You can be forgiven for thinking yoga is the domain of ladies wanting to have a gentle stretch and relax (until you’ve been to one of our Hot Yoga classes, that is!). That’s one of many myths surrounding yoga.
Yoga is just as life enhancing and effective for men.
Ryan Giggs OBE, the Welsh national football coach and former player, believes that participating in yoga extended his playing career by ten years. Setting any sporting allegiances aside for a moment, Giggs must surely have been doing something right to have become the most decorated player in (British) football history.
He first took to yoga after the bitter disappointment of missing a key Champions League game with a hamstring injury. He was determined to find a solution to his injury woes as he didn’t want to miss a single match, even switching his car to an automatic transmission to spare those well-insured legs unnecessary work.
His solution? Sports Yoga. After just a few sessions, Giggs became a convert and passionate advocate for the practice, even convincing Manchester United to hire their own yoga coach.
Yoga helped him and other players stay injury free and, just as importantly, to recover after big matches that were physically and emotionally demanding. Yoga’s concept of mind, body and soul working in harmony helped Giggs deal with the pressures of playing at the highest level in his sport for one of the world’s biggest clubs under intense media scrutiny.
If you’d like to research more, take a look at this FT feature about Ryan Giggs and his love of yoga.
Whatever the views of a sporting legend like Giggsy, we believe the only way to learn whether a sports activity suits your lifestyle is to try it out for yourself. Why not take the first step by researching local studios to find out if yoga can help support you on your fitness journey? We suggest trying a few studios as styles of yoga vary so much.
Our yoga style is very much inspired by strength and conditioning. It will help balance your sports to keep you in great shape. Everyone is guaranteed a warm welcome – yoga doesn’t discriminate on grounds of age, gender, fitness or anything else.
Who knows, it may extend your playing career by ten years too!
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