Athletes have to use different training methods in order to become champions. Yoga is used by athletes competing in a wide variety of sports as it improves strength, balance, and can even help with an athlete’s psychological needs. It is also a great way to prevent the likelihood of injury. 

In this post we look at three championship winning female athletes who incorporate yoga into their training regime and what you can learn from them.

Evelyn Stevens

Evelyn Stevens is officially the fastest woman on a bike in the world. In February 27 2016 she set a new women’s Union Cycliste International (UCI) Record by riding a distance of 29.81 miles in one hour. In an interview with Outside Online, Stevens explained that part of her workout included yoga. She said, “I love yoga. I think it is a really good supplement to all the cycling-specific work.” This shows how yoga can be applied to all sports. At first it may not seem obvious that yoga and cycling go together. However yoga works on leg strength which clearly helped Stevens become one of the most successful female cyclists and break the record in 2016.

Natalie Gulbis

Multiple LPGA championship winner Natalie Gulbis has a reputation as one of the healthiest golfers on the tour. In a yoga video demonstration for [Golf Digest] she explained “the muscle groups needed in golf is everything around your core.” She goes on to say that her favorite poses are standing poses because they work on balance and stability. Balance is vital in any sport and is the one area that is often overlooked in regular exercise regimes. Incorporating yoga into your weekly exercise will help with many different movements you never knew needed improving.  
Yoga for Golfers with Natalie Gulbis Video 

Alex Morgan

The women’s US National Soccer team is the most successful women’s teams in the world. One of the key players in their recent World Cup success is Alex Morgan. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Morgan told the online paper that in her downtime she loved to do yoga. She explained the psychological benefits of yoga saying, “sometimes I forget about myself, forget about what I need and the calmness that I need at times. Yoga helps me calm down and think about where I am in my life.” The yoga has clearly helped as, sports journalist Leanne Daddia writing for soccer website Betfair named Morgan as a key player in the build up to 2015 World Cup final that the US team would go on to win. Yoga is not just a physical exercise it can help people achieve their goals through improving their mental strength. 

Whether it is improving strength, balance or giving you the mental strength to succeed, yoga can be an essential part of any workout plan. Many aspects of yoga can help improve performance for these athletes, in myriad sports. As these national athletes show, in order to be the best you have to push yourself in different ways.

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