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Gabriel's thoughts on Yoga for Athletes:
 As for my personal response, here goes. Yoga means union or the path that leads to that union. Now, what is the union that an athlete is attempting to attain? Is it the same as what a yogi is seeking? Books like "The Ultimate Athlete" by George Leonard or "The Future of the Body" by Michael Murphy add perspectives on athletic performance as consciousness transformation, personal best as self realization, and give a wealth of references to the clinical studies done to measure the improvement of athletes as a result of doing yoga (and other related mind/body disciplines). The benefits of yoga for athletes is the same as the benefits of yoga for any practitioner: increased flexibility, strength, alignment, endurance, focus, breath control, relaxation,clarity, and general well-being. Athletes understand discipline and like to have a structure to channel their efforts. Give them something to do and they'll work at it. That's the yoga work ethic that athletes naturally have. They practice. Yoga prevents injuries. Yoga helps heal existing injuries. Yoga helps make smart decisions about caring for one's body.
Although yoga has four main branches known as Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion), Jnana Yoga ( path of intellect), Karma Yoga (path of action) and Raja Yoga ( path of contemplation). Simply stated: people find their way to union, or peace, through the feeling, thinking, doing, and seeing. The most common popularized form is hatha yoga, a branch of raja yoga. Taken out of a lifestyle context, which actually leads to meditation, hatha yoga has been reduced to simple stretching exercises. A passive self culture, instead of the rigorous system it really is. Athletes may start off with physical exercises, but the idea that all one is doing is a physical discipline soon gives way through experience, to the realization that one is doing all four yogas simultaneously. Devoting oneself to the realization of one's goal by doing it over and over again ( making it happen as it were), is the realization of the heart. Analyzing and synthesizing your experience brings the sharpness and clarity of a critical edge. That the realization of the head. Practicing, again and again refines what was previously done and reflected up on. That is the realization of the body. Intuiting the wholeness of life via insight is the realization of consciousness itself. And if that sounds mystical, it is. Each path is a potential for wisdom to grow. We all feel, think, act, and ponder. People who practice in a balanced way succeed in yoga more than those who are either too lazy or too agressive in approach. Balance is another way of describing what yoga is and what one develops in oneself. Each athlete has to find out what a balanced practice is within their own discipline. And when actually carrying out their practices find out where the imbalances lie and work on those. So it turns out to be a lifetime of practice, correction, more practice, more correction.
Fulfillment comes in the on-going doing of it and not and some final end point achieved. The only thing that limits an athlete's ability to succeed is stopping. Only by ceasing to try can failure come. In making a sincere effort there is a harmony with yourself, indedpendent of any measurement of productivity, or comparison to any standard. One's self worth stands without the need for other accomplishments.
RETURN TO YOGA FOR ATHLETES
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