In order to remain healthy, active and engaged in sports, most endurance athletes require corrective modalities to amend any muscular imbalances. This would be useful in preventing overuse injuries and also ensure longevity. Yoga is probably one activity that provides one of the most dynamic returns on investment. This is because it has the potential of increasing strength, flexibility, agility, balance and mental acuity. Yoga is also capable of aiding in recovery from high-intensity training.
http://running.competitor.com/2013/11/recovery/using-yoga-for-injury-prevention-and-recovery_47712?utm_medium=whats-hot
“Yoga shines a spotlight on all the blind spots you’ve developed from years of training,” stated YuMee Chung, a Toronto-based Ashtanga Vinyasa and advanced certified Jivamukti yoga instructor as well as the creator of the Passport to Prana, a prepayment plan of sorts for yoga classes. For endurance athletes, YuMee recommends Yin Yoga. This style of yoga is a rather feminine and calming counterpart to the more masculine, on-the-go, high intensity yang movements such as running. Yin yoga pays more attention on the lower body, especially in the hips area. According to YuMee, due to the mellow, slow and focused approach of yin yoga , it can be surprisingly intense yet restorative. Furthermore, by maintaining poses for a duration of five minutes or longer, it can have a dramatic effect on the tight, sore and often inflamed muscles, tissues, fascia and joints that runners have accumulated.
“Holding a pose for more than 72 seconds has an amazing ability to restore and rebuild connective tissue and the skeleton as well. Runners, cyclists and triathletes use their bodies in precise ways; they use the same muscles to do the same things. Yoga can bring awareness to the actions you’re placing on the body and, aside from the biceps, we hit just about every muscle,” explained YuMee.
Sage Rountree, registered Yoga Alliance teacher as well as a runner and triathlete, understands that it can sometimes be quite a challenge to tame the competitive beast. However, she challenges those athletes who join her class to channel that same fire into mental concentration. At the same time, she helps them to recognise that yoga can be pretty challenging in other ways that differ completely from running. “If people think it’s too easy, they just haven’t been to the right class. And some others can think it’s too hard because they took a class above their skill level or needs,” she mentioned. For the rest of the story, you can read it here.
At OMG Yoga, we do offer yin yoga classes in Singapore. We do have private and group classes available. For more information, do drop us an email or text and we will get back to you on what’s available.