Competing Stars Who Find Yoga Beneficial
We all know the multiple benefits of practising yoga.
It is mindful, aids your wellbeing, both physically and beyond, and is a great workout. It can help you remain supple and flexible, and as we explored in our article ‘Easing Into Yoga and Meditation’, it can benefit you into old age. The list goes on, and people from all walks of life are discovering the benefits.
Some professionals at the very top of competitive sports have found significant benefits to be had in yoga. Often, it isn't the sports you might think of as obvious ones either; one could imagine yoga benefitting a gymnast, someone who needs to have a flexible body built for both grace and stamina. In the NFL, NBA and even poker, the benefits are not so obvious. Still, these famous names are all big fans of yoga and see the benefits they bring to a host of unlikely sports.
Tom Brady – Football
Is Tom Brady the best quarterback ever? His Super Bowl record certainly suggests he is, and he owes much of his reputation to his surprising longevity. Even Joe Madden believes Brady is the greatest ever; he told CBSSports.com as much earlier this year. The 44-year-old is a shining example to young people on how to live right to get the best from your body, and he attributes much of that to yoga.
"It's great for flexibility, it's therapeutic and great for your attitude," he is quoted as saying by Inspirationalstories.com. "And it gets you some silence during your day."
Dan Negreanu – Poker
Dan Negreanu isn't a household name, but he should be. The poker player has won six World Series of Poker bracelets and won more than $42m in prize money throughout his illustrious career. Poker.org describes him as one of the five greatest poker players of all time, and he is still a big hit around the tables of Las Vegas. Just because his discipline does not require physical conditioning, he is still an athlete, playing for hours at a time and needing to be attentive, reactive and focused throughout. He achieves this through yoga.
"Yoga has also become quite popular among many of the elite poker players in the world today," he says on his website. "Yoga can also act as a form of meditation that connects your body and mind. It's not just about a good stretch, for some people, it can be quite an experience when they are present, in the moment, and focused solely on what they are doing."
Credit: Photos by flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com, Daniel Negreanu 2007, CC BY-SA 3.0
LeBron James – Basketball
Credit: Keith Allison, LeBronWizards1, CC BY-SA 2.0
The 36-year-old LA Lakers star is another who has treated his body right during his career and who has reaped the rewards. He is a four-time NBA champion, a 17-time All-Star and a four-time MVP. He is one of the most recognizable ballers on the planet, and off-court, he can often be found throwing some yoga shapes to keep himself focused and fit.
Yoga isn't just about the body, it's also about the mind, and it's a technique that has really helped me," James said. "You do have to focus because there's some positions that can really hurt you at times if you aren't focused and breathing right."
Fabiano Caruana – Chess
Credit: This photo was taken by Przemysław Jahr
Miami-born Caruana became a chess grandmaster at 14 and has been playing since 2007. He is currently the second-best chess player on the planet, and like Negreanu, his endurance and intelligence are often tested. He is regularly pictured on his social media page doing yoga and has plenty to say about the physical aspect of his chosen game.
"Chess players don't take the physical aspect as seriously as they should," he said. "Other athletes, if you look at basketball players or baseball players or football players or whatever, they do things chess players should do. We generally don't have the money to take it quite as seriously as other top athletes."