True martial artists, like true yogis, are humble and respectful towards everyone and everything............

Yoga and Martial Arts. Adnan Tahirovic reveals how the two disciplines complement each other.

Martial arts are about protecting and not destroying life.Years of dedication, strong discipline and diligent practice will transform the martial arts practitioner into a kind, humble, respectful and gentle person whose ego is melted in the fire of intense practice, just like the yogi’s ego is melted in the fire of tapas (austerities).

In their philosophy, both disciplines teach that an ego that is too strong or inflated can cause a lot of trouble, so they encourage the development of respect and humility. True martial arts practitioners carry love and kindness in their heart, like a wellestablished yogi. Both disciplines use and teach:

• mental and physical practice as a tool toward self-knowledge;

• meditation and self-reflection;

• different ways of bringing the opposing forces into complete and true harmony (yin and yang, prana and apana, in-breath and out-breath);

• power of the core and breath (they use different names for the centre of gravity: in martial arts, dan tien or hara, and in hatha yoga, udhyana bandha).

Yet, few martial arts practitioners are truly aware of the healing powers of yoga. Generally speaking, there are still a lot of misconceptions about yoga although the sports and fitness industry increasingly recognizes and uses the therapeutic value of yoga asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing exercices). Postures are being used as additional training, injury prevention and as a tool for faster recovery in the case of injury.

As a former practitioner and teacher of martial arts, I had firsthand experience of the healing power of yoga.Years of intense training and competition had left me with weak and damaged knees. I was no longer able to run, train or jump. After only three years of regular yoga practice (ashtanga vinyasa), my knees were healed. Now as a full-time yoga teacher, I encourage everybody to practice yoga, especially athletes. Regardless of the martial arts style, most people will favour the use of one side of the body, usually the stronger side. In the styles that use a lot of striking (punching and kicking), one will dedicate much more time to developing an already stronger side, thereby creating even more imbalance in the body.

To give an example, a person who prefers the right leg for kicking will have stronger yet less flexible hip flexors on the right side than on the left side.The right hip flexors will then pull more on the lower back and hip, thus bringing the whole pelvic area out of balance. So if the same person starts using the appropriate yoga asana routine, the weaker side will get stronger, and the stronger side will get more flexible (but without losing their respective strength and flexibility), thus bringing the pelvis back to its neutral and balanced state. Yoga asanas are ideal for simultaneously developing flexibility and strength. Instead of doing strength and flexibility training separately, one can do both at the same time with yoga practice. By including yoga in their training, practitioners will become more focused and grounded, calmer and stronger, more flexible and generally more proficient in their art. Years of intense training and competition might easily create chronic injuries of the neck, shoulders, hips, lower back and knees, yet with regular yoga practice all of this can be avoided.As Patanjali states,“Heyam dukham anagatam”: the pains that are yet to come can and are to be avoided. So whatever style of martial arts you are involved in, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose from practising yoga.

For more information log onto www.adnanyoga.com  

Adnan Tahirovic