The benefits of yoga help in restoring muscles to athletes

Athletes need rest time between workouts to allow muscles to recover.

Coaches spend a lot of time and research trying to determine the optimal rest time necessary before a game or competition. Muscles have to be ready to go, but if they are too rested they will not perform optimally.

What causes the muscle fatigue that sets in when the body is in constant motion?
As you work out, your muscles use the oxygen you take in, burning it to create energy.

The deep breathing in yoga helps bring this much-needed oxygen to the muscles. As muscles contract, they produce by-products of this metabolism, and the most common is lactic acid.

As the lactic acid and other by-products of the muscle metabolism build up, muscle fatigue sets
in, and the body can no longer perform to its maximum capacity.

Rest and drinking lots of water are recommended to clear the waste products from the muscles so that they can contract to their maximum capacity again.

The critical question that trainers and coaches know all too well is what is the optimal rest time to clear the muscles?

If you wait too long, you lose valuable training time; if you don’t wait long enough, you risk injury. The problem is compounded by the fact that everyone is different; one size does not fit all. Each person has to find the perfect formula for maximum and rapid recovery, and yoga can help.

The goal of recovery is to clear the muscles of waste products, including lactic acid, to allow the fibers to fire again.

Hydration helps by flushing waste products out of the body, but proper stretching of muscles will also more rapidly restore function.

Yoga practitioners have always known the best way to stretch.

When muscles become tight after exercise, you need to stretch them out, but you have to do it correctly.

You have to be sure to focus your stretching on the muscle, not the tendon.

With proper stretching, the muscle improves its elasticity so that it doesn’t tighten up during exercise.
The main goal is to hold the stretch for a long period of time (10 to 20 breaths); a shorter stretch is not as effective. While holding the stretch, maintain a constant deep breath to get the blood supply to the muscle being stretched.

This deep breathing helps to bring nutrients to the muscle for energy to help with muscle recovery and to recharge the muscle for your next explosive workout.

Chapter 2 discusses yoga techniques for breathing, and stretches for restoring your muscles after a workout are included throughout the book.

The more quickly your muscles bounceback, the sooner you can get back to training so that you will gain a competitive edge.

Sometimes after workouts, the legs feel heavy and fatigued.

The bestthing you can do for these tired legs is elevate them to improve circulation and let the fluids drain back into the lymphatic system.

A great technique is legs up the wall pose. Like all yoga poses, this one has multiple benefits.
It helps your muscles bounce back while providing other benefits, such as improving digestion, reenergizing the body, and quieting the mind.

Muscles

Hamstrings

1. Face a wall.
2. Lie on your back, and put your legs straight up the wall (fgure 1.2).
3. Your hips can either touch the wall or be a few inches away from the wall.
4. Relax your arms by your sides with your palms facing up.
5. Relax in the pose for at least 5 minutes; 10 to 15 minutes is better.

Modifcations

If your hamstrings are tight, lie on your back with your hips a few inches away from
the wall and your legs up the wall with both knees bent. Plant your feet on the wall.
For tight hamstrings, add a yoga block or blanket under your hips to elevate them.