Yin Yoga Poses Athletes Must Do to Improve Overall Health

Being an athlete, you challenge your body daily to perform better. Such high-impact physical activities come with issues like injuries, muscle soreness, and other problems due to body overextension. Therefore, not doing anything to let your body recover after indulging in high-intensity physical activities can cause various health problems. The best practice you can adopt to minimize the risk of injuries and other issues is yin yoga.

Yin yoga allows you to reconnect with your body and mind and listen to whatever is happening inside you. It’s a gentle yet challenging practice that brings mobility to your ligaments and joints to reduce the risk of injuries. Yin yoga poses usually take longer than traditional yoga, allowing athletes to work deeper into their muscles. Thus, practicing every pose for 3 – 5 minutes daily can transform the way your body moves.

Keep reading the article to explore the best yin yoga poses athletes must do to improve overall health.

5 Yin Yoga Poses Athletes Can Practice for Better Health

If you are an athlete, you know the significance of better mobility and a boosted recovery process. This is because athletes practice and indulge in physically engaging activities for consecutive weeks or even months. This may push your body beyond its capabilities, and as a result, you might suffer from various health problems. Incorporating some of the yin poses below in your daily routine will keep your health in good shape.

Here are 5 yin yoga poses you can practice to perform better with improved overall health.

1. Swan Pose

Most athletes, like runners, football players, and Olympic sprinters, use one of the body’s strongest muscles, called gluteus maximus. Overusing this muscle can get it tightened and cause discomfort due to back pain. Various other muscles are heavily engaged in high-impact physical activities. This includes piriformis, gluteus minimus, and gluteus medius. Swan pose can effectively target these tightened muscles and give them the needed stretching.

Sit on all your fours, slide your right knee forward, and keep it behind your right wrist. Then, extend your left leg behind your body and keep it aligned with your upper body. Balance your body weight on your hips and look for a stretch in your hips and hips flexors. Hold it for at least 3 minutes. Doing this without help might lead to an injury. Due to this, yogis prefer doing this in yoga studio under expert instructors’ supervision to minimize the risk of injuries.

2. Shoulder Stretch

There are various reasons to practice this pose because it offers great benefits. One is improved posture, specifically for people with thoracic hyperkyphosis who have an overly rounded mid and upper back. The pose is also very effective for gym goers who lift weights and get their pectoral muscles tightened. Shoulder stretch can effectively work on affected muscles and ease tightness.

You can nail the pose by lying on your belly and stretching your right arm to the side. Ensure the wrist is aligned with the shoulder. Then, roll your body to the right side and bend your knees to bring them close to your hips. Keep your neck aligned with the rest of your spine alignment. Stay in the pose for at least 2 – 5 minutes.

3. Lunges

Every athlete knows the problem of muscle stiffness, specifically if you are a runner or cyclist. These high-intensity muscles work your quadriceps and hip flexors and eventually attest stiffness to them. This pose is effective for both of these muscles, and it is considered a very functional stretch.  Practicing this every day will improve your mobility and assist with everyday activities.

To do the pose, you need to bend your left knee next to your body and extend your right leg behind your body. Keep your hands at your body’s sides with your palms facing the ground. Keep your right leg knee stretched while the thigh is slightly stretched. Let your pelvis shift forward until you feel a stretch. Stay in the pose for at least 2 – 3 minutes and breathe slowly.

4. Reclining Hand to Toe

Another common problem athletes face is lower back pain due to the tightness of the calf and hamstring muscles. Reclining hand to toe is an effective pose to target these muscles to relieve the tightness. Additionally, the pose adduction contracts all the lateral rotators, including your piriformis. Practicing it every day will keep your overused muscles relieved from tightness.

Start the pose by lying on your back and bending both knees. Attach a strap to the sole of your foot and straighten the leg by extending the knee. Hold the strap in your left hand to move the leg onto the right side for an effective stretch. Stay in the pose for 1 or 3 minutes. Doing it wrong may cause strain to your muscles. To avoid this, you can practice this at yoga studio Dubai and leverage the instructors’ experience to avoid muscle straining.

Are You Looking to Master Yin Yoga For Better Health?

Doing these poses will help your muscles to recover after engaging in high-intensity physical activities. Mastering some yin yoga poses will enhance your performance in various athletic sports. Feel free to book your next class in a professional yoga studio and reap the maximum benefits of these poses.

Read more: BABY COBRA YOGA: UNRAVELING THE SERPENT’S POSE