Yoga for Athletes: Why Activation and Inhibition Matter More than Stretching
Written on January 27, 2015 at 7:15 am, by Eric Cressey
Today's guest post comes from yoga expert, Dana Santas, who is "changing the game" when it comes to yoga for athletes. Enjoy! -EC
Ten years ago, I taught yoga to athletes; literally, that’s what I did. I spent my first year in the yoga-for-sports niche teaching athletes how to be “good” at yoga. My goal was to help them be-come more flexible. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. A decade later, after working with hundreds of pro athletes and dozens of teams, I’m extremely averse to the idea of “flexibility” as a priority.
But, like many yoga instructors, I started my career with a well-intentioned emphasis on length-ening muscle tissue that seemed short and tight. Despite that misguided intention, it was my Type-A, drill-sergeant insistence on precise alignment and proper breathing that inadvertently delivered results for my clients. Once I recognized the real reasons I was positively impacting them—which had little to do with stretching—I went from providing temporary relief of tension to creating lasting increases in functional mobility, stability, and mental stamina.
Yoga didn’t benefit my clients because of flexibility gains; rather, it helped them:
1. activate/inhibit muscles
2. use their diaphragm
3. initiate their parasympathetic nervous system
In this article, we’re addressing the first item. However, my next article “5 Compelling Reasons Athletes Should Practice Breathing,” will cover why proper diaphragm use and breathing biomechanics are not only paramount for leveraging the autonomic nervous system but also facilitating integrated core strength, pelvic floor function, shoulder girdle integrity, shoulder mobility, and more. But I digress….
Because many yoga positions require multi-planar movement in a controlled manner or positional hold, demanding perfect alignment in those poses forces athletes out of compensation patterns. Taking them out of these patterns activates muscles that have been dysfunctionally dormant, and inhibits the overactive compensators (effectively turning off the tension). It’s the activation and inhibition initiated in yoga—not stretching—that actually helps athletes become more mobile.
When you simply stretch chronically tight, overactive muscles—without correcting the cause of the overactivity—you can provide temporary relief, but you risk tearing the muscle and increasing potential for injury. You might also reduce strength and power, since the athlete has likely been using that muscle as a primary source of movement in their sport.
Why do I assume that significant tension in athletes is due to compensation? I see it all the time! Consider the most popular, traditional strength and conditioning movements—the ones we love to do (i.e., squats, bench presses, bicep curls, crunches, etc.). What do they all have in common? The sagittal plane. And that’s where too many athletes place their training effort, despite the fact that most sports require multi-planar movement; think about a baseball swing. Consequently, athletes learn to compensate through powerful multi-planar movements in their sport by using the muscles they’ve strengthened in the weight room.
Understanding this phenomenon, we can better identify the contributing factors to areas of chronic tension and leverage yoga to concentrate on specific activation of the muscles that have been inhibited (agonists and synergists) by the tense area’s overactivity/compensation. In this way, you use reciprocal inhibition to not only relieve tension but restore kinetic chain firing and functional range of motion. Stretching, alone, can’t accomplish that.
Still not convinced? Let’s look at a typical area of tension: the low back.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve been asked by teams and athletes to “stretch” tight low backs…almost as many times as I’ve been asked to “stretch out hamstrings.” Of course that’s not a coincidence, since most athletes with “tight” backs also have “tight” hamstrings…because they’re both part of a typical dysfunctional posterior chain firing pattern!
Before I explain my activation-and-inhibition rationale and strategy for approaching low-back tension, let me offer this interesting piece of info:
According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), in 2010, lower back strains were the most common reported reason for ER visits relating to yoga. I believe this is the case because the sequences of some popular yoga styles, including Bikram's Hot 26, feature poses that feed into compensatory back-extension patterns by promoting hyperextension, and counter them with stretches encouraging extreme low-back flexion. Understandably, that combination of movements can be especially dangerous for anyone with a tight low back!
