Yoga for Soccer Players

Richard Harris
PED 109 – Yoga
Yoga for Soccer Players
Yoga is beneficial for many things in life and can be very helpful for athletes. Yoga increases your range of flexibility, improves breathing, improves balance and posture, and keeps joints fluid. Flexibility is important for all athletes because it prevents injury and allows your body to function at peak levels. For example, the warrior two pose stretches your leg muscles which will prevent muscle strains and pulls. Soccer is a game that requires plenty of stamina and with better flexibility and fluid functioning of muscles a higher level of stamina can be reached. It is a priority in yoga to coordinate your breathing while practicing and to increases your lung capacity. When using proper breathing techniques while taking advantage of your full lung capacity more oxygen is readily available for running. For example, many times during a soccer game quick bursts of speed are needed and if you are not breathing correctly you will spend much of your time frantically gasping for air. Proper breathing includes trying to incorporate your stomach by allowing your lungs to push down fully on your diaphragm and allowing the top of your lungs to inflate to the point where you feel you collarbone affected. Better balance is achieved through many poses in yoga like mountain pose, tree pose, and the eagle balance pose to name a few. Balance is key in soccer because it can be difficult to run with a ball at your feet and certain moves used to get by an opponent require great balance. Good posture is important while practicing yoga because the poses require it and it is a goal in yoga to achieve good posture. Posture is overlooked by many people and it is a good way to improve your running in soccer. Practically, all poses in yoga will improve the lubrication of joints, ligaments, and tendons. Soccer is a high contact sport and your body will be exposed to many dangers during a game. Therefore, if your joints are...