Swimming’s secret weapon
Yoga
Lee Kennedy
Swimming and yoga, when practiced together, marry their strengths and make for a more balanced athlete. Both can be deeply relaxing and are gentle on the joints. Swimming’s ‘minimal gravity’ effect is appealing to many people, but its ability to provide a gentle, all-over workout is especially beneficial for injury and joint-pain sufferers, older people and pregnant women.
However, swimming alone may not make you as fit as you think. One of the biggest drawbacks to a fitness routine based on swimming alone is that it is not effective for building strength. The body can not get stronger without gravity, our bodies needs stress to build muscle and bone strength, just as a coiled spring gets its force from resistance.
Swimming laps in the pool certainly provides physical and psychological benefits, but too much time spent in the water without counteracting or contrasting activities can be disadvantageous, resulting lack of bone strength and in body ‘misalignment’. For example, the overuse of some of the basic swim strokes like butterfly, breast and freestyle, can lead to over development of the front of the body, and misalignment occurs. And as all athletes know, good body alignment is fundamental to performance.
However, the good news is that learning about proper alignment through a yoga practice can help your technique enormously.
Bone density is developed through low- and high-impact weight-bearing exercise like running, walking, cycling and yoga. Yoga poses utilise body weight as a powerful source of resistance outside of the water, using the downward force of gravity to build strength and muscle. Practicing yoga also encourages extended muscles, as opposed to the contracted, compact muscles associated with running, cycling or swimming.
Yoga for swimmers
Simmer’s shoulder
Rotator cuff injuries or shoulder tendonitis, also called swimmer's shoulder, occurs when the rhomboids are not held in place when the arm is raised in freestyle stroke - Instead of the muscle carrying the weight of the arm, the tendon bears the burden. Over time the tendon becomes frayed and aggravated.
Try practicing Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog) with emphasis on the shoulder blades moving down the back..
Hip movement
Without free, loose hips, it’s difficult to complete the breast stroke effectively.
Try Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose), with the soles of the feet touching together and the outsides of the knees flat on the floor this posture demonstrates a healthy external rotation of the hip.
Lee Kennedy qualified with The BKS Iyengar Yoga Association UK, the YTTC and Ana Forrest of Forrest Yoga. She specialises in pregnancy-related yoga and also studied with Janet Balaskas, founder of the Active Birth Foundation, UK. Visit Yogadara.com or call 0863906343 for more information.
