Breathing is often misunderstood in sports training, which is odd given it’s something universal to all athletes. Everyone wants to maximise their oxygen uptake, but despite what many people think, funneling larger volumes of air via our mouth is not the way to do it. If you’re feeling breathless or wheezy, either during or after exercise, then you may be experiencing exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), where your upper airways tighten and restrict air flow. You may be told it’s due to fitness but if you disagree, it’s worth checking if the way you’re breathing is a factor.

Ineffective breathing affects around 1 in 10 of the general population, but is higher amongst athletes and those suffering from asthma or anxiety. The incidence of EIB in athletes ranges from 10-50% depending on the sport and intensity. At the Athens Olympics, 21% of the UK team displayed asthma symptoms. Whilst there can be underlying health issues at play, for the majority the cause is over-breathing. Wit...

It’s fair to say that yoga has become a global phenomenon thanks to the Internet. From Yoga blogs to Superstar Instagrammers, popular teachers like Adrienne on Youtube, open classes on Yoga Glo, Doyouryoga, Movement For Modern Life, there are now more opportunities to practice and connect with yoga teachers all over the world than ever before. 

Online learning has also become hugely popular thanks to the expansion of digital technology and faster broadband. You can now take courses and classes in practically any subject without leaving your front room. With University tuition fees at all-time highs both in the USA and UK, this means that for many, chances to improve their employment prospects by gaining additional qualifications have increased.

Here at The Institute of Yoga Sports Science® (YSS), we’ve been leading the digital education revolution since 2009 delivering world-class training in our Yoga Sports Coaching™ method.

In this blog, founder Hayley Winter explains how her visi...

 I was 47 years old the first time I ever entertained taking a yoga class 

A friend from work suggested I go along with her. “The teacher is great she said, a man named Billy. Come along next Tuesday”.  Well, I knew I needed to get out of the house. I was battling many challenges in my life that had me crying with a bottle of wine most nights and I was left wondering how I was going to make it through the next day.  To be honest, she could have asked me to go and play tiddly winks on Tuesday and I would have gone. 

So there I found myself, saying hello to Billy Tudor, an ex car mechanic in his sixties!  He was a very soft spoken man who welcomed me warmly and offered me a mat to borrow. This is going to be interesting I thought as I looked around. Billy was on his mat at the front of the room.  A table nearby, draped with an orange cloth, held a photograph of a very beautiful man lit up by a small candle that flickered. The room was full of people all softly chatting as they prepared...