There are so many reasons why you should perform yoga poses to improve BJJ as Jiu-Jitsu. From rehabbing injuries to improved focus, moves, breathing & flexibility. Yoga compliments Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in all possible ways. In a way Yoga is essential for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
It undoes loads of damage from Jiu-Jitsu to your body while improving your end-of-range-of-motion, flexibility, strength & breath control & awareness, all of this contributes to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or in sport BJJ. Yoga for Jiu-Jitsu sounds like this combination might sound weird to a lot of people. It’s a great way of boosting superb grappling abilities.
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Yoga for Jiu-Jitsu
With all of the complimentary training performed for improving jiu-jitsu ability, yoga is one of the most healthy and effective options. For jiu-jitsu practitioners, yoga is more fruitful than any other physical training. For Jiu-Jitsu, physical & mental strength, flexibility & balance are core aspects.
You master these traits for being at the top of this game. Flexibility & balance must catch out most of the Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. Undoubtedly strength matters a lot in combat sports but you can easily be out-muscled by your opponent if you lack in the other areas. Yoga for Jiu-Jitsu forces you to undergo certain postures for prolonged periods.
How Yoga is Effective in BJJ
Yoga is mostly referred to as a spiritual exercise, but it serves so many benefits. It gives you full awareness of motions and resonates your breathing with them. This ability makes you more focused & relaxed when in seemingly stressful conditions. For being good at jiu-jitsu you must make sure that your body works in sync with your mind.
Benefits of Yoga for Jiu-Jitsu
- Flex Action: Almost all yoga requires flexibility. You might not be able to touch the toes in your first yoga session but will be able to when you will progress. You will start noticing a slow loosening in your body & eventually difficult yoga poses will start feeling possible and easier. Open the hips, lengthen the muscles & you will get a bigger motion range in BJJ positions.
- Strong Stance: Maintaining a good posture & creating balance will help you in so many aspects of BJJ. Yoga provides a good balance especially when you are to take somebody down while passing a guard in a certain position.
- Relaxed Mind: Keeping your mind cool & focused plays an important role for the combatants. Becoming present in your body & mind as you listen to your breath helps you stay in the present.
- Holding certain poses for extended periods poses a good challenge to your body and mind as well. Practicing yoga teaches you how to maintain calmness under stressful situations, it helps with reversing the bad position in BJJ.
- Improved Supply of Oxygen: Learning how to manage oxygen flow comes into the body & utilizing your breath for managing stress & recovery. Yoga stretches the muscles, moves the organs, & drains the lymph.
- Cutting circulation within your body & bringing fresh circulation up & oxygen to certain areas help in healing all kinds of damage to scar tissue that develops over time by practicing yoga.
- Strength Fix: BJJ athletes require explosiveness but need to hold the certain given for extended periods. Most of the strength programs deliver the first attribute but not the second one. Also, when it comes to building strength by yoga, you get to balance it with gaining flexibility. If you go to the gym & lift weights, you might not be able to build strength along with flexibility. Practicing yoga enables you to stay in a certain position & endure its pain without losing concentration and this helps every fighter.
- Joint Health: Every time you perform yoga, you get your joints moving and take them through the full motion range. It keeps your joints calibrated & helps in preventing injuries that are so common in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes. With improper sustenance, the neglected areas in your cartilage can eventually deteriorate and expose the underlying bone.
Yoga Poses to Improve BJJ
For improving your BJJ grappling abilities perform these yoga poses. You can also do home BJJ workouts to improve your jiu-jitsu abilities.
Yoga Warrior I
Stretching both of your arms over your head, touch both of your palms together. While you perform this yoga pose take a deep breath. Then bend any of your legs, let it be right or left, in a forward manner with your knee facing forward while keeping your rear leg straight & your foot planted firmly at the angle of 90 degrees. Keep the head & chest high. Try holding this pose for a couple of breaths and then work on the other side.
Yoga Warrior II
This pose is very much similar to the warrior I pose. The lower half of your body undergoes the same stance. The difference is that rather than directing the chest forward you move at either side whichever side your rear points while keeping both of your arms extended keeping them parallel to the legs. And your head is placed forward. Then hold your breath and repeat at the other side.
Bridge Pose
Starting stance of this position is best with the back flat at the mat & your feet planted firmly closer to the butt. With both of your arms rested at your side, then push up with the torso, hold your arched position.
Then for the advanced move place both of your hands at either side of the head & also push up by using both of your arms. This advance is referred to as a wheel. Then feel the stretch & hold it for a few seconds, and release your back on the floor.
Boat Pose
This yoga pose feels this in the core, both of your arms & legs in a big way. Starting at the seated position, with both of your legs extended at the front, then lift the legs with your arms extended at your front.
This pose will require a greater focus & mental agility with the whole body while beginning to shake. Try holding this pose through a couple of deep breaths. It will put all of your stress into the breaths, and then release.
