Ice Hockey demands lots
of endurance, stamina, as well as a calm mind. Now you all would
definitely not agree with the last point I mentioned. How can a
player have a calm mind, when he is on ice, competing hard to win?
Well, I have got an answer for you, which though not completely but
notably will help a player to stay stress free on ice, apart from
remaining energetic. The answer is; Yoga.
Yoga by far is ruling the
whole world today. The advantages of Yoga are doing wonders for
everyone, irrespective of their fields. For an ice hockey player,
Yoga can immensely increase his flexibility. The deep breathing and
prominent stretches practiced while ding Yoga can hugely increase the
blood supply to a player's muscles and ligaments, thus decreasing
the chance of injury.
It is a known fact that
ice hockey fore mostly demands hell lot of strength from legs. While
on ice, a player readily uses their calves, quads, gluteus muscles
and lower back muscles. So stretching involved in Yoga asana helps
build the muscles endurance and flexibility.
Let me tell you a great
Yoga asana, which can play a vital role in increasing your
flexibility; The Triangle.
It is considered to be
one of the best Yoga stretches for the ice hockey players, as it
concentrates on the spine, lower back, flexibility, lateral muscles,
and hamstrings.
This Yoga pose, apart
from building strength in the lower back and upper legs, also aids in
getting rid of tension from the lower and upper back, the hips and
the hamstrings through both the twist and the stretching. Another
important advantage of this yoga stretch is that it helps a player in
acquiring a good sense of coordination and sense of balance, which
can make or mar a player's victory.
Now let me just
brief you a step to step description of the Triangle stretch.
- First stand in
Tadasana. After this, exhale and step or slightly jump
your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. Now your arms are supposed to be
raised parallel to the floor and stretched actively out to the
sides, with shoulder blades wide and palms down.
- Next, turn left foot
a little to the right and right foot out to the right 90 degrees.
While aligning the right heel with the left heel, tighten your
thighs and turn the right thigh outward in such a way that the
center of the right knee cap is in line with the center of the right
ankle.
- Following this,
exhale and move the torso towards the right directly over the plane
of the right leg, taking a bend from the hip joint and not the
waist. In order to anchor this yoga stretch, try to strengthen the
left leg and press the outer heel firmly to the floor. Now move or
rotate the torso to the left while keeping the two sides equally
long. Now, allow the left hip to come forward a little, while laying
the tailbone toward the back heel.
- Once this is done,
simply rest your right hand on your shin, ankle, or the floor
outside your right foot, without changing or altering the sides of
the torso. Next, your left arm needs to be stretched towards the
ceiling, in line with the tops of your shoulders. While keeping your
head in a neutral yoga position, look subtly at the left thumb.
- Last but not the
least, you have to stay in this yoga pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute
and finally come up after inhaling by pressing the back heel into
the floor strongly and reaching the top arm toward the ceiling. Now
alter the feet and do the same stretch for the same amount of time
to the left.
While practicing this
Yoga stretch, you need to keep in mind the tolerance and resistance
power of your body. At any point, if you feel pain, stop immediately.
It is with constant practice that you acquire the art of yoga
perfectly.
Well
known NHL (National Hockey League), Georges Laraque, has found the
answer to his problems by practicing Yoga. He feels that it plays an
integral role in their off-ice strength and conditioning. Apart from
this, the player has also discovered a peaceful state of living and
harmony with what he calls "Power Yoga" in 100 degree heat.
He feels that Ice hockey
can prove to be stressful both mentally and physically. But Yoga
helps in relaxing.
Laraque explains, "Most
guys that fight use the weights, weights, and weights, and they're
so big in their bodies that the muscle doesn't matter. Yoga helps
your core strength and that is way better than weights. I'm not the
strongest guy weight-wise with enforcers in the NHL, but I'm
strong, but not because I bench press six plates. If you do yoga, you
don't need to do weights that much because it's like a weight
exercise, but instead of using weights, you're using your body."
It was Shawn Horcoff who
introduced Laraque to Yoga, when he was with the Oilers. Apart from
Laraque, even Chicago's Martin Havlat and Montreal's Mike Komisarek
and Christopher Higgins ahev used yoga to attain more self-awareness
on both a physical and psychological level.
- Article Word Count: 810
- |
- Total Views: 16
- |
- permalink