I love how more and more athletes are using yoga as a cross training and meditative tool to be the best they possibly can at their chosen sport. From highschool football players to NBA stars, yoga is fast becoming a must. 

Emily Cook

Check out these two interviews with Olympic athletes Emily Cook (freestyle skier) and Katherine Ruetter (speed skating) in regards to their yoga practice.

Interview with Emily Cook

Katherine Ruetter

Interview with Katherine Ruetter

Thanks to Ann Pizer, of About.com for posting these.

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Yoga relies heavily on observance to the environment. The sun, as the provider of light & heat, is a principle component of these observations.

Traditionally Sun Salutations (Suryanamaskara) are performed upon arising while facing the Sun. This makes the front side of the body the east side, and the back side the west side. Many yoga poses when translated from the Sanskrit refer to the body in this manner. Thus Pachimottanasana is literally pachima = west, uttana = intense stretch or intense west side stretch: commonly known as Seated Forward Bend.

seated forward bend

Sun Salutation is actually a sequence of poses which flow together with the breath. Each inhalation and exhalation leading to a new pose. This sequence stretches the major muscles and develops concentration. There are a number of versions to Sun Salutation, the traditional version has 12 poses joined together. I enjoy this clear, precise video instructional which your students can follow along with.

It only takes a few moments to do one Sun Salutation. Once you feel the heat beginning to flow, continue with this coordination of movement and breath for 10 minutes or longer. This tunes your body to the stimulating power of the sun and creates a positive frame of mind.

If you are looking for a challenge there are groups that celebrate the fall/spring equinox and World Peace Day (Sept 21) with 108 repetitons of Sun Salutation as a form of moving meditation. Check out this article from Prana Flow NZ for more on how this feels. I think this is the yogic equivalent of running a marathon, but am intrigued by the idea and will begin to add one more Sun Salutation to my morning practice each day in order train my body for such an endeavor. You may want to consider learning Sun Salutations with your kids and then perform a few rounds (kids definitely should not be doing 108 of these) in honor of this celebration.

I hope that as your kids study the sun, you will explore Sun Salutations as a kinaesthetic learning methodology. For a more indepth look at Sun Salutations read Here Comes the Sun by Richard Rosen at Yoga Journal. Greet the sun; enjoy good health and a positive outlook.

If you enjoyed this article subscribe via RSS Feed or e-mail as curriculum applications of yoga poses and concepts will be provided weekly. I’d love to receive your feedback as to how your kids responded to this activity.

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 Other yoga poses for athletes to include would be:
Warrior pose

warrior pose

Dancer pose

dancer pose

Low lunge
Pigeon pose

pigeon pose

Boat pose

boat pose final position

Finishing by lying on the ground hugging your knees to your chest then bring them to one side while looking in the opposite directions (reclined twist) and finally corpse pose (savasana). Staying for 5-10 minutes following a guided relaxation to focus the mind and relax the body.

corpse pose

I hope this helps and give ‘em hell this season!

I’ll be updating this post over the next few weeks with complete yoga pose descriptions so follow along on Facebook or subscribe to my RSS Feed.

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Answer: “Yes, and you’ll be a better athlete because of it!”

If you haven’t heard, yoga is a fantastic cross training tool for all athletes.  It keeps you strong, improves flexibility, reduces recovery time from injuries, and is a fantastic full body workout.

The guys at YogaDork recently posted this article about teenage athletes doing yoga with a football team as part of their pre-season conditioning.

So all you coaches out there give it a try. And if you are thinking that you simply need more time to learn one more drill, or practise one more play, know that the time you spend on the mat will pay off huge dividends in body awareness, attitude, team building, strength, and flexibility.

If you need more information on how to get your team practising yoga drop me a comment and I’ll be happy to give you some suggestions. Namaste.

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