5 Best Yoga Poses Athletes Should Practice to Help Prevent Injuries

Among all of the sports activities illnesses on the market, sprains and strains rank because the prime accidents within the United States. Although there’s at all times a risk an harm can happen (particularly for athletes), there are surefire methods
—reminiscent of these 5 finest yoga poses—to reduce your probabilities of having to journey the sidelines of your health routine.

Beyond stable warmups, yoga is a robust device for harm prevention in athletes and bodybuilders alike. Not solely can it enhance flexibility, power, steadiness, and mobility (all essential for keeping off accidents), it has been proven to enhance athletic efficiency general.

And when practiced repeatedly, yoga can scale back irritation and even pace up post-injury restoration by bettering blood circulation.

“Yoga is especially helpful for athletes prone to injury and strain as it gives them a way to stay fit and ease back into their active lifestyles without overextending their bodies,” shares Sonya Stoeckert, licensed private coach and yoga teacher with 12 plus years of bodily remedy and private coaching expertise. (Who was not too long ago nominated as North Port Florida’s number-one private coach.)

“Yoga and breathwork have been found to relieve anxiety, decrease stress, improve heart health, and reduce chronic pain,” she provides, main us down the trail of harm prevention (and leisure) by way of these 5 yoga poses.

What you’ll must get began: A yoga mat or blanket and clothes that strikes along with your physique and your breath.

The Five Best Yoga Poses To Help Prevent Injuries

Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana)

What it Works: The pigeon pose works the muscle groups of the groin, again, thigh, and piriformis. It additionally works the psoas muscle, which is a deep hip flexor.

How To:

1. Prone pigeon, deliver one shin ahead throughout the highest of your mat and lengthen the opposite leg again behind you.
2. Your hips ought to be sq. and you must be capable of see your entrance knee on the skin of your aspect physique.
3. Start on the palms and to deepen the stretch come right down to the forearms after which chill out all the best way down along with your head resting on the mat.

Locust Pose (Salabhasana)

What It Strengthens: The Locust Pose strengthens the decrease again, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

How To:

1. Bring your ft hip-width aside and press again firmly by way of the balls of your ft.
2. Engage your abs to guard your decrease again and draw your shoulder blades down your again.
3. Keep your neck lengthy.

Bridge pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

What It Strengthens: The bridge pose strengthens the glutes and hamstrings and opens up the hip flexors.

How To:

1. Place your ft hip-width aside, along with your toes pointing straight forward.
2. Align your ankles beneath your knees and maintain your thighs parallel.
3. Be cautious to not elevate your hips too excessive and compress your decrease again.

Chair pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

What It Strengthens: The chair pose strengthens the calves, knees, quads, and glutes.

How To:

1. Bring your ft hip-width aside along with your toes pointing straight forward.
2. Inhale, sweep your arms straight up by your ears.
3. Exhale, drop your hips and draw your rib cage in to keep away from compressing your decrease again.

Low Plank Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)

What It Strengthens: Low Plank Pose prompts core power and again muscle groups, quadriceps, and spinal muscle groups and engages the triceps and biceps, wrists, and pectoral muscle groups. This useful pose additionally engages the shoulder and higher again, together with the serratus anterior and posterior and the trapezius and rhomboids.

How To:

1. Start in a plank place.
2. Make certain your arms are shoulder-distance aside and your arms are stacked over your wrists.
3. Stack the balls of your ft beneath your heels along with your ft hip-distance aside.
4. Shift ahead to the guidelines of your toes, bringing your shoulders previous your wrists.
5. Bend your elbows and squeeze them into your physique, drawing your shoulder blades down your again.
6. Bring your shoulders according to your elbows.
7. Gaze down and maintain your neck lengthy.

One Final Tip: When Performing These Best Yoga Poses, Don’t Forget to Breathe

If you catch your self holding your breath throughout coaching, chances are you’ll end up holding it (or not taking deep sufficient breaths) throughout these strikes. “Focusing consciously on Breath Work during yoga helps by keeping the body and mind in a relaxed and aware state, as well as access the practice’s deeper levels of connection to Mind Body & Soul” explains Stoeckert.

As you progress by way of these poses, give attention to inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly with every motion. Adding these strikes into your health routine is the proper addition to constructing a stronger, injury-fighting physique.