attention to how each posture feels, you will notice variations from day to day and from side to side. You will learn which is the tight hip and which knee is sore for kneeling. Transitioning between postures, you will notice catches and hiccups from weakness or fatigue, and your favorite poses will feel different after a hard workout.
Increased physical self-knowledge gives you a leg up on preventing injuries (or halfway up, if you have tight hammies), but more than that, I think it is also incredibly important to simply understand and honor the machine. Off the front, up a climb alone, I was always so happy to have an intimate knowledge of what my legs felt like under exertion, to have honed an instinct for when I could press on and when I needed to hold back. The time on my mat strengthened that mind-body communication pathway in an environment where I could be a bit more emotionally receptive than I generally find myself in the middle of an interval workout or when I’m surrounded by a hundred other win-hungry girls on bikes.
Give up control.
When you roll out a mat in a yoga studio, you are placing your trust in your teacher to curate your experience for the next hour. The forced exposure to new movement patterns and postures is one of the reasons I advocate taking public classes when possible, at least every so often, instead of doing your personal favorite sequence again and again in your living room. As a competitive athlete who was highly protective of my physical and emotional experience, I found it incredibly challenging to cede control or try new things – and that is why it was so critically important. If you go to class, trust your teacher, are willing to fall, and are willing to flail, then you will have the opportunity to practice reacting when the world reveals itself to be more complex than you imagined. To succeed, in bike racing in particular, requires a constant ability to reboot your entire mental concept of a situation as circumstances change. Those who cannot do this will only win on the days that everything happens as predicted. Those days are rare – in competition and in life.
I would therefore encourage you to find an instructor you trust and can form a relationship with. It’s possible to stream classes now from a variety of sources, and this is an excellent economical option, but it’s easier to take yourself out of your comfort zone when you are face to face with other human beings. My tips: teachers who use adjustments to push you into poses where you are uncomfortable, who don’t offer modifications to make the practice accessible to all practitioners, and who have you in challenging, Instagram-worthy poses within five minutes of beginning a class are not necessarily the ones to trust. Also, leaving your comfort zone does not mean stretching further and holding longer – it means embracing the unknown and the awkward and being willing to sit with that.
Give up on perfection.
Competitive sports and perfectionism will always follow one another – frequently the work ethic associated with perfectionism helps forge great athletes and superlative performances. The problem is that perfectionism is a trait rarely meted out in reasonable doses. Endurance athletes, with our tight muscles, asymmetries, and our drive to achieve, are uniquely unsuited for fluid bending, balancing, and stillness. Showing up to a yoga class requires humility and a willingness for lighthearted experimentation – as one of my teachers often says, an advanced sense of humor is a prerequisite for an advanced yoga practice.
Yoga postures are about an experience rather than an endpoint. Even the most advanced posture is built of krama, or stages of evolution, from simple to complex. Each krama contains the same physical and mental benefits for each unique level of practitioner. Your level will change, up and down, across days and across phases of life. In yoga, you are forced to meet yourself every day exactly where you are – and you try not to judge that place, wherever it might be. Yoga teaches process, not outcome. For myself, this is a reminder I need at least once a day.
Sit with discomfort.
There are lots of parts of training and competition that are uncomfortable, but often that pain comes with so much additional stimulation we don’t actually witness our reaction to the challenge. Is it to dissociate? To push harder? To use past anger or past accomplishments as a motivator? Is it to give up? Yoga offers a gentle space that encourages impartial curiosity to explore those reactions.
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When you hold a yoga posture and start to notice your arms and your legs fatiguing, you are silent, in a confined space, with yourself and your thoughts. With nothing to distract you from what is happening in your body and your brain, you have a chance to genuinely experience fear, panic, desperation, and the instant and unavoidable need to take a bathroom break – and you also have the chance to notice how you are employing those emotions to defend yourself from facing a limit. If you drop your hands or leave the room, the grass will continue to grow and no one will remember – but gaining familiarity with the strength and tendencies of your own stay-or-run reflexes will have an impact beyond your practice of sun salutations.
