It isn't easy to draw a connection between yoga and mixed martial arts (MMA). One is a practice of bringing mind, body, and spirit into one. The other is a sport where two fighters face off to determine who is the better fighter.
Sure, the two disciplines seem to be a world apart. But upon closer inspection, MMA and yoga carry many similarities and overlap in ways you might not have considered.
The truth is practising yoga offers many fantastic benefits for the MMA athlete. If you're a fighter and want to be as best as possible, consider adding yoga to your weekly training schedule.
This article discusses six benefits of training yoga for MMA. Let's dive in.
Yoga Improves Your Flexibility For MMA
Flexibility measures how freely you can move your body through space. Good flexibility depends on your muscles' ability to lengthen passively, which allows you to assume various positions more easily. For example, good adductor flexibility will enable you to squat more efficiently and stay balanced.
The most notable yoga benefit is improved flexibility. Many of the poses stretch our muscles, which makes them more flexible. As a result, we reduce our risk of getting injured and find balance in awkward and challenging positions.
Good flexibility is essential for MMA athletes because it allows them to gain the upper hand over their opponents. Whether the athlete fights up close or relies on ground techniques to submit opponents, good flexibility will always help.
Yoga Reduces the Risk of MMA Fighters Sustaining Injuries
Most people correlate yoga with flexibility and attribute the lower risk of injury to that benefit. While somewhat true, yoga is fantastic for injury prevention in many ways.
First, yoga does improve our flexibility, which reduces our risk of injuries, especially those relating to our muscles.
Second, yoga is a fantastic way to become stable and more balanced. Many yoga poses force us to develop our stabilizing muscles, allowing us to maintain balance in various positions.
Third, yoga builds strength, making us more resilient and less likely to suffer from acute injuries, especially during a sparring session or MMA match.
Yoga Improves Balance And Coordination
At first glance, many yoga poses seem relatively easy to do. But when you try to pull them off, you realize how wrong you've been. Yoga poses are challenging to maintain, which is an element of balance and dramatically benefits us. But the true challenge, and what makes yoga profoundly beneficial, is the movement, transitions, and adjustments we must make.
For example, transitioning from one yoga pose to another is an excellent practice for improving balance and muscle coordination. Doing that requires tremendous effort and good engagement of many muscles in your body. As a result, you become more balanced and coordinated, which can offer enormous benefits for MMA.
Better balance allows you to withstand attacks from opponents and maintain composure in difficult situations. Plus, superior muscle coordination will enable you to use your body better, deliver strong blows, and defend yourself from strikes.
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Improved Mental Health & Reduced Stress
Mental health and stress are two topics few people discuss openly. But paying attention to both is essential for our health, well-being, and success in life.
Yoga is one of the most beneficial things we can do to elevate our mental health, melt stress, and improve our outlook on life. Unlike many other activities, yoga is unique because it mixes meditation practices with physical activity, which is incredibly beneficial for us. Aside from pushing us hard, yoga teaches us to be more focused and rooted in the moment.
Many studies also show that regular yoga practices improve mental health and allow people to deal with stress more efficiently. This can be incredibly beneficial for MMA athletes because the sport is often stressful, and only some know how to handle the low points.
Yoga Helps MMA Fighters Stay Calm In Difficult Positions
MMA is a nuanced and dynamic sport with many ups and downs. For example, training hard and defeating an opponent is incredibly rewarding. But MMA is also about losing, learning from mistakes, and dealing with difficult situations.
Eventually, you will find yourself in a difficult situation against a strong opponent. At such times, the winner can often stay calm, think clearly, and find ways to outthink their opponent. Brute force and techniques are great, but panic is a huge enemy, especially when under stress.
Yoga is an excellent practice for MMA athletes and other fighters because it ingrains stillness and calm. It teaches us to breathe, be in the moment, feel ourselves, and move effortlessly. These skills can be the difference between staying calm and panicking when faced with a difficult situation.
Yoga Enhances Breathing for MMA Fighters
Breathing is at the core of calmness, health, and athletic abilities. The diaphragm is directly linked to our nervous system, and our way of breathing can induce a state of tranquillity or alertness. Good breathing is also essential for energy production and resilience during a tough training session or fight.
The great news is that yoga is a practice that emphasizes deep breathing. Yoga expands our lungs, teaches us how to breathe deeply, and improves our athletic abilities. As a result, we can train more effectively, keep fatigue at bay, and outlast our opponents.
Benefits of Yoga for MMA
We've gone over a lot of information, so let's do a quick recap:
- Yoga is an excellent practice for improving your flexibility, learning how to move more effectively, and overcoming opponents more easily.
- Regular yoga practice is vital for injury prevention because it makes us flexible, strong, and stable.
- Yoga is a fantastic way to improve your balance and muscular coordination. Both skills are essential for optimal MMA performance.
- Yoga is a great way to melt stress and improve your mental health, which can positively impact your mindset, allowing you to deal with challenging situations.
- Yoga teaches calmness and allows us to handle difficult situations without losing our composure.
- Yoga is a fantastic way to improve your breathing, profoundly impacting your health, ability to stay calm, and athleticism.
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