Recover Faster and Train Harder Sebastian Brosche's Yoga Tips

 

We engage in hard training sessions. We strength train regularly. We’re doing our best to turn ourselves into the ultimate grappling machines and we’re abusing our bodies in the process. This constant stress and workload were placing on our bodies can be compared to making withdrawals from the bank. There’s plenty of money until, there’s not… To keep that bank account healthy, you have to keep depositing funds. Your body is the same way. BJJ athletes ask a lot of their bodies. But what are we giving back? Are you only taking, or are you also investing in your body?

You don’t have to be an avid competitor to feel the effects of training. AS we age, we begin to also feel these effects much more. You may even be finding it hard to stand up straight in the morning after a night of relatively low impact classes and training. Many of us accept this as just part of being a BJJ student, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There are ways to heal the body naturally, prevent injury, and reverse that stiffening were starting to feel more and more as time goes on.

About 2 years ago I was beginning to feel these negative effects and it started to scare me. It came to a point where the only time my body felt good was when I was training. How could I combat this intense soreness? Like many of you reading this, I myself am a BJJ fanatic and the prospect that this was just the way my body was going to feel for the duration of my time on the mat, was just simply unacceptable. A friend suggested I try yoga. I was desperate to feel better and yoga seemed like a great option so I started doing some digging. Then I found Sebastian Brosche and Yoga For BJJ. The rest is history.

After a few short weeks of yoga and stretching using Yoga for BJJ, I could not believe the difference in how my body felt. My recovery was faster, moorings were manageable, and I even noticed improvements in my BJJ game. This was exactly what I was looking for.

So, when you think of yoga, you may feel intimidated by it. Folding yourself in half, putting your body in weird positions and holding uncomfortable poses for extended periods of time. These may not be things that interest you. But Brosche has taken yoga and molded the most complimentary elements of it to fit a BJJ players needs. He focuses on the biggest trouble spots we all experience and he tailors your experience to exactly what your body requires. He even has a program called Yoga for Rocks. Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. Are you the stiffest of the stiff? No problem. Yoga for Rocks is an incredible introduction to opening the body for even the most inflexible, locked up BJJ player. 

What also makes this program appealing is the fact that Sebastian Brosche is a high-level practitioner of BJJ and Judo. He understands exactly what our bodies need, and what we’re doing to them during training. He focuses on the areas where we need the most work and assists us in the rehabilitation of these trouble spots. 

The key is starting small. Yoga can be likened to BJJ. Black belt yoga and even stretching takes time and we must establish a solid foundation if we hope to build on our abilities when it comes to yoga and even stretching. 

Let’s take a look at a sample routine from Brosche. This particular sequence is for the hips. The hips are one of my biggest problems and I think this rings true for many practitioners of BJJ. We really rely on our hips a great deal in training and they definitely get abused. Try this short routine and see if it provides you any relief. Check it out! 

 

Brosche begins with attacking the backside of the hips. Here, he sits upright and hugs his legs and then keeping his belly attached to his thighs, gradually begins to move his heels away from him. Immediately he references the years we spend on BJJ and our progress. This stretch is no different. Do it everyday and you will improve. 

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Next, Brosche moves on to what you may call a butterfly stretch. With the soles of his feet together he moves his head and chest forward toward his feet, while also pushing down on his knees. 

The third pose is my absolute favorite. If I don’t have enough to stretch or fail on making it a part of my routine for the day, I at least do this pose for 5 minutes a side at night before I go to bed and it helps tremendously. This called half pigeon. Brosche offers different variations here, as all of our bodies are unique and he even offers a way to modify the pose if you have meniscus problem in the knee. Again, there is a progression here. Beginning closer to a plank, we can gradually work our way down to a flat body. This will take time, but its worth it. 

The final pose is a fantastic one for the front of the hips. Brosche demonstrates how to get in to this pose even if your stiff. From one knee he acquires his back instep and then gradually spreads out his body. You will really feel this one through your lower half and its benefits are ar reaching. 

Combing all these stretches will attack your hips from all sides and loosen them, giving you tons of relief and also improving your mobility. 

As Brosche states, in just two weeks you will notice drastic improvements for only investing about 10 minutes a day. Give this a try and experience it for yourself! He finishes with references to how this type of stretching can positively influences your BJJ game. This is yet another reason to get on board. Good luck! 

Yoga for Rocks By Sebastian Brosche is a complete program designed to help people of ALL ranges of flexibility, but if you constantly tight Yoga for Rocks is for you! Deal with the struggles of training with active recovery, especially if Sebastian Brosche is helping you out!

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