Yoga Nidra -The “REST” Component in Sport
Yoga Nidra is an essential component in sport and this week I look at the threefold tensions in the body that can affect performance in athletes. These inner tension can cause havoc in the life of a athlete and it is quite a challenge for athletes to deal with tension that accumulates over time .Whether you over-train or not train at all, you accumulate tension, whether you sleep too much or too little, you accumulate tension. It is important to note that there is three basic types of tension ,
1. Muscular tension is related to the body itself, the nervous system and endocrinal imbalance,causing muscle fatigue and injury.
2. Emotional tension stem from various dualities such as love/hate, success/failure, happiness/unhappiness. We refuse to recognize our emotions and more often than not, they are repressed resulting in more tension manifesting and becoming deep rooted.
3.Mental tension a result of excessive mental activities, overload of social media and from time to time these tensions explode, affecting our body and mind behaviour and reactions.
The Key to peak performance is REST
Most people think that relaxation is very simple,just recline and close your eyes, however the body must be free from all tension and the practice of Yoga Nidra is a scientific method of removing these tensions. Yoga Nidra is a more efficient and effective form of psychic and physiological rest and rejuvenation than conventional sleep. During a typical session, the body is restructuring and reforming from within. The body essentially repairs its own problems and athletes heal quicker from injuries.
An athlete must learn to be “tuned in” to his or her body, as it actually “tells” when it needs more rest or when it has had enough. The body runs on rest, just as it runs on fuel. If it has too little rest, it begins to run or perform poorly. Athletes feeling tired or weak shouldn’t try to do hard training sessions. Instead, they should do very light training sessions or simply skip session. If Yoga Nidra is implemented into a training routine, it will create longevity and consistency over the long-term and it is essential during recovery days over the short-term.
Athletes need more rest because of the physical intensity of their training which calls for more recovery time. Secondly, the body makes its adaptations to stress when the body is at rest rather than during the stress. This is the essence of the physiological law of overload. If the body does not have enough rest, it cannot recover and adapt fully, so it does not benefit fully from the training.
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