Yoga Poses to Improve Grappling Abilities
Shoulder Stand
The safest way to start performing this pose is to begin in the downward dog position. As if you are taking a nap. With both of your palms held against the floor mat, first try bringing both of your legs up closer to your head in the plow stance, before lifting both of your legs at the upward angle.
Try using the elbow in the triangle with the shoulders for creating the balance & placing both of your hands at the back of the torso for assisting this pose. Then try a few of your breaths and release them slowly. Allow the gentle massage of the vertebrae while you connect the back with the ground.
Downward-facing dog pose
While performing this pose carefully pull the strain of any of the muscles. It’s the most traditional pose used in almost every yoga pose, try practicing as if everything works. From the shoulders to the bottom edge of your calves. The best way of entering into this position is by getting into the plank position.
Which is much like the position from where you started the push-up. Then, push back by using both of your arms and keep both of your feet planted firmly on the ground. After that extend both of your arms at your front as you are about to do a push-up. Make sure to feel the stretch. Try holding a few of your breaths for variation you can bend the knees.
Cobra Pose
Cobra pose is one of the basic postures in Surya-Namaskara. While practicing this pose relax yourself and stretch to your best possibility. Once you start performing think to relax your shoulder and neck portion. As a matter of fact, your frontal portion of the throat needs to be stretched also at the same time.
It helps in bringing the subtle energy flow which activates many rigid portions in the spine. This is the reason you have to practice this posture in a relaxed mood and your mind should have a positive feeling towards the physical attire.
Question and Answer on “7 Best Yoga Poses That Help for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Grappling Abilities”
Does yoga help with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
BJJ is fundamentally the act of physical endurance and improving stamina of muscles and joints. It is practiced mainly for improving physical and mental stamina. As well as creating a balanced mind and making the muscle work in an optimum state.
Yoga is great while you practice BJJ. Which certainly improves the structure of the physicality with time. Why because when you perform BJJ, you have to practice any posture for an extended period. This essentially creates a sense of endurance within the physicality and has to support by a balanced mind.
What is the best yoga for BJJ?
Various yoga postures exist which help in creating an excellent physical body as well as a sound set of mind. Best yoga posture can be thought of as ashtanga yoga as well as vinyasa yoga.
You have to keep in your mind that your body should be able to hold in any one of the asana or postures for a long period of time. There are other types of yoga also exist such as Iyengar yoga as less Bikram yoga which creates an athletic and fit body.
How do you get flexible in Jiu-Jitsu?
The best way to become flexible is the basic exercises such as PT, swimming, dancing, and aerobics, and finally stretching. The more you practice these fundamental exercises you will be more flexible.
Stretching is one of the most effective exercises for legs and joints. Regular practicing of these exercises creates a sporty physicality. The secret matter of fact is you have to be consistent with your practice.
Does yoga help BJJ Reddit?
Yoga is essential and much needed for BJJ. While practicing BJJ various tissues and muscles get harmed and choked. Theses damage is essentially get repaired by yoga. Yoga also improves flexibility and strength by using breath control and creating an overall awareness requires in effect for jujitsu.
Is flexibility important for Jiu-Jitsu?
Flexibility is always an important factor for any physical practice. Such as yoga or Jiu-Jitsu or martial art. Now the important part of your body must be able to handle tough situations for a longer period of time while practicing BJJ.
What flexible muscle tries to do is reduce the damage for tougher posture in BJJ. One important aspect is while practicing BJJ, your hip muscle, calf muscle, and spine must have a retention capability.
Does BJJ help with flexibility?
BJJ is excellent for improving the various aspect of our physical structure, such as improving muscle arrangement or breathing with an extended inhalation and exhalation. BJJ helps in conditioning the body muscle and makes it easy for the gym body.
How can I improve my Jiu-Jitsu at home?
These 8 tips will help you to achieve your goal while you practice BJJ.
- Analyze your strengths and weaknesses.
- Set goals.
- Study through Instructions
- Practice visualization.
- Analyze competition footage.
- Improve your health and strengthen your body.
- Keep a training journal.
- Flowchart your game plan.
Can you practice Jiu-Jitsu by yourself?
You can definitely practice BJJ in your home because there are various postures very similar to the basic yoga posture and athleticism. In the meantime, for tougher postures, you very much have to win over your opponent.
Conclusion
For attaining mastery over BJJ, you must practice with the help of a master. Other than that for gaining effects and the ability for improving the stamina in muscle you can always practice by yourself at home. Even you can take a lesson from an online environment such as YouTube or in from any paid session from a reliable website.
Further Reading
Have you enjoyed reading about “ 7 Best Yoga Poses to Improve Your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Grappling Abilities”? Also, check various Topics on Yoga and about Steps to Control Porn in young People also. Please check the article Overpopulation in India 2020also. Take a look at our collection of articles about books for life as well as other categories in health & Inspiring Indians Life also. Alternatively, read our article about the top benefits of honey for fighting against coronavirus to increase our stamina, & other interesting ideas for various vegetables in our daily groceries.
References
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- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5306420/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5968975/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28194734/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31173700/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728955/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342809477