Yoga is a holistic mind-body-soul practice that has extensive physical and mental health benefits. Yoga supports athletic performance, prevents injuries, and manages stress a great deal. With regular and consistent yoga practice, the muscles in the body get lengthened and strengthened, thus promoting overall flexibility. It also assists with overall body relaxation and improves sleep, which aids athletes with their recovery considerably.
According to Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar, yoga guru, founder, Akshar Yoga Kendraa, “A combination of dynamic and static movements and the flow between active and passive stretching helps muscle recovery and reduces inflammation. Yoga helps to increase blood flow to many different parts of the body and oxygenates the brain as well. Moreover, it is one of the few physical activities that activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm the mind and body down considerably. This helps many high-level athletes minimize performance anxiety and stress related issues. Here are a few uncommon yet classic Himalayan yogic practices that can help athletes enhance their overall physical and mental performance and well- being.”
Siddha Walk
Siddha walk is an ancient practice handed down through a lineage of Himalayan masters and its creation is attributed to sage Agastya Muni.
It is also known as the figure 8 walk or infinity walk. In this practice, one walks in a figure 8 pattern from South to North and vice versa. This continuous walking pattern activates the muscles of the upper body, core and lower body all at once.
This increases the blood supply to the abdominal area and the muscle tone and body composition of the core, arms and legs improves with time. With strong lower limbs, one organically starts to inhabit a more robust posture.
This practice also establishes a continuous communication between the middle ear and the brain; this ongoing coordination between the brain, middle ear, eyes and the body, improves fine motor skills over time which has direct impact on athletic performance.
Healing Walk
In the healing walk, one walks ideally barefoot on Earth with the hands raised above their shoulders.
This dynamic posture straightens the neck and keeps the spine erect. The neck is an essential connection between the entire body and the head. When we work out in the gym, we tend to isolate body parts and focus on the upper body, hips, core, and lower body workouts. However, most people don’t focus on working out the muscles of the neck, and there are many significant muscles in the neck.
Activating the neck helps to equalize the internal pressure between the brain and body. Thus, this is an important practice to avoid health issues like blood pressure, thyroid problems, and more.
When this part of the body receives appropriate attention, a unique connection is created and synchronized between the brain, neck, torso, organs, and limbs, promoting healthy blood circulation throughout the body and contributing to athletic enhancement.
This seemingly simple technique has multiple advantages and helps prevent many future health problems.
Himalayan Pranaam
The Himalayan Pranam is a vinyasa sequence of its own and is comparable to a cardiovascular activity. Only a few repetitions done in a row work and train all the muscles from head to toe.
According to Yogacharya Akhil Gore, Founder of RouteIn Yoga, “The flow of asanas in this practice is quite dynamic and helps promote blood supply to all the cells of the body, which also helps the cardiac output of the body. Moreover, it fosters balance, stability, strength, and flexibility, which all help prevent injury and aid athletes in every way.”
Thus, yoga is a very powerful and dynamic way of training athletes. Along with building a strong posture, it also aids in creating fine tuning and establishing dynamic communication between body and brain to increase athletic performance & prevent injuries.