Any Experience with Yoga and golf?

[ejimsmith]

I have a serious back issue that, in some time will require surgery (I'm delaying the inevitable because I'm only 29).

yoga classes can be expensive, and repeatative. after a while i wonder why i go to a class since its the same routines every time, i can just do it at home. the P90x yoga dvd is intense and thorough. and you can do it at home.

[zipazoid]

I was going to post a new thread on this topic, but did a search first and found this thread.

I started yoga two months ago & yesterday I played my first round since starting it. The benefits were very obvious - as many have already mentioned, the increased flexibility. Given it was my first round (I had been to the range but not played), I was expecting the usual stiffness that takes 4-5 holes to loosen up. Nope, was good to go from the start. First shot was a solid 3-wood about 225 down the left side. As the round went on I actually had gained some distance. One the last hole I hit a 250-yard cut driver...that was me 30 years ago.

There are other benefits as well. For example, breathing. Don't laugh. Many of us do not control our breathing very well, or underestimate the power contained in that seemingly automatic physical function. Slowing your breath down, feeling it, listening to it, can greatly affect your mental state. How many times on the course in a tight situation we speed things up, almost subconsciously? I know I do. Yoga really emphasizes breathing - deep cleansing breaths in & out thru the nose. Translates very well to the course. Work on it between shots so when you get to the shot, you're relaxed.

The mental exercise that yoga provides is great too. Yoga is non-judgmental. It's about you. There is no right or wrong. Do what you can, take from it what you need, leave the rest. Very helpful to those (like me) that are too self-critical. Hit a bad shot? Welcome to humanity!

I would highly recommend yoga for golfers. It can't do anything but help you game...and your life. It's a very healthy reward to yourself.

[gotgolf?]

good thing this thread did not have the same response as 'fuzzy headcovers' thread hehe

I think Yoga can be beneficial to any sport. For me it helps with flexibility and working out 'stabilizer' and other muscle groups that are harder to work out in the gym with weights.

The other plus is relaxation - when I was in college our squash coach would make us finish up training with a yoga DVD where the semi-meditation chapter at the end would put us all to sleep...

[mirv]

wow, that's a pretty cool coincidence - i found myself just two or three days ago contemplating whether yoga would help me get some more flexibility in my golf swing.  i log in here and lo and behold, a thread about it sitting right on top of the forum sub-section.  one of my best friends, his mother teaches a yoga class just a few minutes up the road from here - i think i may give her a call and make some inquiries.

[sonicblue]

I, too, now do yoga as part of P90x.  I did a 'lean' routine starting back in September (didn't want to rush into too much weights after such a long layoff, I'm an ex-football player and long-time athlete).  The lean routine was just what I needed, between the cardio, the stretching and the balance, the benefits to my game were almost immediately evident.  I finished that cycle the second week of December, and jumped right into a 'classic' cycle.

Not just due to winter, but also into next year, I'm taking a little break from playing a lot of golf, but I plan to work very hard on "golf fitness."  I do want to build more raw strength now, and am pushing hard on the weights (still staying up at 10-12 reps, though, some even 15), but am also working just as hard on the cardio and flexibility aspects (so, plyo, core, cardio and especially yoga!).  If I had to sum it up, yoga is about learning how to control your body through very precise movements that, at times, may require significant strength, balance, flexible or any combination thereof.  Can you think of anything that utilizes those attributes more than golf?  Controlling precise movements with varying degrees of strength, balance and flexibility?  I sure can't, and I can't wait to emerge in the spring, knowing that yoga is a crucial part of that goal.