Author: Tarquin Cooper
Publication: Telegraph Weekend,
UK
Date: November 9, 2002
Introduction: Despite its relaxed,
hippie image, yoga can be highly beneficial for athletes, says Tarquin
Cooper
I remember the first time someone
suggested I try yoga. They came at me with enough zeal to impress a Jesuit
missionary and the reticence of an anti-smoking bore. I knew all the benefits
of yoga to health, posture and attitude to life but as far as I was concerned,
it was about as appealing as tofu.
"No," I replied. This was on principle,
masculine, pig-headed principle. There was no way that I was going to sit
in a class of cross-legged women chanting strange mantras. I could barely
reach my knees, let alone touch my toes. There was room for only one Indian
cultural import in my life, and I liked that accompanied by a pint of lager
and a couple of popadums.
Curiosity got the better of me though,
and I was shocked by what I discovered. Yoga is really tough. This is not
a word I use lightly. I've scaled rock faces and run marathons. But after
stretching and working my body for an hour, I was longing for salvation.
I dripped with sweat. There was another surprise too. Most of the class
were athletic-looking men.
This is no surprise to Anne-Marie
Newland, a former professional ballerina who now teaches yoga to sportsmen.
"A big rugby player came to one class. He was very, very fit, but halfway
through the session he went out and vomited. He couldn't believe how hard
it was."
Newland says yoga is a brilliant
way to boost sporting performance and should be accepted as a mainstream
fitness work-out, as it is in America. But here, she says, it still suffers
from an image problem, in part thanks to "yoga fundamentalists". This still
causes embarrassment for people interested in taking it up.
My session starts with the "sun
salutations". We stand with our feet together and wheel our arms up above
our heads, pointing to the ceiling. And then we bend down and try to reach
the floor with our legs straight. From the touching-toes position, the
hands go flat on the ground and we kick our legs back, moving into the
press-up position.
We push forward, lock our arms straight
and arch our backs looking up; and then arch the other way, feet flat on
the ground and head down, pushing the muscles on the backs of our legs.
Here we hold and take five long deep breaths before jumping back to the
touching-toes position and stand up. Then we repeat the movement, several
times.
It's not unlike a burpee, a punishing
exercise popular with military fitness instructors. Only this is harder.
Everything in yoga is very slow and controlled, so although you're never
out of breath, it is very strenuous.
Anyone can do 20 press-ups and 'then
rest, but try holding yourself in the press-up position for five minutes,
maintaining steady breathing, and then moving into the next position and
holding that one. It's like this for an hour.
"Yoga uses the body's own weight
like conventional weights to build strength coupled with extreme muscle
control," says Newland.
The reason why yoga is such a good
work-out is because it treats the body as a whole, not as isolated parts.
"The problem with all sports is that they train a specific group of muscles,"
says Newland. "I get crippled footballers, sprinters who can't move their
hips and cyclists with lower back problems. They may be fit for their sport,
but not for life."
Her job is to unlock the muscle
groups that are causing problems and she claims to have more success than
physiotherapists. Doctors are also increasingly recommending yoga to people
who suffer common sporting injuries. The reason is that it builds overall
body strength and flexibility, making you less prone to injury and better
able to deal with it.
Yoga also treats the lung as a muscle
that can be strengthened to take more oxygen in. This is a great way to
improve aerobic performance. Newland tells how she dramatically increased
the fitness of the Leicester City reserve team with a single session of
breathing exercises. For this reason yoga is popular among divers, because
it makes them more oxygen-efficient under the water.
There is another crucial benefit.
"Yoga has a profound effect on the body," says Newland, "but its effect
on the mind is astounding." It is this that gives yoga fans the zeal of
the newly converted.
The combination of breathing and
muscle control that yoga teaches not only improves fitness and strength,
but it also equips you with the right state of mind for success at any
sport.
It is as applicable to the tennis
court as it is to the ski-slope.
Imagine you're about to serve. Coaches
always say "relax", and the way to do that is through breathing exercises.
Imagine standing at the top of a forbidding ski-run. How are you going
to combat your nerves? Deep breaths.
It's the same for climbing and martial
arts as it is for football. Breathing helps to relax you and put you in
the right frame of mind to perform to a high standard. Add the agility
and balance you have learnt through yoga, and you will be even better equipped
to achieve just that.
(For more information on taking
up yoga, try the British Wheel of Yoga (01529 306851; www.bwy.org.uk):
or www.yogauk.com which has details of local classes.
More details about Anne-Marie Newland's
Power Yoga classes and videos can be found at www.yogawithanne-marie.com.)