For myself, I actually find restorative classes to be the most challenging. My teacher, Shannon Paige, has been one of my most trusted allies throughout my adulthood (she was even the first person to hear the news when I found out I was going to the Olympics!), but on the very rare occasions when I have taken the risk to attend one of her Anjali Restorative classes, I have discovered that laying still, being quiet, and being told soothing and positive things about myself will very reliably spark a panic attack. The prospect of doing restorative yoga is genuinely terrifying to me, but as it requires me to face the emotions and thoughts I have made a career out of suppressing, I also know it is exactly where I need to be and it is something I cannot – or will not – do on my own.
Breathe.
I do not know if there is any reputable, researched data showing that working to control and lengthen breath on a regular basis yields any real cardiovascular benefits under exertion. I don’t actually care, because the breathwork of yoga, of learning to calm emotions and fear by consciously passing oxygen through the lungs, works regardless. Sometimes, the sensation that we cannot push any harder and that we cannot get enough air is a legitimate physiological limit, but other times it is a panicked reaction to a competitor’s attack or a brand-new self-imposed level of exertion. Learning to work with your breath will allow you to distinguish between the two – meaning sometimes, one deep inhalation is all you need to keep going.
One of the elements of pranayama, or controlled breathwork, is the practice of holding your lungs completely empty after an exhale or completely full after an inhale for several seconds. This often sparks reactions in practitioners. Depending on your disposition, you may find it more difficult to sit and feel yourself completely empty, ready for the new and unknown to flow in, or you may be more challenged by truly letting yourself feel full and complete. Both of those are something to understand and work with.
As athletes, we gain an edge through enhanced self-knowledge. Air is important in cardiovascular pursuits – so is it funny that most of us don’t have a solid grasp on what it feels like to just breathe?
***
In 2010 the ten-day Tour de l’Aude began with a four-kilometer prologue. I was racing with the US National Team, and we had dreams of making the final podium with my climbing legs. I finished that prologue, however, in the bottom quarter of the field – nearly forty seconds behind the winner in a race that took less than five minutes. I let Coach Dean know, over a very shaky Skype connection, that I was quite certain that the entire world was about to find out I was a fraud, and that the game was up on my limited cycling potential.
“Well,” Dean replied, proving that although a reliable skeptic, he actually understood my hippie mumbo-jumbo better than I did myself, “I guess now’s when you’ve got to use that yoga bullshit.”
I was lucky I had it to use, and lucky I had someone to remind me of it. Cowed by Dean’s astute observation, I took a deep breath and moved forward. With the support of my teammates, I won a stage and finished second overall.
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Comments 47
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Hello! Thank you for such an informative and useful article. This is really useful for starters. I think more people should do yoga because it helped me a lot. When I started yoga, I was depressed, I started working through my feelings instead of bottling them up, it motivated me to clean my spaces and keep my mind clear, and it made me more attentive to my health. It made me feel not only less anxious but also productive, which was a big problem when I was depressed. I think that because I was able to do it every morning as a part of a routine I proved to myself I was able to do other things too. At the end of the day, yoga didn’t solely help me out of my depression, but it taught me things that helped me help myself.
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Thanks for sharing such important information your content is very impressive. I like your explanation of the topic and the ability to do work. I really found your post very interesting.
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Thanks for sharing such an excellent knowledge with us. Yoga increases flexibility and relieves muscle tension. I appreciate your work and would love to see more such blogs like this.
Hey, your writing is very informative. There is something to know from here. Yoga is very important for exercisers. I hope this kind of information will help yogis. Thanks.
yoga is really important for health especially for athletes. we can not ignore because to remain fit we have to do yoga so that our musles become more stronger and our body feel healthy and fresh. there are a lot of yoga poses even for beginners also. thanks for the amazing article and knowledge.
Thanks for providing amazing information on Yoga. If someone practice it regularly than the techniques mentioned above will make him a better athlete.
