There are few games that need mental toughness and concentration more than golf.
It’s a sport that requires consistency and strength and perhaps the only sports where conscious minds (loci, alertness and analyzing) battles its way with the subconscious mind (long term memory and intuitions).
Because, while you need an alert and focused mind to learn the tricks of the game, you need a sharpened long term memory and strong intuitions from the subconscious region of the mind to master the shots.
And while this battle between conscious and subconscious mind can be challenging, it’s also a unique opportunity for golf players to raise their mental strength and cherish this unique awareness level; that few are able to achieve.
Apart from the mental strength, you would also need a tuned body to be able to truly master the sports of Golf.
The ideal golf body is not just strong but also fluid, flexible and stable to withstand the mobility and dynamics of the game and that’s what makes the ideal golf body hard to achieve.
While achieving body strength isn’t that hard, getting to the point of body fluidity and flexibility is no easy task to achieve.
You need that fluidity to get control over the power, balance and weight transfer, which all are core components of a master golfer.
Golfers who aren’t able to master the mental game of the sports can be frustrated or even give up on the sports.
However, they can up their mental strength by regularly practicing yoga posts for mental strength and discipline; two things of fundamental importance in Golf.
Yoga is all about seeking mind and body endurance. Yoga poses helps you take control of your body, mind, and breath and put them under stress to be able to come out stronger and focused.
Apart from achieving the mental strength and control, an important essence of yoga is to achieve the body symmetry as a mean to break down the rigidity developed in certain muscles and improve the overall body flexibility.
Yoga poses for golf players can help them get over the traditional asymmetry in their bodies (due to one side swing of bodies) and open the rigid muscles for a fluid and free movement of surrounding muscles; which all leads to better stability, more power and increased range in motion.
Here are some yoga poses for golf players to help them achieve the right mental and body state:
Benefits: Provide a great stretch to the entire backside, open the shoulders to get the better range of motion. Enhance shoulder and forearm strength while lengthening calf and hamstring muscles. Moreover, increase blood ow towards brain which decreases stress and enhances productivity.
Tips: Watch out for any hyper-extension of elbows and knees. If you feel too much pressure on your shoulders, shorten the distance between your hands and feet and allow your knees to bend.
Benefits: A great pose to challenge you for lifting and opening your chest. Which results in improving our posture and enhancing lung capacity. Also strengthen the spine, arms wrists and shoulder muscles for visible improvisation in athletic performance.
Tips: If you are feeling too much pressure in your hand, shift your weight towards legs by elevating your hands on a yoga block or chair. If you are having difficulty in lifting your legs in the air, tuck your toes inside. Engage your abdominal muscles to release excessive pressure in the lower back.
Benefits: Warrior one stretches the whole upper body along with back leg. A powerful pose that develops stamina, breathing capacity. Great to build balance, and coordination and teach your body to properly use your core to protect your lower back while running, lifting, and while simply standing.
Tips: Make sure that you keep the back heel on the ground. Draw your ribs toward one another to prevent your back from arching.
Benefits: A great yoga pose that mainly strengthens the calf, quads, hamstring and glute muscles. The twist improves the range of motion in the spine while developing lower body strength. Best integration in athletic training for sports that involves squatting, twisting, such as golf, MMA, football, basketball, etc.
Tips: Keep your hips facing straight forward, even with the twist. Check to make sure that your heels and knees are even with one another as well.
Benefits: A great back pain reliever while improving your balance. Strengthen the spine and core muscles and increase the range of motion in shoulders and hips. Great exercise for those who want to jump higher and swim faster. This pose is also great to tone your lower abs and gluteal muscles.
Tips: Keep breathing and focus on your thighs and biceps muscles to keep your limbs lifted. Look forward instead look down to avoid extra tension in lower back.
Benefits: Strengthen the core stability and concentration. Tone your thighs which result in a significant decrease in your waistline. Develop core endurance along with balance and coordination which results in enhanced performance in endurance sports such as running cycling etc. Want to get rid of your love handles? This single pose is enough.
Tips: Keep your toes flexed toward your shin, and make sure to prevent your chest from splaying out and arching your back. If you find this pose too hard to attempt, lower your forearm to the floor, and do side-plank on your elbow.
Benefits: A great recovery pose that stretches the spine, shoulders and hamstring muscles. Stimulates abdominal organs such as stomach, liver and kidney for better digestive, endocrine and urinary systems. Clams your brain and relieves mild depression anxiety and fatigue. Great for people with high blood pressure and insomnia.
Tips: If you cannot reach for the foot with your hand use a strap to stretch yourself towards the foot. Go slow with the stretch, go deeper on every exhale.