Author Archives: angela j

Yoga for Athletes: Mastering the Breath

Posted by Mar 6, 2015 yoga Leave a Comment

I will never forget the day when one of my students, a professional lacrosse player and varsity hockey player, gave me some great feedback. He told me that one thing he really took from yoga was a new found awareness of his breathing. Imagine that! We start breathing oxygen the moment we enter the world but very few people actually notice how they breathe, and how it has a direct affect on nearly everything they do until they establish a regular yoga practice.

Without getting too technical here are some important anatomical facts about our breath that will give you a better understanding of why breath awareness matters to athletes.

Quick anatomy lesson:

Our lungs are the organ we breathe with and they extend from just above our clavicle (collarbone) to our lower ribs. The diaphragm is a dome-like muscle that we use to breathe with. It attaches from our sternum (bone in the centre of the chest) at the front, wraps around the inside of our lower ribs and also attaches to our spine. The diaphragm has openings for blood vessels to pass through as well as two muscles of the lower back (quadratus lumborum) and hips (psoas). When we inhale fully our diaphragm contracts (expands) and when we exhale it relaxes (and rises in the ribcage). There are other muscles called the intercostals which are between the ribs that also aid in breathing. Places your hands on your low ribs and take some deep breaths to feel this in your own body. Close your eyes and repeat these deep breaths 10 times, then pause and notice how you are feeling.

When a person is stressed or anxious they breathe quickly and shallowly. This type of breathing only makes the body more tense and stressed and inhibits necessary gas exchange i.e. expelling of carbon dioxide. If the diaphragm and intercostal muscles are underused they may tense up causing problems with the muscles of the pelvis, hips and back. When breath is controlled, slow and even the nervous system is calmed, the body relaxes and the individual may also experience the following:

  • lowered blood pressure and heart rate
  • reduced levels of stress hormones in the blood
  • reduced lactic acid build-up in muscle tissue
  • balanced levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood
  • improved immune system functioning
  • increased physical energy
  • increased feelings of calm and wellbeing

When one is engaged in physical activity which causes the heart rate to rise their breathing patterns will naturally change. However, learning to control these breath patterns is the goal towards recovery and sustainability.

So why is this important for athletes?

STRESS! A professional athlete is under extreme pressure to perform. A varsity or high school athlete has to juggle competing as well as their academics. There will always be stressors in sport and outside of sport that impact athletic performance. There may be pressure to perform at the highest level from coaches, parents or athletes themselves. Pre-competition nerves can get the better of any athlete causing all kids of unpleasant physical symptoms. The practice of breath control can give them a tool to first notice when the breath becomes superficial and the body becomes tense. Then to deepen the breath and calm them to the point where they no longer feel overwhelmed.

TRAINING! Breath control can also help them in their training, especially in weight training when the exhale breath is used on exertion.

OVERALL HEALTH & WELLBEING! Stress is related to 99% of all illness! Full, deep breaths will improve overall wellness. This will have valuable physical health and emotional health benefits to athletes, resulting in less time off due to stress-related illnesses.

How does one master the breath?

One of the ways yoga is such a unique form of exercise is the importance of the breath. When you are led by a skilled teacher, he/she will be constantly reminding you to focus on your breathing as well as introduce movements that are linked to the breath. During yoga you are encouraged to rest if your breath does become shallow or forced thus prompting you to come back to a full inhale and a full exhale. This takes practice. Over time it translates easily off the mat into daily lives, training times and competition.

Come back for my next blog post: Yoga for Athletes: Improved mental focus and clarity

Yoga for Athletes: Improved mobility and strength

Posted by Feb 26, 2015 yoga Leave a Comment
Yoga for Athletes: Improved mobility and strength

Yoga is often considered a means of gaining more flexibility. Doctors and physiotherapists can be heard recommending it to athletes who display limited range of motion or are prone to injury. Yoga truly is so much more than a stretching exercise and I will touch on those points in the next segments. But if a yoga practice is initially only a time to stretch out then at least that’s a start!