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I have just been in search of more details for Yoga Exercises and this got me to your blog. Honestly, I do love the ideas you have here and hope to get more from you.
The true purpose of Yoga is to integrate the physical and mental aspects of the body. By using the breath we are capable of bringing our focus into the present moment.
The Yoga poses (asanas) are a part of a process that takes patience. Each posture is held for a period of time to allow the body to settle and align properly. The key to this is proper breathing. A steady even flow of oxygen (prana) will enhance your ability to relax and extend your bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Alignment is renewed and your health improves with a daily practice.
Meditation and Pranayama hold the power to enhance your intuitive ability which can help you to take spontaneous decisions on the go, yielding positive results.
I agree completely that yin and restorative yoga works so well to speed up recovery, especially in athletes over 30. I found after understanding that yoga was more than just a set of asanas, the way I could blank out self doubt and internal chatter whilst controlling my breath on climbs improved me no end. Just by this numbing of my thoughts and controlled pranyama I have been putting in times on climbs way faster than when I was in my late twenties (where I used distraction and aggression as my primary fuel against a challenge).
Who needs science to back it up if one knows in themselves it works and boosts confidence going into challenges. Nice article.
I never acknowledged what number of advantages it really has. I can truly utilize some assistance to center and you said that yoga can help. thanks for giving me a good information.
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Thanks for sharing such an excellent knowledge with us. Yoga increases flexibility and relieves muscle tension. I appreciate your work and would love to see more such blogs like this.
I liked what you said about how understanding your physical self allows you to prevent injuries in the future. My brother is a soccer coach looking for ways to protect his players and keep them playing longer. I will be sure to recommend he look into yoga teacher training services near him so that he can start to lead yoga exercises for his team.
Thanks for sharing such a nice and informative blog and your knowledge with us. Yoga routines incorporate slow, steady flexibility exercise that is ideal for athletes. Frequent yoga training may increase flexibility, and range of motion while relieving muscle tension. Whether you are a runner or a golfer, improved range of motion can often help improve performance.
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Mountain pose is a simple standing pose with the feet together and standing vertically upright. It’s one of the easiest yoga poses for better posture. This pose also strengthens the whole of the legs, including the feet and ankles, potentially reducing flat feet and improving plantar fasciitis. It also improves one’s posture and may relieve sciatica.
I am not a sport person but I feel great to know your devotion towards practicing yoga .I am a working women and and to stay physically active I have joined Restorative Yoga Upland for the last 1 year. I can say this is the best time to start my day and I feel fresh throughout the day.
I have been looking around for this exact information. Thanks for providing detailed and straight to the point topic. It solved my problem. Keep posting more.
One of the elements of pranayama, or controlled breathwork, is the practice of holding your lungs completely empty after an exhale or completely full after an inhale for several seconds.
Good blogs.
I have been thinking about going to yoga classes to get more limber. I have been wanting to get back into sports and I want to get my body in better shape. I love how relaxed it makes me feel.
Yoga has numerous benefits, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this kind of suggestions and information.
I was surprised to find that there is a scientific explanation of Yoga.
Yoga doesn’t have to be a large obligation – again, a mindful five or ten minutes is worthwhile.
I agree when you said that regular practice increases the athletic potential and longevity of a person. I have a friend who is aspiring to be a professional athlete. She is looking for unique ways to exercise herself. I’m gonna recommend yoga because it ties with mental relaxation and physical strength. It will be good for her.
Thanks for sharing the useful information about yoga.
Thank you, Mara, for an excellent article. Thinking about North Krimsley’s reply summarizing the challenge of integrating intervals, stretching, yoga and effective recovery into one’s life leads me to ask the following question. If I want to have a “real” recovery day with little or not stress on my muscles, how to I adapt my yoga program so it can be done on the same day as I do intervals. The one who can answer this question I shall designate as “Fitness Yoda” (not yoga).
