In an ideal world, we would live in a world where we would never be faced with challenging tasks that require us to swim underwater. However, most of us don’t live in that world, and that makes it impossible to avoid swimming, be it in the ocean or in the pool. Every single time you swim, your body has to work harder. That’s why it’s important for you to stay in shape, and perform some of these yoga poses to keep your muscles in shape.
Keeping fit and healthy is a great way to prevent injury and boost performance, but there are a few poses that benefit swimmers. Yoga poses for swimmers are good for increasing flexibility, and also improve breathing and make you feel more relaxed. Swimmers shouldn’t exhaust themselves by doing yoga every day, they can instead incorporate yoga into their daily routine.
Try not to drown in the pool! With the summer heat, you may be doing laps or jumping in the deep end, but there are poses that help you swim better and be more comfortable. Yoga is a great way to stay fit and strengthen your body at the same time. It offers a great way to prevent injury and also control any muscle tension that swimming can cause. This can help in preventing injuries as well as improve your breathing and endurance.
Swimming and yoga have a lot more in common than you would believe at first sight, and they can help each other a lot.
Yoga may help to relieve tension in the shoulders and upper back, as well as relax and counteract the swimming exercise. Yoga promotes flexibility, increases range of motion, and aids in the development of muscular strength. Because the motions in both yoga and swimming are coordinated with the breath, the breath awareness from yoga will transfer well to swimming.
5 Yoga Poses for Swimmers that are Beneficial
The shoulders, shoulder blades, expanding the hips, and strengthening the ankles are the emphasis of a yoga practice for swimmers. Swimming puts a great deal of strain on the shoulders and shoulder blades, as well as the hips and feet.
In the water, like in yoga, the whole body is utilized, from the fingers to the toes. Open shoulders will aid strokes, open hips will aid kicks, and the hands and feet will fine-tune the body’s bigger motions.
1. Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Downward Dog not only stretches the shoulders, chest, and hamstrings, but it also strengthens the upper body and relieves stress.
Begin by getting down on your hands and knees. Tuck your toes beneath and rise to Down Dog with your hands firmly on the ground. Stretch the back and legs slowly at beginning. Draw your shoulder blades inside and attempt to lower them by twisting your upper arms outwards. Keep your spine straight and your tailbone pointing up to the sky. If necessary, bend your knees to maintain the length of your spine. Take 5 deep breaths and hold them.
Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana).
The Upward Facing Dog stretches the belly and front of the body while opening the shoulders and chest.
Place your hands close to your shoulders and lie down on your stomach. Starting with an inhalation, raise your upper body and thighs off the floor by pressing your hands and the tops of your feet to the ground. Maintain an outward rotation of the arms and an inward rotation of the thighs.
Make sure your shoulders aren’t tight or that you’re not dangling from your shoulders. Keep your shoulder blades tight to your spine and pull them downwards, just as in Down Dog, so you don’t hang on your shoulders. Maintain a neutral neck. Stay in this position for 2 to 4 breaths.
3. Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)
This is a wonderful, gentle hip-opening posture. Swimming tightens the hips, thus hip opening postures are helpful for swimmers.
Begin in Dandasana by opening the hips and bringing the soles of the feet together. Bring your feet as near to your hips as you’d like. Sit on a block to raise your hips if your knees are considerably higher than your hips or your lower back is curving.
Try to expand out from the hips rather than forcing your knees down. If you want to extend your hips more, lean forward. Breathe deeply while keeping your hands beneath your feet or on the floor. Stay for a minimum of 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)
Bow Pose strengthens the back muscles while opening and stretching the front of the body.
Begin by laying down on your stomach and bringing your hands to your sides. Bring your heels up to your buttocks and grab your ankles. Maintain a hip-width distance between your feet. As you inhale, push your feet into your hands, raising your legs and chest while arching your back. Keep your shoulder blades tight to your spine at all times.
Stay for 2 to 4 breaths before gently descending. If it seems comfortable, repeat 2 to 3 times more. If the full versions seem too difficult, you may tackle one side at a time, the Half Bow.
5. Hero Pose (Virasana)
Come to Hero Pose to strengthen your ankles, knees, and feet. This is more comfortable for most people if they perform it while sitting on a block. Place your feet wider than your hips and sit on your knees. Place the block between your legs, beneath your buttocks.
Turn your thighs inwards while pushing the tops of your feet on the floor. Your large toes are pressed up on your hips. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths for 1 to 2 minutes.
Swimming and yoga are both aimed at bringing the senses closer to the inner. We may surrender into the present moment by working with the breath and focusing on bodily movement.
Without requiring high-impact activity, both yoga and swimming encourage calm, inner awareness, and being present with the body. Take pleasure in both hobbies and allow them to benefit from one another.
Yoga is slowly creeping into every aspect of our lives. While there are a lot of benefits associated with the practice, none are more important than the need for more flexibility and muscle strength. Swimming is one of the best activities to improve both of these areas, but many people miss out on the benefits because of the awkward nature of swimming and the limited time they have to devote to their exercise routine. Swimming is also a great exercise to help build arm and leg strength, not to mention the core strength that is involved.. Read more about yoga and swimming combination and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do swimmers pose?
Swimmers typically pose with their arms extended out to the side, palms facing up.
Is yoga good before swimming?
Yoga is not good before swimming. It can actually cause more harm than good.
What are the best exercises for swimmers?
Swimming is a great form of exercise as it can burn up to 500 calories per hour. The best exercises for swimmers are swimming, cycling, and running.
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