Most athletes are specialists. They practice their sport nearly year-round or year round and their complementary training i.e dry-land or conditioning is primarily based on the same movements. They get stronger, faster and better at the movements they need to master in order to excel in their sport. Essentially they are creating patterns of movement that are consistently the same. And with competition being fierce there is little time to rest. This leads to compensation, overuse and injury. Youth organized sports do not emphasize enough the importance of recovery. If you ask any young athlete how often their trainers or coaches cool them down and guide them through a stretch after a practice or training session you will likely encounter blank stares. When we are young we think that our body will continue to function as it is forever. I can’t tell you how many 13 year olds I teach that can’t even come close to touching their toes. What does the future hold for them if they continue to neglect the importance of lengthening the muscles they spend most of their time shortening?

“I’m not a dancer, I’m an athlete. I don’t need to be flexible”

I often hear from athletes “I don’t need flexibility to be good at my sport”. Perhaps it’s the image of a gymnast or a dancer with their legs behind their head when we think of the word ‘Flexibility’ that gives them this mindset. If we use the idea of range of motion instead of flexibility it may help to get the point across that overuse and misuse of the body leads to reduced range of motion. This means less power in movements whether it is running, skating, swimming etc. Not only in sport-specific movements but even in training. Think of a squatting position. If an athlete has very tight hips they cannot get as deep as they should while maintaining proper alignment and will not be able to perform a squat properly without putting strain on another part of the body like the back or the knees. Never mind trying to add weight to this squatter!

What about becoming too flexible?

There are situations where athletes can be hyper-mobile. Usually females and young male athletes can by hyper-mobile through various joints like the hips, elbows, shoulders and knees. These athletes are just as likely to cause injury to themselves if they don’t learn to strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint to keep it within a reasonable range of motion. The beauty of yoga is that it has something to offer all body types! Most types of yoga do not just emphasize flexibility. There is an element of functional strength that is unlike any weighted exercise, this helps bring the body back into balance. The underutilized muscles from training repeatedly the same way are now being activated in your yoga practice. Improved core strength is a great side effect of a regular practice (the importance of core strength is another blog post in and of itself!). Simple balancing postures can throw off the strongest of Hercules’ at first but over time the body learns how to stabilize; coordination and proprioception improves thus leading to improved control, technique and more efficient movements in all endeavours.

When athletes start a yoga practice they often find it much more difficult than they expected. Their bodies aren’t used to moving in this way and if they let their EGO get in the way they may opt to pass and revert to what they know best. If they stick it out for several weeks (or it may even take months depending on how tight and scarred they may be) they will start to see big changes taking place. Movements that were once restricted or forced with be done with much more ease and grace. Yes I said “grace”! Not necessarily like a ballerina, think of an agile hockey player gliding quickly on the ice!! Improved range of motion leads to more speed and power. Yoga will make you a better athlete. But don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself and notice how you feel and how everything changes.

Next up…Yoga for Athletes: The Breath

Yoga for Athletes – Benefits that go beyond flexibility

Posted by Feb 18, 2015 fitness, health, passion, sports, workout, yoga, yoga for athletes Leave a Comment
Yoga for Athletes – Benefits that go beyond flexibility

A huge part of my passion for yoga is working with athletes and introducing them to the benefits of a regular yoga practice. It was my experience as an athlete that brought me to yoga in the first place. And it was the years of abuse, or misuse of my body as an athlete that kept me coming back to my mat. So when I come across a blog or article about the benefits of yoga for athletes I get excited. It represents one more person who has the same beliefs and passion as I do and is working hard at spreading the Yoga Love!

However, most of the time when I read such blogs I feel like something is missing. They usually focus on the merits of flexibility for athletes and often neglect the other elements of yoga. So I decided to write about it myself. And because there is so much information I want to cover I have decided to write in multiple parts as to not overwhelm you. Even this way I’m sure I won’t cover everything I would like to. But I do hope that I can plant seeds in you that will either lead you to start adding yoga to your training or perhaps you may share this information and influence someone else. Because you are reading this you likely consider yourself an athlete, or maybe you are a coach or trainer or even a parent of a young athlete. Wikipedia defines an athlete as “a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed and/or endurance.” I like to think that even if you don’t engage in direct competition with others but take time to train your body in exercise modalities of strength, speed or endurance you can consider yourself an athlete. Likely you are also curious about yoga and may have even tried it a couple of times. Yoga has become very mainstream in the Western world in the last two decades but is really just starting to take hold in the realm of sports training. There are so many trends that come and go as it relates to training that yoga may seem like just another fad. I can assure you that yoga is not just a fad and that its’ universal principals of health and well being can be beneficial to any athlete whether they be amateur or professional, just starting to be active, in their peak, or into retirement.

The main points I want to cover over several postings include:

  • Mobility and strength
  • Breath training and awareness
  • Mental focus and clarity
  • Overall wellness

In all areas of healthy and wellness there is room for debate. I am presenting my opinion and experiences and I encourage you to form your own. No two bodies are exactly alike and it’s best to surround yourself with health care professionals that you trust and who are open to holistic practices. If there are specific topics you would like me to cover or if you have questions about anything I’m presenting please leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

First up….Yoga for Athletes: Improved mobility and strength!……stay tuned.

How to stay motivated in your quest for optimal health

Posted by Jan 28, 2015 fitness, Happiness, health, new year's resolutions, passion, workout, yoga Leave a Comment
How to stay motivated in your quest for optimal health

As we near the end of January you might be looking back at the goals or resolutions you set for yourself just a short time ago. Have you picked up momentum or have you hit some speed bumps along the way? More than likely you have faced moments of doubt. We all do. So how does one stay motivated day after day?

We are all motivated in different ways and it’s worth while to sit down and ask yourself what motivates YOU! Is it inspirational quotes, images of others overcoming impossible tasks, is it a friend, family member or group of people? Make a list of of the first things that come to mind. Ultimately though I believe motivation must come from within. It’s there always, we might just need a little external “spark” to get it going again. Once you have taken some time to reflect or even try out your personal external motivators then make them a regular part of your day. Read a quote first thing in the morning, reach out to a friend mid-day for a quick chat or play that song that always gets your blood pumping right near the end of your workout when you think you can’t do anymore. It may also be worthwhile to note who or what drags you down and try to reduce their influence on you. There may be images or people who are not uplifting you the way you need them too. Perhaps this is a friend or partner who tends to be negative about your goals. Speak to them about this, maybe they don’t even realize the effect it has on you. Pictures can speak a thousand words so watch if commercial images of seemingly perfect people are causing you to doubt yourself. There are so many amazing videos out there of people just like you and I who have overcome great adversity to realize a healthy and happy life. If they can do it so can you.

I find external motivators in some of the most unlikely places. What motivates me to move my body the most is thinking about the people in my life that have been affected by illness and had their bodies virtually taken from them too soon. I think of my mother who died an early death due to cancer and how her body became so foreign to her. Or my friend and student who suffered a very short time with lung and brain cancer and found the simple act of breathing almost impossible. When I’m working out and I think I just can’t do any more I visualize their faces and I dedicate the next push of energy to them. Just writing this is getting me excited. When I run outdoors I take a path system that winds it’s way around my neighbourhood and I usually try and go a different way each time but normally the end of my run takes me down a main road. Often there is a man in a wheel chair watching the traffic pass and when I see him I give him a wave and he waves back. No matter how tired I feel at that moment I start to run like the wind. I can’t imagine he asked to be put in that wheel chair and I’m sure if given the choice he would rather run just like me. So I run and I run and I run….for him and for me.

Here are some of my favourite ways to spark my own internal motivation, maybe they can help you too:

  • Motivational quotes – if I find them online I write them down or pin them on my Pinterest board so that I can refer to them again.
  • Uplifting pages on Facebook – enough with the criticism, let’s support each other!
  • Videos of individuals who made radical changes to their lives.
  • Working out alongside people who inspire me with their dedication and intensity.
  • Surrounding myself with others who are on the same path of good health and sharing some of my obstacles with them.
  • Particular songs – I make sure they are on my playlists!

Always remember that there will be ups and downs. We can prepare ourselves for the “downs” and even allow ourselves to feel them. There’s a quote I love: “When you have one flat tire you don’t slash the other three.” When you have a day or week where you fall off track just get back on and try not to dwell on it. Reach out to those motivators. I would love for you to join my Facebook page where I try and post regular motivation.

“When you are just about to give up remember why you started” – Anonymous