Why Vinyasa Flow Yoga is Perfect for Athletes
Before I started doing yoga, a small part of me thought it was glorified stretching for people that didn’t like to exercise (for all the yogis out there, please forgive me). I will gladly admit that that was an uninformed and straight up wrong opinion. Yoga is challenging and rewarding in ways I could not have imagined, and its physical benefits have allowed me to excel in my other athletic pursuits. I’m a huge fan of vinyasa flow yoga in particular, and if you’re a serious athlete, it might become your new obsession.
Why exactly is vinyasa flow so good? Here are my three reasons for why you need to roll out your mat today and start flowing.
You’ll improve your strength, flexibility, and balance; all in 1 session
Vinyasa flow is a powerful full body workout. In a single session you’ll navigate poses that challenge and increase your strength, flexibility, and balance. How many other types of workouts can you say that about? Additionally, all of your muscle groups will receive equal attention during a good flow class. Anybody who has ever heard the phrase “don’t skip leg day” (and if you haven’t, just look at this) knows how bad asymmetry in your strength is.
You’ll reduce your risk of injury
A frequent vinyasa yoga practice can help prevent injuries during other types of exercise. How exactly? Well, there are two reasons I want to highlight. Firstly, injuries are often caused by physical imbalances in ones body. Because yoga will challenge and develop your muscle groups equally, it lessens imbalances that can lead to injury.
Secondly, yoga will strengthen muscles that you don’t often use but that will help stabilize you in your other workouts. For example, running isn’t a great core strengthening exercise, but a strong core will help minimize running injuries.
You’ll learn to use your breath to boost your workouts
In vinyasa flow, movements are carefully tied to one’s breath. Inhale: change pose. Exhale: change pose. This continues for the duration of a vinyasa flow class. By practicing this breath-linked movement, you’ll learn how to properly breathe during physical exertion. Why exactly is this important? Proper breathing during exercise helps to oxygenate hard-working muscles, which increases endurance and strength, thereby increasing the efficacy of your workouts.
Proper breathing is also good for your mind. It reduces stress and anxiety, which will help you keep calm and focus on pushing yourself hard during your workouts.
Now that I’ve convinced you that vinyasa yoga is the next step in your fitness evolution, here are some of my favorite Grokker yoga videos to get you started!
Vinyasa Flow Videos
Yoga for Beginners: Learning to Flow
Before I started doing yoga, a small part of me thought it was glorified stretching for people that didn’t like to exercise (for all the yogis out there, please forgive me). I will gladly admit that that was an uninformed and straight up wrong opinion. Yoga is challenging and rewarding in ways I could not have imagined, and its physical benefits have allowed me to excel in my other athletic pursuits. I’m a huge fan of vinyasa flow yoga in particular, and if you’re a serious athlete, it might become your new obsession.
Why exactly is vinyasa flow so good? Here are my three reasons for why you need to roll out your mat today and start flowing.
You’ll improve your strength, flexibility, and balance; all in 1 session
Vinyasa flow is a powerful full body workout. In a single session you’ll navigate poses that challenge and increase your strength, flexibility, and balance. How many other types of workouts can you say that about? Additionally, all of your muscle groups will receive equal attention during a good flow class. Anybody who has ever heard the phrase “don’t skip leg day” (and if you haven’t, just look at this) knows how bad asymmetry in your strength is.
You’ll reduce your risk of injury
A frequent vinyasa yoga practice can help prevent injuries during other types of exercise. How exactly? Well, there are two reasons I want to highlight. Firstly, injuries are often caused by physical imbalances in ones body. Because yoga will challenge and develop your muscle groups equally, it lessens imbalances that can lead to injury.
Secondly, yoga will strengthen muscles that you don’t often use but that will help stabilize you in your other workouts. For example, running isn’t a great core strengthening exercise, but a strong core will help minimize running injuries.
You’ll learn to use your breath to boost your workouts
In vinyasa flow, movements are carefully tied to one’s breath. Inhale: change pose. Exhale: change pose. This continues for the duration of a vinyasa flow class. By practicing this breath-linked movement, you’ll learn how to properly breathe during physical exertion. Why exactly is this important? Proper breathing during exercise helps to oxygenate hard-working muscles, which increases endurance and strength, thereby increasing the efficacy of your workouts.
Proper breathing is also good for your mind. It reduces stress and anxiety, which will help you keep calm and focus on pushing yourself hard during your workouts.
Now that I’ve convinced you that vinyasa yoga is the next step in your fitness evolution, here are some of my favorite Grokker yoga videos to get you started!
Vinyasa Flow Videos
Yoga for Beginners: Learning to Flow