Athletes with low-back tension usually have excessive anterior pelvic tilts that contribute to in-creased lumbar lordosis. Overactive hip flexors holding the pelvic tilt, inhibit glute firing, which then forces back extensors to compensate as hip extensors.
If we just stretch the low back—which often isn’t even possible because the back extensors can’t release—we’re not fixing the problem because the low back will immediately reengage in response to the hip flexors pulling on the pelvis. And, as the ER-visit data shows, we could strain the low back in the process.
Here’s a sample breakdown* of an introductory activation-and-inhibition yoga strategy for low-back issues:
*Note that these are just a few examples and don’t represent all of the possible yoga-based movements that could be used to initially address low-back tension. Once you’ve had success with simple—yet challenging—postures and movements, like those below, you can move into multi-planar twisting poses variations that emphasize t-spine rotation while maintaining a stable low back, as well as more challenging positions that emphasize hip mobility through a functional range. Often, low-back issues are aggravated by a locked-up thoracic spine and/or hip mobility limitations that force compensatory rotation from the lumbar spine. But you don’t want to jump right into more complicated movements until you’ve reinforced low-back stability and function and ensured that the back extensors can actually shut off appropriately.
Start with movements that promote glute activation and hip flexor inhibition, like Bridge. Maintain pressure in the lateral heels and medial arches to facilitate glute and adductor engagement. Avoid lifting into back extension. Inhale as you lift your pelvis. Exhale to bring your pelvis down. If the knees bow out or you have trouble maintaining medial arch awareness, hold a foam yoga block or ball between your legs to ensure adductor engagement.
Incorporate core and pelvic floor work to inhibit back extensors. This includes practicing poses, like my version of a Modified Boat pose with feet down. Keeping the knees and feet together integrates a focus on adductor engagement for hip and pelvic floor stability. Inhale as you reach arms out to the sides, aligned with shoulders. Exhale as you bring the arms back to the front (as pictured). Supinating the forearms as you take the arms out helps engage lower traps and re-lease upper traps to avoid drawing the shoulders up next to the ears.
Functional Squat encourages the pelvis to move through a posterior tilt and release back ex-tensors. Like the traditional yoga Child’s Pose, functional squat also lengthens the low back; however, it does it actively rather than passively. Keep feet hip-distance apart with weight in the lateral heels and medial arches. Hold for three deep breaths.
After going through the moves above, I recommend finishing with a longer-held, low-back stretch. Yes, I did say “stretch.”
I’m not a yoga trainer who doesn’t stretch my clients. I stretch them all! It’s just not the focus of my programs. But I use dynamic stretching (I call it dynamic “mobility”) in warm-ups, and I close out sessions with targeted, deeper stretches. For example, check out this video clip from a re-cent Tampa Bay Rays development camp. We'd already worked on glute and core activation to inhibit low-back extensors, so then we were doing targeted quadratus lumborum (QL) stretching.
In the interest of brevity, the sample yoga strategy I’ve shared above doesn’t specifically address asymmetry, but it’s important to note that there are typical contributing factors that lead to tension presenting more on one side than the other—particularly the right. These can include: left-to-right pelvic rotation with the center of gravity stuck in the right hip (the foundation of Postural Restoration Institute philosophy) and poor breathing mechanics causing the diaphragm to pull into the right low back, where it has a thicker, longer right lumbar-spine attachment.
Asymmetrical low-back tension is also exacerbated by an athlete’s sport, position and hand dominance. Using baseball as an example, consider how the movements of the following players would add to right low-back pain: a right-handed batter, a left-handed pitcher, and a right-handed a catcher, who stays on his toes due to an inability to posteriorly tilt the pelvis. Consequently, when developing a yoga-based program for an athlete with a low-back issue, the postures you select and the cuing and emphasis need to take into account the asymmetrical nature of the athlete’s tension and corresponding compensation patterns they’ve developed as a result of their sport.
