Yogic Dietary Interventions And Pranayama Techniques: Strengthening Core Muscles In Volleyball Athletes

Abstract

Dietary changes and certain types of breathing exercises are some of the yogic practices that are now being touted as having the ability to improve the athletes’ physical and psychological health. This paper seeks to establish the effects of such practices particularly on the core muscle strength of volleyball players. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative data was used; where the physical performance scores were collected and analyzed alongside the participants’ perceptions on the same. A specific schedule of yogic practices was followed by athletes for a certain time and included changes in diet and certain breathing exercises to target the core muscles. Qualitative findings show the significance of the intervention with an increase in plank time and a decrease in the number of abdominal crunches in a set time. Perceived advantages discussed in qualitative studies include increased stability during movement, faster rate of healing, and increased focus. These outcomes imply that it is possible to augment both the physical power and the psychological stability that is crucial for success in volleyball by including the elements of yoga in the training process. The study also underlines the necessity of multimodal approaches toward sports conditioning and stresses the perspectives of yoga as an addition to conventional training. More studies could be conducted to examine the long-term consequences and the best ways of incorporating strategies in various athletic fields.