By Sandra Storwick, Alive & Shine Yoga Instructor, and Dave Boivin, PGA Professional
June 6, 2007

At first glance, you may wonder how yoga and summer sports can go together—they seem worlds apart. However, you may be surprised at how many good reasons there are for golfers—and other summer sport enthusiasts—to take a yoga class twice a week.

In order to really enjoy your game, get good scores and to reduce your risk of injuries, strength and flexibility are vital. As we get older, muscles tend to stiffen and tighten. Muscle pulls and back ache are often a result of muscles that have become less flexible. Yoga helps keep muscles healthy and strong.

A person who’s body is strong and flexible will have better shoulder rotation and more coil (resistance) in the legs. Most other forms of exercise and conditioning will focus on building strength or flexibility. Yoga does both.

A perhaps more hidden, but very important component of sports like golf, tennis, and baseball, is balance. Not only is Yoga wonderful for improving balance, but a regular yoga practice can bring balance back into the body. When we swing the club, bat or racket, we turn the body in one direction. Eventually, if we do this often enough, the muscles and the bones will begin to turn in that direction and, possibly causing other aches and pains in the body. Yoga can help unwind the body and prevent possible health problems in the future.

Yoga also improves your ability to concentrate and focus. Yoga brings a quietness into the body and the nervous system that helps your aim and helps you gather the best of your ability to the key moment of the swing.

© Copyright Purna Yoga, 2007