Are you a participant in Muay Thai or boxing?
You’re already active – it takes a lot of energy to throw kicks and punches in the ring, or even just in sparring practice. Maybe you feel you don’t have time to do something as slow-paced as yoga. But finding time to add yoga into your life can augment your skills in Muay Thai or boxing. Yoga has a variety of benefits – it’s a natural extension of a sport that requires flexibility, strength, stamina and balance. Step onto a mat and let go of the exhausting, intense training you usually engage in, and see what yoga can do for your body.
Yoga offers athletes:
Improved strength and flexibility: As you exercise, muscles and soft tissue get stretched. The lactic acid that is released when this happens is responsible for the common soreness and stiffness athletes feel after a good workout. When you practice yoga, your muscle tone, posture and core strength will all improve as you engage your body with each pose
Increased energy: When you engage in Muay Thai or boxing, the amount of oxygen sent to the brain increases. Additionally, cortisol levels – the stress hormone – decrease, increasing awareness, mental clarity and overall calm.
Better balance: As you start to include yoga in your usual routine, you will notice that your balance and coordination improve. You’re engaging muscles you don’t often target, and these smaller, stabilizing muscles help create overall body strength and stability.
Improved general health: As a participant in Muay Thai or boxing, you already experience the benefits of improved cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune system health. Adding yoga to your life can also help you lower your blood pressure and slow your resting heart rate. In addition to traditional postures, there are many breathing, concentration and meditation techniques practiced in yoga. These are also known to improve lung efficiency, and the relaxation achieved through the regular practice of yoga has been found to greatly help immune system functionality.
Adding yoga into your training adds these and many other benefits. Find the style of yoga that appeals to you – whether it’s slow like classica Hatha, focused on structural alignment with props like Iyengar or fast paced and powerful like Vinyasa/Power yoga. You’ll find that your Muay Thai or boxing is improved when you practice yoga as well!
