Yoga Therapy to Improve Your Three-Point Stance!

Yoga has always been known to help improve performance of athletes. Football players want to stay at the top of their game. Yoga Therapy can improve the three-point stance, which is an essential posture for all football players, especially offensive linemen and more specifically the Center.

These three simple yoga therapy tips can help improve game performance. Yoga benefits include better concentration, more agility, more strength and endurance in the muscles but beyond yoga there is Yoga Therapy. Yoga Therapy is an age-old technique that has a therapeutic approach and intention for thousands of years.

Many Yoga Therapy gurus have various definitions- one of my favorites is the easiest and most concise "Yoga therapy adapts the practice of Yoga to the needs of people with specific or persistent health problems not usually addressed in a group class." - Larry Payne, Ph.D.

In this case the "people" are football players. As an avid fan of the San Diego Chargers since I was 18, I have witnessed over the years the tearing down of the human body on the fields of pro football. Now as a Yoga Therapist, I see how the techniques I use to mend and restructure the ailing physical body can actually improve the game performance of these athletes.

We hear that every season many of the players are put on injured-reserve or are otherwise unable to play in all the games. In the 2011 NFL pre-season, a San Diego Charger, Antonio Gates, placed on the physically unable to perform list (PUP List) due to plantar faciitis (though he was recently removed from it). This could have been totally been prevented and with the proper Yoga therapy approach keep him in the game more than 60 percent of game time, enough time to give us the winning edge.

Here in this article you will find the three simple Yoga Therapy poses that can improve the three-point stance. Yoga therapy can also be a preventive measure for injury in any sport that involves the feet, the legs and torso.

The first tip is stretching your lower leg and foot in the morning before you get out of bed. This is important because while you're lying in bed, the calves, Achilles tendon, and connective tissue on the sole of the foot gets shorter. This is very simple to do just pull your toes toward your nose and hold for ten seconds then push your toes away from you and hold for ten seconds. Repeat this action ten times. Voila, healthy feet!

Secondly, You want to have a loose hip flexor. The hip flexor muscle is located across the front of the hips Navasana (Boat Pose) is really good at making the Iliopsoas strong because it demands that the muscle isometrically contract. Sit on the floor with your legs stretched straight in front of you. Rest your hands by your sides. Exhale, lean back slightly and lift your legs off the floor to about a 60-degree angle. Ideally, your feet should be higher than your head. Your weight should be resting only on your buttocks--not on any part of your spine Use your hands as you need to support until you get enough strength to hold legs up without using hands.

Finally, the Garland pose (Malasana) Squat with your feet as close together as possible. (Use a mat for support if needed). Exhaling, lean your torso into the middle of your legs and fit it snugly between your thighs; Press your elbows against inside knees, bring your palms together.

These poses improve your three-point stance and help you beat the defender off the ball. Specifically, Yoga Therapy for football players can be easy and used in the prevention of injuries. When Yoga is used in intervals to keep the muscles and the body limber and fluid, football players will be much more agile, faster and limber, keeping them in the game longer and making them faster. This is a great thing for my Chargers- my team of choice.

Marti Angel, MA
"America's Health and Expert Lifestyle Coach"

Marti is an Ordained Minister, Author, Yoga Professor, 500 RYT, Certified Yoga Therapist, Reiki Master level 3, Certified WATSU water therapist, Certified Meditation Instructor, Certified Metabolic Typing® Advisor, Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist FDN, Certified Nutraceutical Consultant, Certified Health/Lifestyle Coach, Motivational Speaker and founder of the number one alternative therapies site on the web

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