All strength athletes can benefit from yoga.
But not because it'll teach them how to get their leg behind their heads. At its origin, yoga was about helping people unite their mind and body. All ancient cultures recognize that most of our lived experience lies in our minds and how we see the world. Various philosophies, from Buddhism to Stoicism, advocate self-reflection, and multiple cultures tout ancient breathing techniques. But yoga is the only ancient physical practice I know of designed to help your mind control your body and vice versa.
Most Western physical practices focus a lot on motor learning and developing movement capacities. But we don't do a great job of teaching people how their physiology impacts their psychology.
I was introduced to the practice of a Yoga Mala years ago when going through my Yoga Teacher Training. A mala is a ceremonial practice of 108 Sun Salutations. While I won't go into the specifics behind the number 108, I will tell you that that shit is life-changing.
A typical mala practice takes several hours. It is by all measures a mental and physical endurance test. During your practice, you start to really question your motivations and values. You develop doubts about your capability to finish. You experience pain, both physical and emotional.
And then you get to the other side.
Anyone who doesn't think yoga is badass, has never attempted this.
While I think everyone should attempt this at some point ( make sure you're rested, hydrated, and have no plans of training for a couple of days), you can garner the benefits through a smaller dose.
Instead of knocking out 108 Sun Salutations in a single day, try breaking it up into smaller chunks.
11x10 days (yes, I know, the numbers don't quite add up)
18x6 days
27x4 days
54x2 days
However you decide to break it up, just follow these simple rules:
- Sun Salutations are easy! Stand in mountain pose, forward fold, half lift, plank, lower through push up, upward dog, downward dog, jump or step to forward fold....start again
- No music. No distractions.
-Find a simple way of keeping track of your reps. We used 2 plastic cups of dried beans, moving a bean from a full cup to an empty cup upon completion.
-Rest in child's pose if you need, but don't walk away from the mat until you finish.
That's it. It's about developing a physical practice that's not based on results, PR's or aesthetics. It's about doing something for your mind, with your body.
Let me know how it goes!
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