It is a well known fact that yoga can help people to feel more relaxed and improve their mental wellbeing. But this is not where the benefits of yoga stop. Whilst yoga may not be your primary focus when it comes to exercise, it has proven to be beneficial for tennis players, professional football players and even ballet dancers. Whether it’s a tennis elbow that needs rest and healing or you have to gain extra strength and flexibility for your ballet classes, yoga can be extremely beneficial for all athletes alike. Keep on reading if you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of doing yoga for ballet dancers in particular. Trust us, there are a lot of advantages!

Why yoga for ballet is a must

As a ballet dancer, there is nothing as important as strength and flexibility. Ballet is a hard core sport that requires determination, strength, a lot of flexibility but also peace of mind. You may have noticed that, on days you’re feeling off, you might have been performing not as well during your ballet classes. Our body and minds are unquestionably connected to each other, more than we ever truly realise. When we’re not feeling good within ourselves, this reflects on our work, social life, sport performance and overall well being. This, in itself, should be a reason to practice yoga if you’re a ballet dancer. There’s so much to gain! If you’re not fully convinced yet, we’ve listed some benefits for you below.

1. Increased body awareness

We’re immediately kicking off our list with one of the core reasons you should be doing yoga as a ballet dancer: your body awareness will increase. When practicing yoga, you have to be extremely aware of your body and be able to guide your thoughts towards a certain part of the body. This can come in very handy during your ballet classes, as precision is key. By practicing body awareness during your yoga flow in the morning, you may be performing better in the ballet room than you ever have before.

2. Improving flexibility 

Even though we may not be professional ballet dancers ourselves, there is one thing we definitely know about the sport: flexibility is important. Next time you’re practicing your plie on the ballet barre, wouldn’t it be nice to feel more confident? Or what about a leg tilt? Yes, that’s right, you can’t lack flexibility if you really want to improve your ballet skills. Yoga is a great way to help with this and specifically yoga poses such as the splits, the one legged pigeon pose or the king dancer poses will improve your flexibility.

3. Peace of mind

While the physical benefits are very important to perform better in ballet class, the mental advantages of yoga also play a big part. Especially since ballet is such a hard core sport, it’s important to keep your head cool. If you’re practicing daily for a big show that is coming up, it will no doubt come with a great sense of responsibility and levels of stress. You want to perform perfectly and there is no room for mistakes. After (or before, whatever you prefer) your ballet class, throw out your yoga mat and get in a short practice. Even if it’s only fifteen minutes on a daily basis, you may be able to spot and feel the differences in your performance.

4. Balance it out

Last but definitely not least: balance. By practicing yoga on a regular basis, you can improve your balance which is, of course, also an indispensable quality for ballet dancers. Can you imagine tripping over during a performance? Ugh the horror! Nobody wants to go through that. So grab your yoga accessoires, find a quiet spot and go through a yoga flow with poses that help to improve your balance. We guarantee you won’t regret it!