Yoga for soccer players

When you mention yoga, most players assume it’s just a few downward dogs and meditation. 

 

My aim is to raise awareness of the benefits of yoga in different forms - not only extending the length of a player’s career through physical improvements, but to also support a healthy mind.

Players want to be on the pitch and injury- free as much as possible. As a coach, you can support this by incorporating yoga and mobility into warm-ups, cool-downs and recovery days.

Yoga has become integral in many athletes’ training schedules and the benefits are vast, particularly for women. They have a greater ‘Q’ angle than men, which can put more stress on the quadriceps and cause knee and foot issues.

Increasing hip mobility through yoga can help ease the stress factors, reducing the chance of injury. Mobile hips also increase stability and promote efficient and effective movement.

We also tend to find many female players suffer tight hamstrings - this can be down to the pelvis position. The larger glute muscles or pelvic tilt can cause more strain on the hamstrings. Through yoga, we increase hamstring flexibility, allowing them to cope with the stress put on them over time. 

 

“Increasing hip mobility through yoga can help reduce the chance of injury...”

 

Yoga can also help negate fluctuations in mood and cognitive skills, as well as heightened fatigue, caused by hormonal changes due to the menstrual cycle.

These hormonal changes also put women at greater risk of bone diseases such as osteoporosis. Again, yoga can help, as muscles and bones are strengthened through practice.

Ideally, I would recommend introducing gentle yoga to female players from the age of 14 or 15 to help with these issues and long- term flexibility. Some of the other key benefits of yoga and mobility exercises are 

 

1. Improving the range of motion which gives players the ability to use muscles at force, benefiting change of direction, shooting and quick movements.
2. Reducing injury risk by being more robust and having a greater range of motion.
3. Improving agility to be able to move quickly and with ease.
4. Improving balance and co-ordination.
5. Aiding recovery as muscles become accustomed to being lengthened under stress, meaning they can cope better with the demands of physical activity.
6. Reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) experienced post-match.
7. Improving mindfulness, better to cope with the stresses and demands of the game.

 

PRE WARM-UP

STANDING CAT/COW

 

While standing, place the palms of your hands on your thighs. Breathe in deeply, stand tall and breathe out. Curl the upper back and bring your chin to your chest and repeat slowly, counting four seconds to breathe in and four seconds to breathe out.