Yoga for Young Athletes

Athletics are a competitive business, and as parents we are always wanting to provide our kids the best training and resources available. Adding yoga into your athletes training regiment gives them a competitive edge by raising confidence, addressing performance anxiety, and preventing injury. Learning proper breath can keep kids and adults calm and a calm athlete is a smart athlete! Studies have shown that by practicing the physical postures of yoga, athletes become more peaceful and in turn achieve greater focus. By learning to breathe through anxiety, your child can simply perform to their best ability without mental interference. 

By practicing yoga postures and returning the body to its natural state we are dramatically improving physical capacity, part of why many of today’s top athletes consider yoga to be a staple in their training. The point is not that yoga can replace conventional (or unconventional) training, but rather how it can enhance it!

We all know about the importance of strength, power, and speed when it comes to sports, but flexibility & balance are equally important for optimal performance and proper body mechanics. When our body is properly aligned, we can transmit force much more efficiently and perform better across the board.

Whatever the sport, by returning the body to its optimal alignment, yoga can help reduce power leakage, improve running gait and efficiency, and help you punch, jump, or throw more explosively.

By opening posture, yoga significantly increases respiratory capacity; in fact, many have overcome asthma and other respiratory conditions through regular practice. Obviously, this is invaluable to athletes. Yoga has also been proven to dramatically enhance circulation, digestion, and efficiency of motion, which all further improve energy and endurance. Stretching lengthens muscle tissue and increases flexibility, both of which allow you to perform strength building moves with greater range. 

Along with opening the body, yoga builds greater body awareness, including balance, stability, and proprioception. As a result, not only is performance enhanced but our training becomes far more efficient.

The strength and flexibility exercises we focus on in our Yoga for Athletes classes, helps increase muscle strength, maintain bone density, improve balance, reduce injury risk, and reduce joint pain. 

Check out our calendar for upcoming classes or inquire about small group (team) trainings or one on one private training.