Is there a place for Yoga in Swimming?

Whether you’re a coach or a club, college, or masters swimmer you share one limited resource- time.  Of course you want to get the most out of your time and the question is how, and are you willing to take the leap toward yoga, a practice that is possibly unknown to you and not yet broadly followed in the swimming world.  Incorporating yoga postures into your dryland routine isn’t some new thing. Many competitive swimming programs integrate yoga regularly into their workouts to improve strength, flexibility, and balance in the pool, and, very importantly, to prevent injury.  

If yoga isn’t part of your practice, keep reading and you will discover why you should no longer pass it up.

Building Strength, Achieving Flexibility

Lots of swimmers gain muscle by lifting weights or using other resistance training techniques.  Without proper stretching, the muscles of a swimmer grow short in pool workouts and in weight training because of the constant contracting of the muscles.  This creates a feeling of tightness around the upper back, shoulders and arms.  You cannot achieve your maximum stroke extension and efficiency without a combination of strength and flexibility.   With yoga postures, the weight of your own body is the resistance. Using your own body’s resistance not only builds strength, balance, and flexibility, it also keeps the tendons, joints, and ligaments lubricated which helps to prevent some of the injuries-that are all too common for swimmers.   Some postures helpful in this area are downward facing dog, upward facing dog, crocodile, eagle, spinal balance, and locust.

Accomplished swimmers know that a powerful kick is an essential part of their stroke; flexibility in the hips and ankles is essential to achieving great propulsion in the water.  Practicing a few yoga postures targeted at these areas can help you attain greater strength and flexibility and keep these muscles elastic, preventing injury.  Lots of standing postures like the warrior poses, extended and revolved side angle and triangle poses, and seated postures like hero, bound angle, squat.

You Need to Breathe

At the point in your race when your muscles begin to tire, your breath becomes shorter, your body begins to tense, your stroke is less efficient, and your turns are less effective- you need to breathe.   Air, known as prana, our life force, is essential for our survival and controlling the breath is vital in the practice of yoga and in swimming.  Learning to control the breath is of obvious importance to a swimmer, and there are more effective ways of learning to expand lung capacity than simply holding your breath.  Training yourself in breath control is beneficial for your physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. Physically, breathing techniques (pranayamas) are used to expand lung capacity, rid the lungs of built up plaque and waste gasses, stimulate the organs, and provide oxygen to cells.  Emotionally and mentally breathing has a soothing effect on the nerves, increasing concentration, focus, and your own control over your mind.  So the next time you get to the point in the competition when your muscles start to tire, your breath will keep you mentally and physically in the race.  To start, try these two breathing practices, the three part breath (durga breath), and alternate nostril breathing.

You, as coaches and swimmers, face tough choices when structuring a workout to achieve the maximum benefit and you will have to decide if there is time for yoga in swimming.  If you’re apprehensive about including yoga into your workout start small with five or ten minutes of targeted postures and breathing techniques.  If you’re in a program that doesn’t offer yoga, take it upon yourself to show up early or stay late.  You have time, use it wisely.

Gabrielle has been practicing yoga since 1999 and is a certified and registered yoga instructor with Yoga Alliance.  To have Gabrielle lead your team in a yoga practice, contact gabriellecclark@yahoo.com

Athletes should obtain their physician’s approval before performing postures or techniques listed in this article.