Combine forces of the mind and body
so they are not at odds with one another
 Three components:

› Pranayama
› Asana
› Meditation
(Gilbert, 1999; Villien, Yu, Barthelemy, & Jammes, 2005)

Yogic breathing
› Central to its ideals and goals

Breathing is a reflection of your emotions
› Stress, anger, etc. can lead to shallow, rapid,
irregular breathing patterns
› Deep, regular breathing patterns can have
the reverse effect, relieving stress and/or
tension
› Healthy babies breathe deeply and
effortlessly using the abdomen
(Gilbert, 1999; Weinberg & Gould, 2007))

Root of most sports psychology methods
for stress and anxiety reduction
› Somatic (physical activation) anxiety
reduction
 Breath control before and/or during relaxation
 Regulate pace and depth of breath to trigger
a relaxation response
 Often talk about a centering breath
(Whythes; Weinberg & Gould, 2007)
“seat”
 Prepare body for rigors of meditation
 Increases mental concentration

› Focus is on one aspect of the pose and the
present

Relax muscles through holding them in
stretched position, relaxing muscle
tensions
(Gilbert, 1999)
Facilitates better body
awareness, including
proprioception
 Athletes often
unconscious of specific
movement patterns
during sport

› Boyce article

Yoga makes movement
patterns more conscious
(Whythes; Oyao, 2000)
“Dhayna” is Sanskrit
 Yogis’ CNS display tendencies toward
parasympathetic dominance

› As opposed to sympathetic nervous system
› Parasympathetic
 Active during resting and digestion
 Body in anabolic state, rebuilding damaged cells
and tissues (aids in recovery)
 Decreased oxygen consumption, metabolic rate,
breath rate, cardiac input, and blood lactates
› Deep relaxation, increased mind-body
coordination, faster reaction time, etc.
(Oyao, 2000; Fredrick, 2008; Telles, Nagarathna, Nagendra, & Desiraju,
1993; Weinberg & Gould, 2007)
Like the relaxation response in Sports
Psychology
 Savasana

› Essentially the same as Autogenic Training
 Used to reduce cognitive anxiety
 Warmth and heaviness in extremities and
abdominal
 Regulation of cardiac activity and breathing
 Cooling of the forehead—“third eye” chakra
(Salmon, Lush, Jablonski, & Sephton, 2009; Naoi & Ostrow, 2008;
Weinberg & Gould, 2007)
“There is no way I could have played
for as long as I did without yoga . . .
My friends and teammates think I
made a deal with the devil. But it
was yoga that made my training
complete. As preventative
medicine, it’s unequalled.”
Wythes)
(
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Gilbert, C. (1999). Yoga and breathing. Journal of Bodywork and Movement
Therapies, 3(1), 44-54.
Jenkins, L. (2004, March 3). Baseball; with help, piazza blends baseball with yoga.
New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/03/sports/baseball-with-help-piazza-blendsbaseball-with-yoga.html
Naoi, A. & Ostrow, A. (2008). The effects of cognitive and relaxation interventions
on injured athletes’ mood and pain during rehabilitation. Athletic Insight, 10(1),
Retrieved from http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol10Iss1/InterventionsInjury.htm
Oyao, D. (2000). Yoga therapy and chiropractic for peak athletic performance.
Dynamic Chiropractic, 18(17), Retrieved from
http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=31839
Salmon, P., Lush, E., Jablonski, M., & Sephton, S.E. (2009). Yoga and mindfulness:
Clinical aspects of an ancient mind/body practice. Cognitive and Behavioral
Practice, 16, 59-72.
Telles, S., Nagarathna, R., Nagendra, H.R. & Desiraju, T. (1993). Physiological
changes in sports teachers following 3 months of training in yoga. Indian Journal
of Medical Sciences, 47 (10), 235-238.
Villien, F., Yu, M., Pierre, B. & Jammes, Y. (2005). Training to yoga respiration
selectively increases respiratory sensation in healthy man. Respiratory Physiology &
Neurobiology, 145, 85-96.
Weinberg, R.S., & Gould, D. (2007). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology
(4th ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Wythes, G. (n.d.). Yoga practice for sporting performance. Retrieved from
http://www.illawarrayoga.com/greg/Yoga_and_Sports_Coaching_article.pdf