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Annabel Griffiths

I?ve been involved in the hockey world since I was a child, both as a player and an observer. Sports has always been an essential part of my life and when I first started practicing yoga seven years ago, my first thought was that it was the perfect complement to an athlete?s fitness programme.

Not only is it a powerful tool for stretching and strengthening the muscles and increasing flexibility; it is also offers a comprehensive way of increasing concentration and maximizing the breath. By keeping me in tune with every aspect of my body, from my skeletal and muscular makeup to my breathing and thought patterns, I found yoga increased the productivity of my workouts and reduced muscle fatigue and stiffness.

Three years ago, I decided to train as a yoga instructor with the hopes of mixing my knowledge as an athlete with that of the discipline of yoga. One thing which surprised me though, as I went through my training, was how familiar I was (from my sports background) with a lot of the basic postures and stretches.

What I discovered through yoga was the ability and knowledge to maximize my warmups, and cooldowns, ultimately enhancing my fitness, and increasing my focus. Many people think that yoga is all about meditation or all about stretching or all about chanting. What yoga is about is being aware of yourself: both mentally and physically. And for any athlete, this can only be an asset. It is up to you which type of yoga you choose to practice and which elements of yoga suit your personal needs.

As a hockey player, it is important to maintain muscular balance especially since the game naturally favours the one side of the body. We are prone to stiffness in the lower back and tight quads, hip flexors and hamstrings.

Yoga offers: hundreds of comprehensive stretches which align the spine, warmup exercises which activate all of the muscles in the body, and postures which target specific muscle groups. It naturally stretches and strengthens the back muscles, opens up the hips and increases flexibility in the legs.

Through yoga a hockey player can become more aware of muscle imbalances and how to strengthen these muscles in order to prevent injuries. Yoga can also be used in rehabilitation to build up strength when coming off an injury: since each posture is only as intense as the athlete allows it to be, you can gently ease your body back to full health. Yoga also sharpens the mind and since concentration and focus are a vital part of hockey, it cannot help but increase your game awareness.

Finally, yoga puts you in touch with your breath. Breath control is essential for peak game performance to ensure oxygen is being delivered to the muscles. This decreases the likelihood of cramping and helps neutralize lactic acids.

Having witnessed the effect it has had on my clients over the years, it has become evident that one can only benefit from yoga. Yoga has gradually become accepted in the sports industry as a valuable and essential part of the training program for many athletes. The New Zealand All Blacks for instance do not travel anywhere without their personal yoga trainer. It is my hope to continue integrating yoga and sports in order to ensure a well-rounded and balanced training program for any athlete. Look out for my bi-monthly postures and stay balanced!

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