Golfers Use Yoga to Target Problem Areas

You probably have certain areas of your body you willgolf swing and yoga exercises. Your breath can also
want to work on. For example, you may want tobe controlled.
increase your core strength. Yoga can provide youThere are three basics characteristics in breathing -
with exercises to work on your core strength. You willthe inhaling, the exhaling and the withholding of breath.
start by conditioning your abdominal area, and continueWithholding your breath is an important part of
on with your obliques. By strengthening your abdominalexpanding your breathing and stimulating your nervous
area they will help strengthen and support your lowersystem. In yoga you will only focus on the inhaling and
back.exhaling of your breathing. The yoga exercises
These exercises is beneficial to you as a golferdesigned to work on your upper body flexibility will help
because it will stabilize your body, strengthen youryou build strength by uses your body's weight against
back, give you more power and give support to yourgravity for resistance. They will also incorporate the
spine which help the spine to stay at the proper angleuse of strength tubing and weights to stabilize your
through your golf swing. Because this is an upper bodycore. Your posture is another area yoga exercises
workout, you will build more strength in your chest,can enhance.
shoulders, arms, hands and wrists. Breathing is anThere are several different factors attributed to poor
important aspect of these exercises. By focusing onposture, aging, an inactive lifestyle, and ineffective
your breathing you will assist your body in maintainingmethods, which can cause an imbalance in the body.
its energy and strength.Poor posture is sweeping the country in adults and
Yoga can also provide exercises to give your hipschildren and is directly linked to billions of dollars spent
more flexibility. Hip flexibility is another avenue ofevery year on back pain related healthcare. Here is a
exercises you will want to start on. Hip flexibility isway for you to evaluate your posture. Stand facing a
important when performing your golf swing. Your golfmirror and let your body to fall into its natural stance.
swing involves correct hip rotation to create power,Look at the line of your shoulders and upper back. Is
speed, and balance from your hips. The condition ofyour upper back rounded and your shoulders turned
your lower back and stamina on the course areslightly inward? If so, you need to work on your
connected to your hip flex and strength.posture. Your natural posture (the way you sit or stand
The yoga positions are designed to increase strengthwhen no one is looking) is your base you will use to
in the group of muscles supporting your hips. It isbuild your dynamic posture.
important to the golfer to be able to maintain correctJust as in a house, the foundation has to be strong
during the forceful phase of the golf swing. The wayenough to handle the structure of the house. Your
to determine this is by your ability to maintain correctnatural posture is your foundation in this case. You will
posture and your core strength. Your lower back canwant to start with the strengthening of your core and
be painful when injured. To reduce the possibilities ofthen work your way up to the posture exercises.
an injury use the yoga exercises to strengthen yourYoga is a lot like working a jigsaw puzzle; each piece
lower back.has its own place. On its own it is nothing, but when
This year Americans will spend billions of dollars onadded to its proper place it helps complete the whole
back pain healthcare costs. Many professional andpicture. With yoga, you cannot put your cart before
amateur golfers will play with a back injury. This will gothe horse, as my grandmother used to say. Now we
to prove just how important it is to get your body inare going to look at using weights to improve you golf
shape to play golf as in any sport. With yoga, breathinggame. You will be using weights as resistance training,
is an important part of the strengthening process. Anywhich has been designed just for golf. The golf
time you experience a stressful situation on the golfspecific weight program uses moderate weights with
course or off the golf course, it causes your heart ratemedium repetitions, and in a 30 to 45 minute time
to accelerate and your breathing to become erratic.frame.
When you learn to control your breathing during aThis golf specific program was created to improve
stressful time, it will help keep the mind calm and theyour strength and endurance for golf swings, etc. It is
body relaxed. With the yoga breathing exercises younot designed to build muscle. Weak muscles are tight
will expand your breath and increase the amount ofmuscles and resistance training will increase the blood
energy in your body. Breathing is such an importantflow, which will work through a range of motion to
part of yoga, without the focus on your breathing yogamaintain flexibility and strengthening the tendons and
is nothing more than just stretching exercises.ligament to protect and support the joints of your body.
Breathing is a natural response and is part of ourCoupled with stretching exercises the training will
nervous system, but we can control our breathing inimprove your flexibility.
the same way we control movement such as your