Can yoga improve rugby players’ performance? You might think that’s a bit of a stretch, but a study by Lincoln University PhD student Tilak Raj could change your mind.
Tilak, a yoga instructor from India, has studied the benefits of yoga for rugby athletes and found that the practice can have a positive effect on speed and balance when carried out over a long period.
“Today’s rugby players are required to be stronger and faster than ever,” Tilak says.
“Yoga is one of New Zealand’s most popular forms of exercise and increasingly recognised in rugby as a valuable training tool to improve players’ balance, flexibility and recovery from injury, but very little research has been done on its effectiveness.
“Rugby can result in many injuries and my project found that these could be reduced by improving balance, posture, joint range of motion and isometric muscular strength.”
The study involved putting 15 rugby union players through a one-hour yoga session twice a week for 12 weeks and measured various performance indicators before, during and after the 12-week period.
With rugby legends such as All Black Beauden Barrett singing the praises of yoga, perhaps it will become a more widespread practice amongst sportspeople in the future.
In addition to carrying out PhD research at Lincoln, Tilak also teaches yoga at the university’s Recreation Centre and emphasises its ability to correct posture, increase flexibility, reduce pain and manage stress.