Sonal

Yoga can make you more aware of yourself & your environment. It increases sensitivity & the power of observation. Doesn't observation help you understand anything better? Whether it is your own subject/field of work, your own child/parent or your own self. & When you understand, you are more compassionate & you make better holistic & clear decisions every moment. Decisions at work, decisions in relationships, decisions even on the mat or at the gym regarding your body, decisions even on the road in a traffic jam. Awareness clears your system of confusion & removes internal conflicts & stress. The more you get to know yourself & your environment, the more you will automatically tune to it because of understanding, familiarity & friendliness. This makes you & your interactions more harmonious, no matter what the challenge. You are at the center of all experiences. If you are in tune & have found inner peace which is not dependent, then the outer circumstance doesn't matter. Slowly & Steadily, we work with ourselves with patience & compassion.

Most important benefit of yoga for athletes is Integration. An athlete may work on certain areas of the body. They may have training focussed on specific functional aspects required for their specific field & their goals. However, such training doesn't account for the fundamental fact that all of your body is a participant in the activity, as a whole, not just specific parts. It's a whole integrated system working together. Different parts working in small or big capacities and unless all of them are relaxed, strong, flexible & above all integrated together as a whole, the final results will be affected. This is true for the various parts of the body, but also the mind and the energetic system. Yoga only means doing whatever you do with awareness. It doesn't mean specific postures or techniques. It's about the 'how', not the 'what'. Awareness leads to holistic integrated consciousness. It leads to better & clear decision making every moment, physical, mental, emotional, energetic or social. Till the last ball, Dhoni remains aware of the WHOLE, not just a part. That comes with a balanced & clear holistic system inside him.