In my yoga space, yoga is rarely seen or taught as much more than an exercise for the physical body. The people that I practice with, as well as myself, use yoga as a supplement to other forms of training to increase core strength, balance, and flexibility. We achieve these goals by using various forms and poses common to yoga such as the warrior series, downward dog, and tree pose. Yoga is seen as a form of physical empowerment in my daily practice. I view yoga as a way to warm up my body and stretch before a hard training session or as a cool down stretch after a hard training session to quicken the recovery speed of my body.
One way in which my teachers teach yoga as more than just a physical empowerment is through focusing on the breath. Breathing normally is essential not only in yoga but in the martial arts as well. Proper control of your breathing improves your technique and conditioning in harsh circumstances or situations that are less than ideal. Through the use of various breathing exercises, I calm myself and my mind during my yoga practice, and this practice carries over to my training in jiu jitsu and muay thai, where proper breathing is essential if you are training for extended periods of time.
I feel that the reason I prefer yoga as a supplement to my training as opposed to running or zumba is because yoga preaches an inner calm that I feel is more beneficial to my other practices in comparison to other exercises such as zumba or running. Having an art such as yoga that preaches proper posture and breathing techniques, you have a mindset that is interchangeable with the mindset of a martial artists. Practices such as breathing correctly and proper posturing are essential to proper technical advancements in martial arts training.
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