July is a festive yet relaxing summer month. The nation celebrates the fourth of July by having cookouts and watching fireworks. Other Individuals take some much-needed time off work to head to the beach or go on a vacation with their families. It’s the month when baseball players, or as they are also known as the “boys of summer,” come together to play the annual All-Star Game. I love being a part of all these events, but I must admit that the All-Star Game is one event I look forward to watching every year. This gathering of the best baseball players to compete yearly in the mid-summer classic is intoxicating. Watching Willson Contreras playing to his potential in the All-Star game today is just as exciting as viewing Ryan Sandberg running onto the All-Star field and playing his best when I was a kid. Though some time has passed from watching the All-Star game as a child to watching it today, the sport of baseball hasn’t changed much. Each player continues to play just as hard in today’s game as those legends performed in the past. Each individual must be able to hit, catch and throw a baseball with high efficiency while running on the bases and baseball field without making any physical or mental errors. What techniques do these athletes use to help improve themselves to live up to their potential?
Baseball players include weight training to help increase strength and stability for their bodies to perform at a high level in the sport. More and more teams have added sports psychologists working with their athletes to ease the mental stress the sport can have on them in a season. Teams have even hired nutritionists to help these players fuel their bodies to increase optimal performance.
Are there any other ways that baseball players could improve their overall training? There is one. This activity that more teams could incorporate that can help bridge the mind/ body connection for baseball players to perform to their peak potential is yoga.
When baseball players introduce yoga into their training cycle, they will increase strength and stability in their shoulders, hips, and legs l. They will add mobility to their latissimus dorsi, obliques, and the quadratus lumborum, assisting in hitting and throwing across their bodies in a game. This extra flexibility helps to decrease muscle strains and chronic inflammation in the back, hips, legs, and shoulders. These physical benefits will assist a baseball player by gaining a faster recovery time by reducing the delayed onset of muscle stiffness (DOMS) effect that comes with training and competition.
Another perk of adding yoga to the training cycle is focused breathing exercises that increase the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). Having a raised PSNS will initiate a “calming yet alert state” in the mind when placed in stressful situations in a game. This raised PSNS will also reduce sleep disturbances, as the calming mental state will lead to a more restful night’s sleep allowing the mind and body to recover from their busy schedule and competition.
Here are the eight yoga poses that will help baseball players excel on the diamond:
Warrior Two strengthens the ankles, legs, and hips.
Reverse Warrior stretches the hips, lats, and obliques.
Twisted Warrior adds mobility to the spine and stability to the hips.
Superman helps strengthen the back body and shoulder girdle.
Downward Facing Boat strengthens the back body, while opening the chest.
Cow Facing Pose stretches the shoulders and the hips.
Intense Seated Side Stretch opens the lats, obliques, and the lower back.
Seated Twist increase mobility in spinal rotation and stretches the hips.