To perform in a sport, it is often necessary to practice at least one other to find complementarity and balance. Yoga has many advantages to become your ideal complementary sport and help you progress in golf.
Fitness and cardio-training, for example, are sports that develop basic skills that will be useful in the practice of many other physical activities. So it’s the same for acting in golf. Playing golf in good shape, with a well-prepared body, not only improves your scores, but also your confidence in your game.
To maintain and improve your swing, outside of practice, you need to work on your muscle tone, overall flexibility, balance skills, and concentration. And a physical activity can allow you to work on all these parameters, calmly, at your own pace and even without leaving home: Yoga.
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient activity that has many variants and, of course, I am not referring here to the esoteric aspects that surround certain more or less sectarian practices. This diversity of forms could make us think that there are as many yogas as there are practitioners, as one could say that there are as many swings as there are golf players.
Be that as it may, the gymnastic dimension of yoga allows, thanks to the postures, movements and associated breathing, to approach a fullness of body and mind. In this I think it is very similar to Golf in its dimension of “well-being” and in the feeling that can be had after an 18-hole course in the open air.
Golf-Yoga Complementarity
The complementarity between the two practices therefore seems obvious to us. However, the yoga techniques used must be chosen well to suit and meet the specific needs of the swing.
Associating a dedicated yoga practice with playing golf is a real bonus for anyone looking to progress on the course.
Overcome certain preconceived ideas
The practice of Yoga suffers from certain tenacious prejudices. In particular, Yoga is often seen as an activity reserved for people who are “by nature” flexible. This is probably the reason why this form of gymnastics is practiced much more by women than by men in the West.
This of course is an unfortunate mistake, because the movements and postures are adapted to the possibilities of each one. The goal of a regular dedicated yoga practice is to progress as we do on the driving range. Step by Step!
It’s not about trying to put your foot behind your ear! On the other hand, by practicing regularly, you will undoubtedly enjoy feeling your body freeing up little by little and seeing your swing become more spacious and fluid.
A dynamic practice
Another received idea makes Yoga go through an activity focused on relaxation. It is true that a yoga session brings a form of relaxation. This feeling is essentially linked to the simultaneous solicitation of the body and the mind. The fact that the sequence of postures and movements is punctuated by breath control also enhances this sense of oneness and relaxation.
Furthermore, as it should also be on a golf course, breathing is the common thread of a yoga session dedicated to golf. Control of inspiration and expiration, relaxation in movement are common to both practices.
Benefits directly visible in the course
Through the practice of a yoga adapted to the specific needs of golf, golfers but also golfers (I insist…) offer themselves the possibility of developing their abilities of mental concentration, control of their body diagram, and therefore of their swing plane. . .
The necessary mastery of the routines, movements and positions before, during and after the swing is facilitated by the regular practice of adapted yoga.
An adapted offer
With “Yoga for Golf”, Chestam and Karine Hitchcock, a certified Alliance Yoga teacher, offer you simple movements and postures, accessible to all and aimed at the specific needs of your golf practice.
An example with this new video from chestam.com that you can use every morning and, especially, before going to play. It allows you to awaken the anterior and posterior muscular chains of your body, stretch the psoas muscles so important for the balance of your pelvis and spine, amplify the flexion and extension of the hips, or even do a very energizing activity. global coating… All in about 3 minutes. Session that you can repeat twice in a row, it feels so good!
Philip Cheoux | Physiotherapist and Osteopath DO
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