Similar to martial arts, there are many physical and mental skills you gain through yoga. Here are a few of the physical benefits of a yoga practice:
- Yoga strengthens your core.
- It increases your flexibility.
- Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing.
- It improves balance.
- Yoga builds the connection between your body and your mind.
There are many reasons why yoga is great for a martial arts practice. And if you’re looking for ways to improve or supplement your martial arts practice, here are three reasons why you should give yoga a try.
1. Active Recovery
Yoga can be an effective active recovery technique – something lower intensity that you can do on a day off from your martial arts training. Just as martial arts has a lot of different styles that vary in intensity, so does yoga. Be aware that certain yoga styles, like a vinyasa class, will be a higher-intensity, faster-moving class designed to increase your heart rate.
To make good use of yoga as active recovery, try to choose a low-intensity class that incorporates longer holds. You’ll move, breathe, and get your blood flowing.
2. Improve Mental Focus
Yoga brings together your movements with your breathing. By keeping up with the postures and matching your inhales and exhales to each transition, you won’t have much mental space to think about anything else. Your mind becomes quieter. Training your focus through yoga allows you to take what you have learned on your yoga mat to be more focused in your martial arts training.
3. Get Some Stress Relief
Once your mind begins to clear, you’ll experience relief from some of life’s stresses. Yoga creates a calm, relaxing environment. During class, the only thing you need to focus on for twenty to sixty minutes is your breathing and movements. Everything else can wait. Taking this time can help your body relax and alleviate some of the effects of stress that you might be experiencing. Less stress will benefit your martial arts training, but more importantly, it will have a positive impact on your daily life.
Contact us today to learn more about the martial arts programs we’re currently offering at Karma Karate.
