If you’ve never thought about it, yoga and swimming really are the perfect combination. And not just because you might think that yoga helps you relax and stretch while swimming is a cardio activity and therefore the sum of the two things is (almost) an activity and wellness program. In reality, the combination of yoga and swimming is much more than the sum of the individual benefits. Something holistic waiting to be discovered.
Yoga and swimming, the perfect combination
Many professional swimmers have included yoga in their training program, mainly to compensate for the inevitable sprains that any sporting activity practiced at the highest levels entails. True, swimming is considered a complete sport par excellence, but swimming also generates postural misalignments, hypertonicity and muscle shortening, various imbalances. And this is how many elite swimmers have tried to combine swimming and yoga. But what they discovered is that there is much more than a trade-off between these two activities.
Because yoga is much more than what it seems or believes, and although it is a combination of mediation and stretching, it has many other benefits in addition to mental health and relaxation that are convincing more and more non-competitive swimmers and practicing yoga and swimming in a single movement and well-being routine.
Swimming and yoga: the mutual physical and mental benefits
Let’s see the mutual physical and mental benefits of swimming and yoga:
Muscle toning
Improved flexibility
Increased muscle strength
Increased ability to use oxygen effectively
Increased lung capacity
Improved circulation
Reduction in blood sugar
Lowering of blood pressure
Relieving physical tension
Reduced stress (headaches, interrupted sleep, low concentration levels)
Strengthening the immune system
Improved posture
Additional physical and mental benefits of swimming
Improves libido
Reduces stress and anxiety
Improves creative faculties
Prevents back pain
Improves prenatal health
Increases cardiovascular health and endurance
Helps regulate cholesterol levels
Helps reduce insomnia
Improves the elasticity of the lungs
READ ALSO: Is swimming really a complete sport?
Yoga: additional physical and mental benefits
Increases body awareness, concentration and mental clarity
Improves stamina and balance
Improves posture and activates the discs of the spine
Drains the lymph nodes to benefit the lymphatic system.
READ ALSO: Yoga is as good for the heart as running or cycling
Yoga and swimming: conclusions
Both activities can be used to work almost every muscle in the body, have a relatively low impact on joints, and burn a good amount of calories.
Plus, they produce a rush of endorphins that reduces stress and helps fight stress hormones.
Photo by Jon Flobrant / Maksim Chernishev / kike vega
Advertising
You might also be interested in…
2023-11-22 14:00:48
#Yoga #swimming #perfect #combination
