Renowned S&C coach Kevin Kearns on the benefits of including yoga in any serious fitness training program.

Yes, you read it correctly, yoga for MMA. Now, before you think about not reading on, I want you to think about this. My good friend, Grand Master Zuffi Ahmed, had Frank Shamrock in for a seminar several years ago. When Frank was asked what he did for strength training, he commented that 80% of his training was yoga based. So, who are you or I to argue with that? 

If you look into the history of yoga, they think it’s 25,000 years old. When someone shows you a stretch, I guarantee you it’s either yoga or martial arts based. My other yoga mentor, Massaki, who was a high-level kyokushin fighter years ago, said yoga is very similar to martial arts. He said: “You have practice, you have focus and you have breathing on basic and advanced movements.” 

For someone who has been a pro fighter as well, I tend to listen a lot. And, as always with any new fitness idea, I always say it’s another tool for the toolbox. It adds another element to a fighter or athlete. As a fighter, or simply as an athlete, wouldn’t you want these five? 

• Improved performance 
• Improved flexibility 
• Improved balance 
• Decrease muscle soreness
• Improved strength 

If your answer is no, then what the hell are you reading a fitness magazine for? 

I was exposed to yoga through my wife two years ago. I had beaten my feet up so bad from running stairs, that I had plantar fasciitis. Basically, what that means is, the minute I put my feet on the floor in the morning I was in agony. After several attempts at trying to fix it myself, my wife asked me to take a class.

I jumped head first into the session and soon realized there was definitely something to this yoga stuff. The heat made me able to move my body in ways I never thought possible. Upon leaving the class, later that morning I noticed my feet didn’t hurt anymore. Then later that year I met my yoga guru, Rolf Gates.

He is not what you may think of as a yoga teacher. Rolf is former Special Forces and an ex-college wrestler! I looked at him, and the things he can do with his body, and said, ‘I’m going to add this into my program.’ And I’ve not looked back since – that was four years ago.

I try to practice daily as best I can and go to class at least twice a week. One of my favorite things about yoga is that it’s ‘wash and wear.’ In other words, it can be done anywhere with minimal equipment and in a small space. On the road, this is a great alternative if you don’t want to run or carry equipment.

I have been known to whip out my mat just about anywhere; by the pool in Dallas, at a Marriott, at the park in Brookline, Mass, at my hotel room in Fla in a thunderstorm – or anywhere I feel I can get in a practice. And because being on the road can beat you up, yoga is my go-to move when I’m away.