There are so many benefits to practicing yoga and I’ve delved into these over the last few months however one of the most important in my opinion is muscle recovery. It’s very easy to ignore the fact that to improve our performance and get the most out of our training we need to REST.

Breathing is an intuitive action that we do every minute of every day and for the majority of that time, we don’t pay any attention to it, yet it’s essential for our survival.

If you love sports you know that injuries come with the territory, caused by repetitive motion, imbalances in your biomechanics or in many cases both. Everyone has a story about an injury and whether minor or more serious, it’s all relative and for those who are into fitness, sports, the gym, CrossFit etc. it can be soul destroying when if and when it happens.

Proprioception is our perception and awareness of the position and movement of the body. It’s knowing where your body lives in space.

Life can get hectic with things to do, people to see and places to go. There’s always something that needs doing and we can get caught up in this without even realising it. Have you ever moved into a different room to get something and then you can’t remember what you were there for in the first place? A classic example of lack of focus and concentration. You’re physically there but mentally miles away.

Balance and stability are intrinsically linked with yoga but also the majority of other forms of exercise and sport. Not only that but it’s essential for everyday life, try carrying bags of groceries or reaching for an item on a tall shelf without either of the above or kicking a ball or lifting weights, believe me it’s difficult!

Endurance is simply “the ability to persevere,” whether doing an aerobic or an anaerobic activity. We’ve all had that moment when our inner voice shouts, “I can’t do anymore burpees or I can’t run any faster” but by having the ability to keep going, to push through the pain, and driving you to reach your maximum effort for a given length of time is fundamental to your overall strength.

Range of Motion is the measurement of the amount of movement around a specific joint or body part and there are three types of ROM that are measured. They are passive (PROM), active-assistive (AAROM), and active (AROM).

Range of Motion is the measurement of the amount of movement around a specific joint or body part and there are three types of ROM that are measured. They are passive (PROM), active-assistive (AAROM), and active (AROM).

Mobility is a hot topic at the moment and so it should be; we are spending more time that ever in sedentary positions, working longer hours and moving less. Add in daily stress and irregular sleep patterns into the mix and this can really start to affect our mobility at any age.

Flexibility varies widely from person to person and dependent on a number of factors such as our anatomical structure, genetics, age, gender, history of injury and activity levels.

People ask me all the time about the benefits of yoga and how it translates to Sport and Athletic Performance. So will it actually make a difference?