Yoga is everywhere. So many people are doing it that it’s become almost as common as mom’s apple pie in America. That being said, how does yoga fit into the sports regimens of athletes?

First of all you cannot go wrong with applying yoga to sports. Yoga is both preventative and therapeutic regarding the body, mind, and spirit. There’s no detrimental effect except if you do it wrong. You need to study under a professional practitioner. Once that is done, doing the basic yoga forms will provide you with enough knowledge to see where it applies to your sport.

For example, there are some yoga forms that strengthen the wrists and forearms. This is pivotal in sports like tennis and baseball, and gymnastics. You’ll find many of the world’s top athletes employ yoga in their daily routines as well as law enforcement, military. They all play sports too.

Yoga affords for better flexibility, stamina, breath control, endurance, and concentration of mind and body. All important qualities when playing sports. The rigors of a sport like hockey or football calls for the ability to avoid impact and injury as well as recover from it. Bending the wrong way, twisting the wrong way may bring about injury on a large scale. Yoga helps to prevent and remedy such things.

Swimmers can benefit from yoga big time. The muscle and breath control needed to perform yoga will enhance the swimmer’s ability to control their breath and muscle during practice and competition.

Boxing and wrestling and martial arts can also benefit from yoga. History has proven this a million times over. Building up flexibility to deliver and avoid blows, strengthening up the joints to absorb strikes and toning the muscle and connective tissue for faster reflexes is proven without a doubt.

Golf can benefit too. Duffers can get that flexibility and strength to better control their clubs whether driving, on the fairway and putting. The kind of control and mental clarity that yoga provides is perfect for the golfer.

Skiers, snowboarders, all can benefit from yoga in so many ways. Zooming down the slopes especially in competition calls for all the agility and control one can muster. All as important as can be.

Don’t be surprised if you see yoga incorporated in more grade school and high school gym classes. People know that those who practice yoga suffer less pulled muscles and tendons. Getting young people to practice sports safely from the start leads to a better life and higher performance.

Overall, yoga is going to become probably mandatory as a practice regarding big league sports and amateur as well. With its popularity at all time highs and growing you’ll be hard pressed to find people who don’t do some form of yoga.