Yin & Yang: How Yoga & Athletics are Actually the Perfect Complement

By Frannie McClure for Yoga Medicine.

When I first stepped on my mat, it was like a whole new world. I fell in love with the practice and soon came to identify myself as a yogi. With a background in high performing athletics, this was a huge shift in my journey. Going from max intensity to a softer movement approach was a 180 to say the least. No longer was I an “athlete”. Nope. I was a yogi through and through.

A few years down the road, things began to shift. I started dabbling in weight lifting, running, hiking… and soon enough was just as in love with learning new movements as I was with yoga. But could I be a yogi AND an athlete? To me, at first, there were two very clear camps. You could be a yogi or an athlete but not both. How could the two remotely compliment each other with their extreme juxtaposition?

But I soon came to realize how crucial each was to the other. Like Yin ad Yang in Chinese medicine, yoga needed athletics and athletics needed yoga in my life.

But how?? How can softness and intensity exist together? Let’s take a practical look.

Research in the world of sports and athletics has come so far in the 21st century. Our athletes are more advanced in their training, recovery and movement than ever before. However, there does seem to be some taboo surrounding one little piece of the puzzle that, of course, I believe is truly crucial.

Yoga, and all the implications that come along with it, is often an “off limits” sentiment in the sports world. This is beginning to change, but the progress is slow and the idea of implementing yoga into a training program is anything but essential. However, more and more research points to the incredible benefits of this practice as a supplement for most athletic endeavors. I have seen this in my clients and felt it in my own body.

The repercussions surrounding deep stretching are what seem to be most frowned upon in the athletic world. But, as you may know, yoga is so much more than this. It is all about timing.

Without getting too much into anatomy and biomechanics, deep stretching prior to intense physical exercise has been shown to have adverse effects on performance. Therefore, of course it would not be beneficial for an athlete to stretch before a training session or competition. However, what about on recovery days? What about after an intense session? What about including things like visualization and myofascial release (which are a part of yoga and neither of which affect performance) before training? Like I said, it is all about timing!

So why is yoga so beneficial for athletes? So many reasons. But, to keep it short, we will just name a few.

Nervous System Recovery

If you are a high performing runner, football player, cyclist, etc. and you train for hours a week, naturally, your body and your mind might get a little tired. Of course, many training plans have recovery days built in, but when was the last time you shut your eyes, let your mind rest, and simply focused on your breathing? When was the last time you counted your breath and let the world outside drift away for a minute? The incredible benefits of breath work, meditation, restorative yoga and more on the nervous system are the perfect prescription for a hard working athlete. Someone who is constantly moving, not only in sports but also in life, would greatly benefit from a moment of pause. Even a gentle flow with a focus on the breath can do wonders for your brain.

About a year ago, I gave one of my athletes a very simple acupressure routine to do daily. Within a week, he said he felt calmer, more clear headed and refreshed. He also said that he had begun to look forward to his short routine. Even the smallest moments can make all the difference.

Increased Mobility 

Strength, power, explosiveness… all things you think of when talking about an athlete right? But what about mobility? Let’s define mobility first. Not quite strength and not quite flexibility, mobility is the ability to control a joint actively through a range of motion. Have you ever thought about just how important that might be for a football player, runner, tennis player, boxer, etc.? Especially with all of the different planes of motion involved in their daily routines.

Now, we tend to think yoga is all flexibility and stretching. This is not quite true… with the right application. For instance, if we were to take triangle pose, imagine, instead of supporting your front arm against your leg or going as deep as you can, what if instead you hover your arm and use the strength of your core to support you? What if you actively controlled your torso just as far as you could go without help from other parts of the body? This sort of discipline and support is SO crucial in athletics. Yoga allows us a space to hone in on this aspect, again in the right context.

Active Recovery & Tissue Hydration

And finally, on days an athlete does get to rest or take an off-season, yoga can be the perfect way to move the body in a gentler way. This type of recovery can include a wide range of options for the athlete that meets their specific needs. For instance, maybe including some deep core work, strength work, mobility or even stretching can be so crucial for tissue hydration and inflammation reduction. Think of this as a sort of cross-training. Movement creates hydration, increases our collagen production and allows for gliding between layers of the body. So rather than being still all day after a hard workout, race, game, etc., it is SO beneficial to get some gentle movement in to aid with recovery.

With all that being said, here are some of my favorite modalities to give my athletes:

1. Box Breathing: Breath in for four, hold at the top for four, exhale for four and hold at the bottom for four. This is so good for the nervous system and you could implement it before, during, after or the day after a big sporting event or workout.
2. Baby Extended Side Angle: This one is my personal favorite for hip mobility. I gave this to one of my athletes who had a previously injured hip and he said it worked wonders for his range of motion. Come into a kneeling position as if setting up for camel pose. Bring your right foot out so that your hip is in external rotation and your right knee is pointing away from you. Angle your left knee slightly externally as well but keep the knee and shin on the floor (you can use padding here if it feels better). Slowly started to sink into your right hip allowing the right knee to come over the toe. Then use your inner thighs to lift you back to your original position. Feel free to add a kettlebell for more intensity!
3. Legs Up the Bolster or Pillow: A lot of my athletes tend to have tighter hamstrings so this is a yummy but less intense version of legs up the wall. I like to think of it as more of a gentle draping of the legs over the bolster which gives the whole back body an opportunity to take a big sigh of relief.

I personally believe yoga should become a crucial aspect of an athlete’s training. Of course, there are nuances for each sport and the yoga dosage should be tailored accordingly. But, if done in the right way, it would make a significant and positive impact revolutionizing the athletic world. Like Yin and Yang, intensity and softness complement each other perfectly.

About the Author

Growing up extremely active, Frannie has been surrounded by different forms of fitness her entire life. Movement became even more of a passion of hers after she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia years ago. Strength training, yoga and functional work were the only things that allowed her to feel like herself again. She began to develop a deep love, awe, and hunger to learn more about what we call home—the body!

Frannie constantly educates herself about new, safe, and effective ways to help her students. She is a 500 hour Therapeutic Specialist through Yoga Medicine and has completed her personal training certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

It is Frannie’s mission to help others through yoga and personal training to allow them to feel empowered and capable of anything on and off the mat. She hopes one day to change many peoples lives by showing them just how strong they are.

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