Why You Should be Doing Yoga to Supplement Your Workouts

I’ve been doing yoga for many years now.  Its benefits have been proven over and over in my life.  I’ve been weight training in conjunction with yoga for almost as long.  More recently I switched to CrossFit vs. weight training (bodybuilding) regularly. 

CrossFit and weight training are excellent workouts, no one can deny that.  However, decreased range of motion, inflexibility, and tightness come with the territory.  These things can lead to joint and muscle incidents or injury, often without athletes even realizing what they are doing to cause them.

It is always my goal on The Body Bulletin to help people feel great in their bodies and perform their best.  Here are a few key ways yoga can help Crossfitters and weightlifters to optimize their performance and feel great:

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Flexibility and Range of Motion

Mobility is a pillar of fitness in CrossFit.  Most forms of yoga involve stretching or holding your body in positions that counter the effects of everyday activities and heavy lifting.  These moves allow your body to open and undo the tightness that follows intense workouts. 

It takes 90 seconds of holding a stretch to truly make a change in the body.  This is why I love yin yoga, which incorporates long holds in the practice.  Longer holds means more opening and counteracting the tightness we experience, absolutely increasing range of motion.  Don’t forget body-mind connection. When we feel more open and less restricted in our bodies, this translates to feeling more open in our minds. 

Balance and Stabilization

Ever feel wobble-y on those one-legged dead lifts or Bulgarian split squats?  Yeah me too.  A fundamental component of yoga is balance.  During balancing poses, those smaller muscle fibers are engaged to create a more stable foundation in your feet, ankles, knees, and hips.  For example, if you are new to tree pose you may notice small movements occurring in your feet and ankle.  These micro-corrections are in fact your stabilization muscles revving up.  Strengthening these will aid to your balance.  Try this:  Do tree pose every day for 30 seconds a day.  Over the course of a week you will see how quickly your balance improves.  Single-legged dead lifts will have nothing on you!

Focus                  

In yoga we use a concept called dishti (yoga gaze) especially during balancing poses.  This is essentially focusing on one inanimate object while keeping your mind calm during a difficult pose.  This carries over to CrossFit during a difficult lift.  Your body is under pressure, while you must keep your mind at ease to get through the movement.  A good example is snatch.  Just about every time I attempt this move with little intention or focus, I fail.  When I focus on one point, calm my mind, I execute.  When you practice this concept in a yoga setting, it’s easy to see how to carry it over to your CrossFit routine. 

 Stress Relief

There is something so grounding about just being present to the current moment.  Yoga does this so well I often forget about the outside world.  For me, yoga is a moving meditation.  I can’t sit still to save my life, but simply being grounded to my mat, my breath, and movement creates a sense of ease in my mind.  When you are used to doing a high intensity type of workout, a stress relieving practice can be just the pill. 

A couple things to get you started: