Yoga is most often associated with benefits such as flexibility, stability, and strength- all of which are very important and excellent benefits. However, it’s not as often associated with endurance, which is yet another wonderful advantage to be gained from yoga classes. Endurance athletes spend countless hours training their neuromuscular and metabolic systems in an effort to increase their endurance so that they may race efficiently for extended periods of time. However, the hours spent using their bodies to swim, bike, and run can often lead to injury and burnout.

There are many different types and styles of yoga. Yoga classes can be designed as restorative classes, incorporating poses with the main purpose of recovery of the muscles. There are sequence classes designed to allow students to learn the poses and how to posture them correctly, and there are also yoga classes designed to build strength and strength endurance in the body. These “power,” or “vinyasa,” style classes provide opportunities for the body to hold strenuous poses for extended periods of time, while maintaining a steady flow between the poses in order to build physical endurance.

During these power classes, students teach their body to maintain mental and postural composure. A good yoga instructor will guide them through holding their poses, while controlling their breathing, maintaining their mental stability, and focusing on their body in that given moment. These key factors are just as important in athletes’ training regimens as swimming, biking, and running for their endurance events. Taking one of these classes allows for multiple opportunities to work with your body and mind to continue performing at a given level, while increasing your physical and mental endurance.

For many athletes, this can be the missing link in their training. No matter how much one may swim, bike, and run, not having the ability to continue to push through a difficult moment or situation during a race, physically or mentally, can make the difference between successfully meeting a goal or not. Including yoga in your training schedule allows you to increase your endurance levels in a constructive way, without having to pile on unnecessary miles that could lead to injury.