ATHLETE PERFORMANCE AND YOGA

Chetan Kumar* Deepti Grewal**

INTRODUCTION
We all know that yoga, much like the martial arts, is part of an ancient and deep tradition. In their
quest for greater self-knowledge, the yogis realized our physical state deeply influences both our
mood and mental capacity. They found that by practicing the physical postures of yoga, they
could become more peaceful and in turn achieve greater focus. They also found by returning the
body to its natural state that they could dramatically improve physical capacity, part of why
many of todays top athletes consider it a staple in their training. Yoga may be the ultimate crosstraining for athletic Endeavours. Professional athletes in virtually every sport have taken up a
regular yoga practice to increase endurance, energy economization, and overall enjoyment in
their training.
EFFECT OF YOGA FOR BETTER HEALTH
It is proved that there is an immense benefit of yoga offers in uniting the body, mind and soul.
Here, we look at some benefits of regular yoga practice.

Strengthens underused muscles: Athletes engage the exact same muscles in the exact
same way pretty much each time they work out. Imbalances in the body through
repetitive overuse will cause the body to compensate and tug uncomfortably on
ligaments, joints, and the entire skeletal system. Before a regular yoga practice, running
long distances would cause trigger a dull ache in my hip. Through yoga, I was able to
overcome the brick wall I had encountered in my mileage. Yoga poses challenge muscles
by demanding total engagement and deep stabilization, often in muscles we rarely
consciously engage in our favorite workout. Balanced muscle strength promotes injuryprevention and will improve your athletic performance.

*Physical Education Teacher, D.P.S. International School, Saket, sNew Delhi.

** Yoga Expert and Physical Education Teacher, Government School, Moradabad.
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Greater lung capacity: Your muscles and brain need oxygen to perform. Yoga asks that
you take bigger, deeper breaths and often includes pranayama or breathing exercises to
further increase lung strength and capacity. A strong diaphragm and sturdy lung walls let
you pump the air through your body more efficiently and thoroughly. Also, deep yoga
stretches, backbends, and twists open your chest muscles and thus improve capacity to
take in even more air to be used by our muscles. Using smooth, conscious, slow breaths
to get more oxygen steadily into your body during an athletic endeavor stimulates the
parasympathetic nervous system and will give you a competitive edge against those who
struggle with deep breathing over long periods of time.

Longer, more efficient muscles: Yoga decreases muscle tightness and builds longer
muscles. Longer, leaner muscles mean more endurance they simply do not fatigue as
quickly. Long muscle fibers do take longer to build, but they are the long-lasting energy
source for athletes. Besides fuelling, muscles shorten to perform work, so a longer muscle
has more area to contract, allowing for more work to be done before being completely
used up. Additionally, longer muscles give more shock absorption and therefore better
protect the joints, which can be important if your sport of choice is high-impact. Compete

with more endurance now and continue strong athletic performance well in your old age.
For All-round fitness- Yoga helps: postures, pranayama (breathing techniques)
and meditation is a holistic fitness package. Through Sun Salutations and Kapal Bhati
pranayama yoga helps to lose weight loss. With regular practice of yoga, a good
sensation is built up about how much food and what kind of food should be taken to
check on weight.

For Stress relief - A few minutes of yoga during the day can relieve us from the stress
that accumulates daily - in both the body and mind. That apart, Yoga postures, pranayama
and meditation are effective techniques to release stress.

Yoga Improves immunity- Yoga poses massage organs and strengthen muscles;
breathing techniques through pranayam and meditation release stress and improve
immunity. Yoga also prevents some existence diseases in the body.

Yoga helps Living with greater awareness -Our mind is constantly oscillated with some
activities such as swinging from the past to the future. Through meditation we bring the
mind back to the present moment, where it can stay happy and focused.

For Better relationships- Yoga and meditation work on keeping the mind happy and
peaceful therefore, a good relation is being possible to keep with our near, dear and other
ones.

Yoga makes Better flexibility & posture-Through regular yogic practices muscles are
stretched and toned up as a whole the body is being strong. It also helps improve our
body posture when we stand, sit, sleep or walk. Yoga practices relieve us from body pain
due to incorrect posture. Increases sleep pattern and make the body flexible.

Better intuition- Yoga and meditation have the power to improve our intuitive ability so
that we effortlessly realize what needs to be done and when and how, to yield positive
results. It works. We only need to experience it ourselves. Yoga helps in secretion of
hormone from different glands in balanced conditioned. It regulates the blood circulation
properly. It forms the antibody to prevent diseases.

Quicker recovery: Post-workout, athletes often have sore, energy-depleted muscles. A

few yoga poses after a workout can make the difference between rearing to go again the
next day versus a three-day bout of muscles stiffness. Try Downward-Facing Dog pose,
Half Pigeon, Frog, Big Toe pose, and some Spinal Twists on the floor. When you feel like
cinder blocks have replaced your feet, try Legs-Up-the-Wall pose for 2-3 minutes, which
drains blood from the legs so that when you stand up the legs are flooded with freshly
oxygenated blood and improved circulation. With regular stretching after a workout, you
can speed up your recovery time and prevent build-up of scar tissue. Allowing your body
to fully recover between intense workouts is smart training, and by making that recovery
time quicker, you can be a healthier, higher-performing athlete.

Conclusion
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Yoga is the application of physical postures, control of breath, purification and relaxation of
mind / body and spiritual principles aimed at bringing greater unity and balance to the mind and
body. Yoga teaches a person how to link the mind and body and to come into the present. The use
of pranayama and breathing techniques prescribed in Yoga enables a person to focus on breath
and helps to calm and still the mind and cultivate concentration ability. Through pranayama,
mans will-power, self-control and concentration power improves and enhance. Yoga offers a
holistic Approach to a physical activity intervention and an alternative strategy to enhance
mental skills in sports.

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Bera, T. K., & Lolage. (2002). Effect of Pranayama on cardiovascular endurance in Kho-Kho
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Balasubramanian, B., & Pansare, M. S. (1991). Effect of yoga on aerobic and anaerobic power of
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Ganguly, S. K., Gharote, M. L., & Jolly, S. R. (1989). Immediate effect of kapalbhati on cardiovascular endurance. Yoga Mimamsa, 28(1), 1-7.

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