The Famous Footballers Who Swear By Yoga

There’s no doubting the summer holidays can be a stressful time of year. That dream beach or peaceful mountain retreat sounds great on paper but the hassle of getting there can try the patience of even the most patient. The traffic jams to the airport, the queues to check-in, having to go through onerous security – and you have to do it all again at the other end. So much standing around waiting for the next stage of the process means your body goes into hibernation almost leaving you feeling slow and lethargic. Being able to disconnect from your surroundings, even for a few moments, can do wonders for stress levels as a BBC TV show called Trust Me, I’m a Doctor found out and perhaps the whole travel scenario is just one reason why more and more people are seeing the benefits of yoga.

As we examined in our piece ‘Yoga To Boost Immunity’, keeping our bodies active plays an essential role in our defences against diseases and helps keep our immune systems strong where even basic neck exercises can keep the lymph flowing from our head to our body and avoiding a build up within our necks.

Another benefit from doing yoga on a regular basis is the effect it can have on one’s mental health.

Indeed, it’s not just the celebrities we often find in glossy gossip magazines who have taken to yoga – even the world of football has embraced the concept. Traditionally a footballer would have his life mapped out with training and playing with a couple of vices thrown in to keep the testosterones pumping but elite sports people are much more aware of their bodies and their mental health these days than even a few years back and go that extra mile to take care of themselves.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo

We’ll start with one player the younger, tech-savvy generation call the GOAT! Portuguese international Ronaldo has won more than 30 trophies in a glittering career and scored over 800 goals for club and country. In 2009 he left Manchester United to join Real Madrid for what was then a world record transfer fee of £80 million. He may be 37 years old now but a look at his Instagram account, which has 451 million followers, will show you a man who prioritises keeping in shape and yoga, along with daily meditation, has played its part in keeping his remarkable career going.

 

Per Mertsesacker

Per Mertesacker won over 100 caps for the German national team winning the World Cup in 2014. An ungainly 6′ 6” in his stocking feet, Mertesacker was an assured defender who thought deeply about the game and is now using his experience to head up the academy at Arsenal where he ended his playing career. He has described how coming down from the high of winning the World Cup in Brazil was difficult to deal with so he turned to yoga.

“When you are superstitious – which most footballers are – you need to have your habits every week. The benefits are physical and mental, to strengthen my body, to stretch my body, and mentally to relax and calm down.”

 

Lionel Messi

The mercurial Argentinian striker Lionel Messi is another who draws strength from his yoga and meditation. The 10-time La Liga winner with Barcelona has also won the UEFA Champions League on four occasions and it was this serial winner mentality that encouraged French giants Paris Saint-Germain to sign him at the beginning of the 2021/22 season. The Parisians are among the favourites for the trophy this season in Coral’s latest football odds and if they were to win it, assisted by Messi, it would be a prestigious first European success for them. The 35-year-old striker, like Ronaldo, is almost obsessive about staying fit and healthy and during the 2014 World Cup he followed a power yoga programme designed by an American yogi to keep his mind fresh. His French side will be hoping it is this attention to detail that will help them in their quest for European success.

 

David Silva

After 12 trophy laden years with Manchester City and Spain, David Silva continues to hit the heights with his present club Real Sociedad. As part of the legendary Spanish side from the early years of the 21st century, Silva won the UEFA European Championship twice in 2008 and 2012, throwing in the World Cup in 2010 for good measure. Moving to City he added four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five EFL Cups to his trophy cabinet. Yet, ironically, it was a player from City’s cross town rivals, Manchester United who gave Silva the yoga bug.

”With so many games you have to play non-stop and anything you can find which helps you prepare for these games is good. I have taken up yoga with the same teacher as Ryan (Giggs). It’s been another way of helping me stretch out after games. It’s helped me get back in shape.”

 

 

We have come a long since yoga and meditation were linked to the 1960s and counter-culture. It has been mainstream for a good many years with the world famous Johns Hopkins Hospital promoting its benefits and with so many elite sports people practicing it in one form or another there are plenty of positive role models out there to look up to.

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