• yoga and martial arts designed to explore the body’s full range of motion while cultivating precision, alignment, balance, flexibility, grace, power and strength.
• ”Now you have seen the power or controlled patience on the mat,” he said. “The same thing applies to problems in life. When a problem arises, don’t fight with it or try to deny it. Accept and acknowledge it. Be patient in seeking a solution or opening, and then fully commit yourself to the resolution you think advisable.
• Suddenly I realized that I'd been holding my breath all my life, waiting for something bad to happen, and that maybe, just maybe, it was time to let those years of sadness and loss leave my body with each and every breath.
• ~ One of my favorite words, equanimity, is perhaps the most immediately helpful benefits of yoga for the Jiu Jitsu practitioner. It is

balance + calmness. As I said before, calmness is simple. Put anyone in a calm situation, take away their problems, lay them down on a soft surface, give them drugs, and anyone can be calm. A good measure of true calmness, though, is how much balance it yields. This is something only the individual will be able to discern, and the ability to discern it comes from listening to oneself. Equanimity is achieved not through the elimination of external stressors and tense situations, but amidst them. In yoga, the next movement may be uncomfortable or the next inhalation may be difficult, but it is necessary nonetheless. Likewise, in Jiu Jitsu, the next escape from the difficult position may be seemingly impossible, but it is necessary in order to survive and ultimately prevail. Equanimity is achieved when the external forces acting upon you fail to thwart your advancement, and cease to deter your practice. http://eliknight.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/a-jiu-jitsu-perspective-of-yoga

• The BJJ and Yoga relationship:

Mechanics - A lot of the mechanics of the yoga poses closely resemble the physical movements found in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Psychological response - Yoga prepares you mentally for the rigors of BJJ sparring and for competition’s physically compromising positions. There are poses in yoga that are meant to arouse specific emotional responses, be it anger, fear, or frustration. Breathing - Breathing is one of the most powerful skills you can learn from yoga as it teaches you how to control your breath to achieve the positions. BJJ is no different, if you can control your breathing well you will succeed a lot more especially with coming out of and surviving in a bad situation for example; getting stuck under a heavy guy in a side control or getting stacked in a guard pass. Relaxation - One of the most effective ways to think of yoga is as sophisticated relaxation: it offers freedoms from unnecessary tension in body, mind, and breathing. This does not mean lying down doing nothing! This means using the *least* amount of effort necessary to achieve results. (Sound familiar, grapplers?) Even if that result is a very, very difficult pose/position. Flexibility- Flexibility is another major plus that you take away from your yoga practices overtime. Flexibility will help your BJJ performance tremendously. The more flexibility you have, the more angles you can use and the more positions you can create in your BJJ game. Moreover you are less likely to get injured as BJJ submissions target mostly hyperextension of the joint, so the more flexible you are the further your range of movement will be, giving you more chance of escaping from submission attempts and or attacks Conclusion Today yoga and jiu jitsu are two of the most practiced arts in the western world. They have infiltrated the main stream of society and even become trendy in various circles. What does not seem to be realized yet is how they perfectly supplement each other, both in the nature of their philosophy and in physical practice. Thus the serious Jiu Jitsu practitioner who integrates yoga practices into their training will certainly develop strength, flexibility, endurance, concentration and ultimately self-confidence. Namaste Daniel Lima FIGHT CLUB JIU JITSU www.fightclubjiujitsu.com