Muscle Recovery.

The downside of any sport or physical activity is sore muscles, DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) or whatever else you want to call them. We’ve all been that person hobbling around and aching all over after a big match, an intense workout, a long run or a big hike and it might seem like torture when I say that gentle movement or doing some form of light exercise or stretching really helps but it does!

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. It’s something I’ve struggled with over the years but through lots of reading, conversations with my coaches in FFS Gyms and yoga I’ve learnt that my body moves and feels better when I take the time to relax and slow down. It’s the Ying to the Yang.

For me I do a lot of strength and conditioning training along with some runs and HIIT work so yoga is amazing for my body, perfect for active recovery. I am probably slightly biased but there is nothing better than a slow flow yoga class, where you can really stretch out and feel the release in the muscles to alleviate any soreness or stiffness. Also you become more aware of your breathing and by using your breath with gentle movement, it can rejuvenate the body more than you think.

Benefits of yoga and active recovery:

·        reducing lactic acid build-up in muscles

·        eliminating toxins

·        keeping muscles flexible

·        reducing soreness

·        increasing blood flow

·        helping you maintain your exercise routine

Along with the above, good sleep patterns, hydration and proper nutrition are just as important for recovery and should be given equal attention. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what sort of active recovery you do on your rest day(s) but I would urge you to try some yoga. It not only helps the body chill out, it also lets the mind rest!

If you’d like to know more, please feel free to drop me a mail (anna@tiltyoga.ie) or a DM, I’d love to hear from you.