All this said, I’m not claiming that athletes can’t get anything positive out of flexibility-focused yoga. Stretching, in and of itself, can feel great and increase blood supply to muscle tissues. I just think it’s important to understand the risks versus benefits. And, as I explained from my own experience as a novice instructor, there can be “inadvertent” benefits. However, when you’re a pro athlete, whose body’s function determines the trajectory of your career, it’s probably not in your best interest to waste your time with anything that’s “inadvertently” good for you…and could possibly be detrimental. My advice for teams and athletes, who want to add yoga to their training program, is to seek out instructors who understand functional mobility and breathing biomechanics, and don’t over emphasize flexibility.
About the Author
Dana Santas is creator of Radius Yoga Conditioning, a yoga-based mobility and sports-training style designed specifically to help athletes move, breathe and focus in ways that enhance performance and decrease injury. Nicknamed the “Mobility Maker,” she’s the yoga mobility expert for CNN and team yoga trainer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Orlando Magic and Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as sports mobility consultant to more than half a dozen other teams and hundreds of MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS, LPGA & WTA pros. You can learn more about her at www.RadiusYoga.com.
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January 27th, 2015 at 8:16 am
Does she offer any dvd or Web based programs for individuals
January 27th, 2015 at 8:28 am
What do you suggest for post throwing recovery and post throwing gaining back range of motion?
January 27th, 2015 at 1:45 pm
I have recently been performing the shin box hip mobility drill in an alternating side manner.
I practice this at nite time before bed while catching up on some sports highlights. I am a baseball player who plays about 100 games a year, bats right, throws right. I have very normal functional ranges in all joints through using different movement screens, such as FMS, etc.. But, the shin box is very challenging to remain upright, when I first start, without using support from the hand on floor on the side of external hip rotation. I typically use a yoga block to provide leverage and get me more upright. When I started this drill, I was very stiff on the internal hip rotation side (lateral trunk, t.f.l., q.l.), especially my left leg. I am hoping to get those sit bones to both stay on the ground and get truly upright. Suggestions??????
Mark Cibrario
January 27th, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Great article Dana! As a yoga teacher and a baseball player, I really appreciate your insights. Ive been teaching my yoga, de-emphasizing flexibility for flexibility’s sake and focusing on breathing, conscious, diaphragmatic breath, stability, posterior chain/gluteal activation (gluteal amnesia is pandemic!) emphasizing the meditative/mindfulness/awareness aspects of the practice for a good while now….
Steven Head, CSCS, HKC
Head In The Game, LLC
January 27th, 2015 at 3:15 pm
She does have a Youtube channel with a variety of videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/dsantas2
January 27th, 2015 at 8:12 pm
Good article.
I hear similar stuff from Kit Laughlin and Coach Sommer.
I keep asking myself: How can you get better quality movement with the least stress to the body?
Maybe Yoga has something to offer that other training modalities miss?
January 29th, 2015 at 9:37 am
Hey thank you for this nice article! With respect to the fact that inhibition oft a muscle (and overcompensation of another structure) is due to a faulty motor pattern, how do you know that this inhibition / overcompensation relationship is changed through that movements? I mean you have to adress the specific motor control relationship, otherwise the brain will overcompensate in this manner, no matter whoch global movement is expressed, isn’t it? Best regards…
January 31st, 2015 at 11:19 am
I find the image you uploaded of the guys torso really interesting! I’ve had hip problems for years (FAI in right hip, probable anterior glide) and the image looks exactly like me! What is the reason for the belly button being so offline from centre? I’m guessing this is a baseball player and they rotate so much it has pronounce effects? Strangely I’m not a baseball player or anything that demands huge rotation but I have the same problem!
Can you suggest next steps or what kind of practitioner to see to go about potentially correcting it? Would love to see what impact it would have on my hip.
February 6th, 2015 at 4:52 am
Hi John. I don’t currently have any generic DVDs for sale. Because my programs are very customized, I create custom videos for clients. I do offer web-based programs that include videos and Skype sessions. Right now, my schedule for accepting any new “virtual” clients is jammed as I head into the craziness of spring training but you can email me for more info: dana@radiusyoga.com
February 6th, 2015 at 4:55 am
Thanks for sharing Megan. Right now there isn’t much on my youtube channel. I am going to start shooting ongoing basic instruction videos for youtube with Coach Phil Wallin (former baseball strength coach at IMG). We plan to start next week.