Hi Tim –
Because there isn’t a set accomplishment to reach when doing yoga, you can make your practice work around your other training. If you go to yoga after a hard training day and you are fatigued when you arrive, you can ask the instructor for some seated postures you can sub in, or you can take breaks. Those same gentler poses can be used on a “real” recovery day.
Think about what it means to you to “do yoga”, and think about whether you are willing to expand that definition. It doesn’t have to be an hour long, challenging practice to count – and if you show up to a class and take breaks or modify, it doesn’t mean that your takeaway is anything less. In fact, you may have gained more by learning to understand your limits and what your body is asking for.
Mara
I would like to add some thoughts on inflammation and exercise as well as how deep breathing relaxes us I refer to a few articles:
I was surprised to find that there is a scientific explanation as to why exercise decreases inflammation in our joints. i have had personal experience with this effect. I used to have significant low back pain and right hip pain for a number of years. After I took up cycling some 30 years ago my back pain and hip pain disappeared with no other intervention.
The article about running explains the mechanism.
Breathing control center neurons that promote arousal in mice
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6332/1411
http://www.iflscience.com/brain/science-may-have-solved-why-taking-deep-breaths-calms-you-down/
Running decreases Intra articular inflammation
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.bing.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3046&context=facpub
I agree that yoga provides many mind-body benefits for me. I’ve been riding for 30+ years, raced for 7, and I’m more flexible and have a stronger core than I did 20 years ago. In addition to yoga twice a week, I do bicycle-specific stretches after every ride. There are some subtle but important benefits to yoga+stretching:
* Much reduced aches, pains and stiffness the day after a hard ride such as VO2 Max intervals. Overall better recovery and my body just feels better and hurts less. This has been the biggest and most noticeable benefit for me.
* Body more tolerant of changes to bike position, changing between bikes, between pedal systems and cleat changes without pain
* Easier to get into lower aero position without pain
The only challenging part has been that it’s difficult to fit yoga, hard training rides, and full recovery days into one week along with a full work schedule. Yoga does fatigue the legs, which means it’s difficult to do yoga plus a hard interval ride on the same day. And if I do yoga on a recovery day, it’s still hard to hit my watts the next day during an interval ride because then it wasn’t a full recovery day. I’d like to add strength training as well but there just aren’t enough days in the week…
Yoga doesn’t have to be a large obligation – again, a mindful five or ten minutes is worthwhile.
Also, gentle, seated postures are equally valid and will keep you from getting fatigued.
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Agreed… yoga is a great compliment to endurance sport. I’m 63 yrs. and have been a National ranked distance runner ’84 and ’88 US Olympic Marathon Trials and switched to biking in my 50s and current holder to AG course record up Mt. Washington. I believe stretching and now yoga has kept me going all these years along with good nutrition and positive attitude. I do a yoga class and I like to focus on core strength, flexibility and breathing. I recommend yoga to all my friends, family… athletes and non-athletes alike. Thank you for your columns and advice. I always enjoy your writings.
What posses do you recommend for cyclists 65 + especially?
Love your writing but boy do I hate yoga. I need to do something about the “I suck” record in my head. This article had been helpful. Thanks, Mara.
Worth noting:
1) When I was injured and couldn’t really ride for a bit a few years back, a teacher commented on how open all my poses were! I’d rather have my muscles tight and be riding and running.
2) The super flexible people are the ones who get hurt doing yoga. If you’re tight, you’re safer.
3) My older brother once used upside down office trash cans instead of blocks in a class I taught because his hamstrings were so tight…
Hi Mara,
Your writing is always insightful and a learning experience. I didn’t know about you until Jane
Marshal pointed you out as a person to watch and learn from. You have been that.
Thank you.
Dr. James is amazing. When I am injured he is my first call. He is genuinely concerned for me and always takes the time to make sure I feel better before I leave. I have had a lot of trainers, physiotherapists, Chiros, and he is the only one I trust. The staff members of Hamilton physio are always warm and caring as well, ready with a smile and always asking how they can be of help. I highly recommend massage therapy hamilton to anyone that wants to get better.