Q: For a long time people have been telling me about the benefits of doing yoga, especially that there are certain positions and stretches yoga uses that greatly help with the aero position as well as all around swimming just from being more flexible. I have tried searching the web for some sort of tutorial or at least some pictures of what positions help the multi-sport athlete but have come up empty. All the sites seem to want money before they teach you a single thing. I was wondering if anyone has found anything they like to use or maybe a book that really helped them.

A: Coach Patrick [http://www.performancetrainingsystems.com/blog/]: You’re right; yoga can do all of that and more. Performing yoga, even if it’s just for five to ten minutes a few days a week, can improve balance and strength, increase mental and bodily awareness, and prevent injuries.
I think you should definitely give it a try and a good way to start might be to contact all those people who, all this time, have been telling you the positive benefits of yoga. Ask them all how they got started, and which videos, websites, or books they would recommend. Also, for those who live in your area, find out where they take classes and which in instructors their favorites are. If they know you well enough and think that you’ll enjoy yoga, they may have a good idea of what schools of yoga, whether it is Anusara, Ashtanga, or Bikram, and in what setting you would enjoy practicing it.

Another easy way to get started would be to stop by your local fitness or hollistic center and find out what classes they have to offer. I find practicing yoga in a class setting is great because the instructor is able to guide you through the poses and correct your form as necessary. Although I prefer going to a class because I need to have a set time and place to practice yoga where I have no other distractions, it can be difficult fitting it into my schedule.

So if you’re on a time crunch and can’t always make it to a class, get online and simply do a search for “yoga” and see what comes up. You should have no problem finding websites that will give you a detailed description of all four of the different branches of yoga (Raja, Bhakti, Karma, and Jnana) as well as the major schools (Anusara, Ashatanga, Bikram, Iyengar, Sivananda, abd Vinyasa). You’ll also see that there is no shortage of websites to walk you through routines or provide you with pictures of the various yoga poses. I think that using the internet as a tool is a great way to further familiarize yourself with yoga and to find a video or series of pictures that will help guide you through a session without having to leave the comfort of your own office, hotel, or home when you are crunched for time. There are even websites with free routines available (http://www.yogatoday.com/).

One last thing to keep in mind is that although yoga can help you to build strength, it should be utilized as a supplement to your weight training, not as a replacement.