Yoga for BJJ and Grappling

taken from grapplearts.com

Yoga for BJJ- A Personal Challenge

An individual seeking to become a complete martial athlete cannot afford to leave the ancient practice of yoga out of his/her training regimen. No other exercise addresses and develops as many physical AND mental attributes as yoga does. If you think that yoga is only for new age hippies or human pretzels, think again!! If BJJ black belts such as Rickson Gracie and Wallid Ismail train in yoga, you owe it to yourself to rethink what yoga is all about. For BJJ practitioners, the most crucial physical link between yoga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is their emphasis on ground work. ALL yoga poses (handstands, seated poses, standing poses) emphasize the body's relationship to the ground. All strength related exercises in yoga put the practitioner in direct resistance to the pull of gravity. Sound easy? Sure, if you're just standing around on both legs, gravity is a piece of cake. Now try standing on the balls of your feet, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, and hold that pose for 10 controlled breaths. That's yoga! More importantly, the mechanics for most of the poses found in yoga almost directly resemble the physical movements found in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I've found, from personal experience, that yoga's "crow" pose (hands on the floor, with your knees planted behind your triceps for support) has helped my transition from side-mount to knee-on-belly tremendously. Next time you bench press 250 lb., ask yourself how that's going to help your mount escape. If you're not sure, I'm willing to bet that there's a pose in yoga that will. Finally, yoga prepares you mentally for the rigors of BJJ sparring and competition because it teaches you how to mentally relax while holding physically compromising positions. There are poses in yoga that are meant to arouse specific emotional responses, be it anger, fear, or frustration. Regardless of what you might feel, and how intensely you feel it, the practice of yoga teaches you not only to endure such emotions, but also encourages you to EXPERIENCE them. When you experience your physical and mental limits at their extremes, yet respond with a calm and clear attitude... getting mounted by a 260 lb. sparring partner or competitor won't be as fearsome as it used to be. That is the true benefit of yoga. Each pose, each practice session, is an opportunity to face your internal, resisting opponent. Each breath and each moment is a personal challenge that we can experience and overcome. It's quite unfortunate that, for the majority of the population, when the word "yoga" comes up in conversation, one immediately envisions a half-naked Indian man, dressed only in a loin cloth, with his feet behind his head, chanting "ohm", smiling the widest, most masochistic grin imaginable. Or, even worse, one envisions a group of individuals, seated in full-lotus position, trying to get in touch with their inner dolphin. But there is more to this art. Much more. Drop the weights, leave the running shoes, the gloves, and the gi at home for just one hour every Saturday, and open yourself... to yourself. Empty your cup. This is the first challenge of the path to yoga.

Ever since I started yoga classes, my base has improved... drastically! Instead of rapid, heaving breaths during sparring, my breaths have become more controlled already. Only after a few sessions! Imagine what 3 months worth of yoga will do for your game. Amazing. I wish I had gone back to yoga earlier. Maybe my game would be so much better than what it is now.. but like they say, its better now than never, right? Can't wait for my next yoga class! Namaste!

Yoga Friday

Just got home from dinner and beers with the girls, Maui and Fort. Such a great way to end a night. Today was the perfect Friday! Lunch with a friend (Olivia) I hadn't seen in awhile, window shopping, finishing a project for work and then yoga with Jenn. I love the challenge each yoga class brings, I keep on pushing and pushing to finish the pose perfectly and also opting for the more advanced version of the pose. I know my core is strong but my flexibility needs a lot of work. After class, Isabel, our instructor, challenged me to do a yoga headstand. I explained to her that we do the same headstand in jiu jitsu and that I was never really able to do it. With her guidance, I was able to do it and hold it for awhile when usually, I just end up falling over. I know I'll be sore tomorrow, but at least I'll be very satisfied. I'll try attending the early morning yoga class next week. I haven't gotten up at six in the morning in a very long time, so let's keep our fingers crossed. I also have to stop myself from buying too much yoga gear. Its all just too pretty :) Namaste!

TGIF

I'm so glad its finally Friday! Tonight, I'm attending yoga class with my friend Jenn. I've been practicing in order to get ready for tonight's class and hopefully it will make some sort of difference. I'm even considering doing yoga 2x a week, but it might be a bit too much considering the amount of days I train BJJ. Tonight will be fun! I'm also trying to convince the rest of my BJJ team mates to go. I'm sure they'd do really well! After yoga, we're meeting up with some other friends at my neighborhood bar for dinner and some drinks.. there's nothing like ending your week with some good friends and a couple of glasses of scotch!

I'm definitely looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday and having lunch at the park. I'm also going to start on my secret mini-project tomorrow and hopefully finish by the end of the day. Will post pictures as soon as my project is done :)

Today is Wednesday and it is nice and breezy outside

I've been quite the busy bee these past few days. I attended my last wedding of the year (I think.. unless there's one that I'm missing) and I must say, I've been to quite a few. Around seven to be exact. Maybe even 8. Who knows, its all a blur.

This long weekend was all I needed. Carlo and I were able to hang out after almost one week of being apart. Call me cheesy, but this girl misses her boyfriend whenever he's away :(

I was finally able to train yesterday and I really enjoyed it! We learned the dela riva again and reviewed the spider guard, both sweeps and submissions from that position. When we did the drills, I was able to do two dela riva sweeps. I still find it quite difficult to do the spider guard when my partner is in a standing position. I sparred twice, with Marc and with Jay. Of course, I didn't get far with Marc and I actually tapped out because his sidemount was so heavy. Sometimes I think these guys forget that I am built differently (e.g. boobs) so heavy sidemounts are... a PAIN! Hehe! I'm really enjoying playing guard.. definitely keeps me on my toes. Must keep on reading "Path to the Blackbelt". I've been reading Saulo's "Jiu-jitsu University" and Rodrigo Gracie's "Path to the Blackbelt". I also started practicing yoga again. I miss it a lot and I'm really hoping it will help me with my flexibility :)

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Marcus wins the HEAVYWEIGHT Title fight! Dinner date with Carlo at Little Tokyo Frou frou dog at the AKC Dog ShowMy baby Nacho gets a haircut