There are many benefits of yoga that are well known, increasing balance and flexibility for example, and there are more people taking it up than ever before. Research conducted by Disturb Me Not shows that participants have increased across the U.S. by over 50% in the last four years. However, it may be surprising to note that a rising number of professional athletes are all utilizing yoga to strengthen their abilities. Yoga can provide physical and mental aids to enhance performance, allowing them to be more aware of their bodies. It was vital to former U.S. Olympic and Women’s Grand Tour cycling winner, Mara Abbott who said: “If you want to achieve whatever your highest level of potential in sport is, you need to have that relationship with your body.”
Below we’ve compiled a list of four of the best current athletes who practice yoga as a way of benefitting them in their professional life.
Michelle Wie West
The LPGA tour player who famously turned pro golfer at the age of just 16 loves yoga. She says it’s important to listen to her body when preparing for time on the course and even more so now as Wie West has recently had her first child. She says that yoga is the perfect method for her to feel refreshed and ready for anything, giving her a calming sensation allowing her to let things happen the way they should.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese player is one of the most famous soccer players on the planet and sees the practice as vital in his pre-match preparation. He is well known for his mental strength, and Ronaldo might need that edge, as his Manchester United team are currently outsiders in the latest Premier League odds from Coral. A former teammate of his, Ryan Giggs attributed yoga as the main reason he could maintain the fitness needed to play for the Red Devils until the age of 40. With Ronaldo now aged 36, it may mean that due to yoga, fans may well see him in the Premier League for quite a while yet too.
Blake Griffin
The current Brooklyn Nets power forward has long advocated for yoga as the ideal thing to enhance his on-court performance. Griffin, 32, has worked with Kent Katich, who is the person that many NBA players go to for routines and best practices for yoga. Griffin has three sessions a week to help keep in the best of shape, and he says the benefits are that it keeps his muscles loose so he can function at his highest level. With the Nets starting the season brightly, Griffin will undoubtedly benefit from his extra-curricular activity well into the postseason should they get there.
Tom Brady
Arguably the greatest ever player to grace the game of football, Tom Brady, loves the positive effects that yoga has brought to his game. Brady is the perfect example of someone who has the perfect ‘Attitude, Belief and Determination’ to succeed. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback said that ‘it’s great for flexibility, it’s therapeutic and great for your attitude.’ With seven Super Bowl rings to his name and a career spanning over twenty years, it’s hard to argue against his point.