February 6th, 2015 at 5:04 am
Hi Sean. I love pitchers–they’re some of my favorite athletes because of the unique demands on their bodies and minds…and all the misconceptions out there about how pitchers should “stretch” their arms. I’m hoping to find time to write an article specifically focused on how I integrate yoga-based techniques into pitcher’s programs. In the meantime, if you’re interested in having me help you with a program specifically for you, please contact me at dana@radiusyoga.com
February 6th, 2015 at 5:10 am
Thanks for your comments Steven. Sounds like you really “get it!”
February 6th, 2015 at 5:17 am
Hi Mark. Although you mention having already done different movement screens and having functional movement through all joints, it sounds like you are experiencing a pelvic function limitation. It’s difficult for me to say without seeing your movement and it’s never safe to just make guesses about someone’s movement based on a few lines of text. If you’d like to do an assessment with me and have me create a program to address the limitation and help you reach your goals, you can email me for more info: dana@radiusyoga.com
February 6th, 2015 at 5:20 am
Thanks for your comments Gabe. Yes. Yoga–when taught and applied correctly–should be all about creating quality movement through a full functional range of motion rather than “flexibility.”
February 6th, 2015 at 5:32 am
Hi Daniel. I use activation and inhibition through a variety of different movements to ensure that all opposing and synergistic muscles are firing appropriately. We progress to movements that require functional firing of the overactive muscle. In this process, I’m also working to restore proprioception in the joint(s) affected by the faulty pattern. To ensure neuromuscular efficiency, I apply many of the techniques I learned while working with the PTs and Occupational Therapists to help my autistic son establish functional motor patterns and proprioception. Without completely “nerding out,” I’m hoping I answered your question.
February 6th, 2015 at 5:40 am
Hi Nick. I’m assuming you’re the Nick who tweeted to me about answering the comments. Thanks for the reminder! The image depicts a very typical Left AIC, Right BC pattern — a Postural Restoration Institute concept that identifies a typical pattern of left-to-right pelvic rotation and the consequent upper-body counter rotation right to left. This is not just something that happens in rotational athletes. This pattern’s presentation can become exacerbated or changed based on the athlete’s movements and training but there is a body of evidence for why all human beings are anatomically predisposed to fall into this pattern to some degree. To learn more, you should take a PRI myokinematics and/or work with a training/movement specialist who understands PRI, like the Cressey Performance trainers and myself. Hope this helps!
February 7th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
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David started training with us at the end of his sophomore year of high school. On his first day, he deadlifted 135. About a year later (and 40 pounds of body weight heavier), he pulled 535 for three reps on the trap bar.
Now that his college baseball career has wrapped up, David can pursue strength goals 100%. I’d say that it’s going pretty well. This dominates my strength numbers from when I was his age. He might be pulling 700+ at ~180lbs right now if it wasn’t for six baseball seasons getting in the way!
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February 7th, 2015 at 7:17 pm
Great article! Eric-my only question is what are your thoughts on her going after adductor activation with a bridge? My initial thought process is that the bridge should be just the glutes
February 9th, 2015 at 6:43 am
Clyde,
Depends on the situation. In a classic left AIC/right BC posture (PRI school of thought), getting some left adductor recruitment could be key to getting the individual to neutral to perform the drill.
February 9th, 2015 at 10:54 am
Hi Dana, you’re spot on, I’m the annoying one that harrassed you on twitter….sorry about that! Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions as well as other. I won’t lie, I understand very little of that but I intend to do some digging to understand it in more detail then hopefully find someone I can work with to correct my issue. Unfortunately Cressey Performance haven’t yet come to Belfast 🙁
February 13th, 2015 at 12:07 pm
Dana: I am a rowing coach and I have lower back issues as do a lot of rowers. It appears that you do a lot of programs for other sports, do you work with any rowers or rowing teams?