Golf Vacation Fitness: The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga might seem like the furthest activity to relate to golf but it brings a whole new meaning to the definition of golf fitness. In golf, you need to take control of every permissible factor. By comparison, yoga requires you to relax and let distractions pass your immediate senses. Ultimately, yoga teaches its practitioners to let go of the “illusion of control”.

Oddly enough there is a universe where yoga and golf can coexist. Thus, this extremely popular and generic Hindu exercise may even be the exact treatment you need to remedy your golf trip gameplay. Here are some benefits yoga can provide to the typical golfer:

I have trouble breathing… no more!

While it might not seem like the most endurance-demanding sport, think about how long it takes to play an 18-hole course with no down time. And even more in-tune with the avid golfer is having a specific breathing pattern. This helps your body relax and allows your body to practice muscle memory down to even the smallest of details. Yoga teaches proper breathing techniques (and doing it amidst unbelievable body postures) and can help ease some tension in your swing, while creating a more consistent pattern in how your body moves.

Instant cheat sheet to a mental test

Another advantage that yoga brings to the table for golfers concerns mental sharpness. As mentioned earlier, proper breathing takes you to a faster detour to the “concentration superhighway”. Yoga includes meditation drills in its overall program. People who are used to this activity find it easy to organize their thoughts. You’d be surprised at how easy it was come up with a strategy to pull off that nearly impossible par-3 hole.    

“Let the ball go!”

Another serious matter that gritty golfers go through is indecisiveness. Mental pressure has a way of wrecking one’s nerves. In effect, the player is left with bad impulses to decide on their final (and painfully irreversible) split-second move. Yoga practitioners, on the other hand, are taught to “let go of the illusion of control”. You may not be able to fully control the outcome of your golf vacation duel, but at the very least you can control your nerves and your every movement (and that’s all there is to it).


Don't brush off the yoga class offer next time one of your buddies brings it up. Be open minded to how it can improve your game! Just think how improved your handicap will be post-yoga as compared to your friends who are still "too tough" to attend a few classes.