Gone are the days when players were expected to be back on the field immediately following an injury and a couple of rounds of physical therapy. Today professional athletes are given much better care before, during and after the season, with extra care for recovery from injuries. From cleaner, leaner diets to Eastern-inspired workouts, many athletes have a whole body and mind connection as a goal while they tone up and heal. Everyone from LeBron James to Patrick Peterson swears by yoga as a healthy part of a fitness practice.

The Seattle Sounders, for example, are now known for their yoga practice, especially when it comes to recovery after an injury. Tyler Miller and Brad Evans are yoga proponents in particular. This week, the two made a video about how the practice of yoga can really help players when they are recovering from injuries. It helps strengthen core strength following an injury gently without overusing muscles that are still in recovery.

Lots of professional athletes are turning to yoga for their health and fitness. They find that it not only helps increase their strength and balance in their sport, but it also helps them focus better in the game. Yoga helps many athletes sleep better, and it increases flexibility for most practitioners. Doing yoga helps keep muscles from tightening up too much by utilizing many more muscles than traditional workouts require. This helps prevent injuries from occurring in the long run. It can also prevent the other leading causes of injuries, which are imbalance and poor alignment of the body.

Adopting a daily yoga practice is not a difficult task. It can be done in minutes with minimal equipment. Beginners can attend yoga classes for proper instruction or even rent a yoga video for beginners. Choose poses that are known to be the most helpful for athletes, such as the low lunge, standing split and upward salute. Some other useful poses include high lunge, staff pose and extended hand to big toe pose. Backbends and bridge poses are especially good for strengthening the body and developing underused muscles. For athletes that are especially wary about starting a new fitness program based in yoga, classes that are specifically designed for athletes are also available. Yoga is useful for people of all shapes and sizes. Start small and go from there to create a lasting practice that works for your body type and lifestyle.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia