Why MMA Fighters Should Do Yoga?

MMA and Yoga

If you are a yoga enthusiast or you are trying to figure out what kind of yoga you should start with, you must be familiar with the benefits of yoga. One of the biggest advantages of yoga is retaining body flexibility. Our daily life is getting disorganized and after the pandemic, this fast pace life has taken a sharp turn. Now we are stuck in our homes trying to figure out what to do with all the extra time on our hands. Most people indulge in social media, others are trying new food recipes whereas, and most of us are getting on to our daily hustle. All these things are not only unhealthy but they are taking a toll on our daily health. With the help of food experiments, we are eating more. Social media scrolling is making us lazy and the work hustle is draining our energy and making us lethargic. According to recent research, the pandemic is burning up new health issues and the focus is mainly on mental health. Our body and mind need to rest and this is only possible if you stay active but exert your energy in a very positive way.

For the MMA fighters who were thinking of joining the MMA industry, or if you have already joined and thinking that MMA fighters should do yoga this time is typically hard. Their body was used to the idea of daily workout. They had a whole gym plan and they had a constant workout trainer so they could work on their goals together. For an exercise to become effective, you need to be regular but with the ongoing pandemic, this is getting quite difficult. Most of the gyms are closed, whereas others are only conducted, online classes. This is the time to take charge of your own life and start working without a personal trainer. This way you will be able to track the progress of your exercise and you can cut down the cost as well.

MMA and Yoga Hand In Hand

We know that most people get very confused when they hear about yoga and MMA. The main reason behind this is that yoga is endorsed as something that will only help you to calm your mind and body. On the contrary, MMA is endorsed as an aggressive game that is used for attacking people. Now the issue is that both these connotations are wrong. Yoga is not just used for meditation, it is more than meditation. Similarly. MMA is not just an aggressive game used for attack, it also helps in self-defense. All in all, if we can sum up the connection, we can say that yoga helps the individual in mindfulness that helps with building strategy and staying calm while fighting people. For the beginners, who are still confused about the way MMA fighters use their skills, you don’t have to watch too many movies. In most movies, we see that fighters quickly jump on to the opponent, and within a few minutes, the game is over. On the contrary, MMA fighters should do yoga because MMA fighters build a strategy and use that strategy to defeat the opponent. If you are a beginner, trying to understand why you need to start with yoga, here are few things that can help you unravel the story.

Regain the Flexibility

Our body has been designed to stay flexible and MMA is designed to help you use that flexibility for your defense. However, our lethargic lifestyle has made us lose that flexibility. If you jump into MMA without yoga and stretching practice, you are more likely to injure yourself. To reduce the likelihood of injury and help you stay flexible yoga plays a very important role. Some of the yoga poses are not only good for MMA training but they help in fighting as well. According to MMA trainers, MMA fighters should do yoga because fighters who have been practicing yoga are more likely to show quick progress as compared to the fighters who have never practiced yoga. In short, you will be reducing the time of progress and practice.

Mindfulness

Yoga is especially helpful in achieving mindfulness. We all know that no one can achieve a clear mind. We are all thinking about so many things simultaneously and there is no way to stop this ongoing process. If you practice yoga, you might know that meditation and yoga help you clear your mind. You are not only able to think in a better way, but you will also be able to understand the perspective of the other person. According to MMA trainers, every fighter has their style but the best fighter tries to improvise according to the opponent. If your opponent has a very aggressive approach, you need to work that in your favor. In this case, you need to start slow and let him exhaust his energy, only to get back at him later once he is tired of running around.

Mind and Body Coordination

MMA is all about mind and body coordination and that can only be achieved with practice. If you start by practicing the MMA skills and not with yoga and meditation sessions, you will not be able to let your body warm up and reach its full potential. Your body will end up getting exhausted very easily and you will also feel tired in just a few minutes. Apart from this, if your mind is not working in coordination with the game and focusing on the opponent, you will lose the game. This is the reason yoga is recommended to everyone. With the help of yoga, you will be able to use your body to its full potential.

Helps with Strategy Building

Strategy building is vital for an MMA game. If you are going to rely on your style, you will become very predictable and the opponent will be able to read between the lines. To help you stay unpredictable throughout the game, you need to change your strategy according to your opponent. To build a strategy, your mind needs to stay alert and leave all the emotions behind. As a result of all these requirements, mediation and yoga are highly recommended to all MMA fighters. Research shows that with the help of mediation, an MMA fighter will not only be able to formulate the strategy quickly but also helps to stay clear-headed throughout the game.

Strength Building

Strength building means that you need to practice your fighting skills for a longer time. In short, strength-building training helps you stay fresh and fight tirelessly. We have all seen that there are so many good fighters with some incredible fighting techniques up their selves. However, they get exhausted very easily and give up. To resolve this issue, strength-building techniques are used by the fighters. Most fighters rely on weight lifting and resistance training for strength building. There is no doubt that these strength-building techniques are really good and they pay off. However, yoga has additional strength-building benefits because it will help you stay focused and use your strength for the right purpose.

Practice Breathing

As a fighter, if we like to list down some of the major complaints, we will be surprised how many people complain about inconsistent breathing. Most people get very surprised during an attack and stop breathing, which only result in exhausting their body. As you will be practicing yoga, you will see that breathing will become your practice and you will not lose yourself in any situation. Apart from this, you will be able to stay calm in all kinds of conditions as well.

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About the Author: Kabbyik

Kabbyik Mitra, a voracious reader and health writer. He is a health & lifestyle journalist. Kabbyik is a yoga enthusiast practicing yoga for last 7-year. He is a certified yoga therapist, a science writer, communicator and journalist. He has been practicing yoga and training people to live a healthy and happy life. Get in touch with him via email: yogatoall2016@gmail.com for any yoga related queries.

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