When I lived up in Darwin I had a fabulous time teaching Yoga to a group of CrossFitters.
The first class was full of laughs, some huffing and puffing, and there might have been a fair few swear words…as they all realised that flexibility was not their forte. They took a bit of convincing to be coaxed to come to a class that did not give them the adrenalin rush and ferocious workout they were used to. However, by the end of ten weeks of including one Yoga session into their training program…they were hooked. They all reported such benefits that they wanted Yoga to be a regular inclusion to their schedule.
The one thing that they all said had improved was their range of motion (ROM) in at least one joint…if not in multiple joints. When you improve your ROM you can do more with less injury. These fitness fanatics loved that Yoga gave them more reach, the ability to step higher and further, bend with more ease and lift more.
When we tune in to our body and practice mindfully moving in ways that skillfully improve our ROM we find that we can apply this new freedom to move in ways that allow more function, and in the realm of CrossFit this means better results.
Yoga is a practice of concentration…a method of finetuning your ability to focus…take that into your CrossFit, or other physical practice, and watch yourself exceed your expectations.
The power of the breath is fundamental to improved physical wellbeing. Learning to optimise breathing often gives us pleasant surprises when we apply it to physically demanding training. You last longer and can push yourself further.
Mindfulness and Yoga go hand in hand. So, when you learn to bring all your attention to the present moment…you are totally invested in right now…then all your energy is available to apply to the challenge in front of you…you’ll have more chance to excel.
More importantly, Yoga teaches us to know when to back off! Sometimes the pain ain’t going to get you the gain. In fact, sometimes the greatest leaps forward come after stints of reeling things in and coming back to basics.
I’m looking forward to bringing Yoga to Active Discovery Project CrossFit Training
Yoga is for every body!
