Yoga for Gamers

We’ve all heard the phrase, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” While the essence of this phrase was to emphasize a balance between working and enjoying your life, some might feel otherwise. For a select few, playing is all that there is to life. They can eat, drink, pray, and sleep sports. The newest breed of sports contenders? The gamer. The couch is their arena, headphones are their helmets, and game controllers are their accessories. We all know someone (and maybe it’s ourselves!) who loves spending hours in front of a TV or computer—joining clans of strangers worldwide to wander off on dangerous quests.

Game On!

Whether you love playing FIFA on your PlayStation, God of War on your PSP, or World of Warcraft on your PC, you know how difficult it can be to part ways with the controller and step away from the screen. While researchers around the world say that playing video games helps build your analytical and motor skills, improves decision-making ability, and makes you more creative, we can all agree it’s not the best idea to be getting all your physical activity virtually.

Prolonged hours of playing involve sitting in one place with almost no movement, which can cause serious health issues like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, obesity, constipation, fatigue, eye irritation, neck pain, and backache. Investing some time in a physical regime like swimming, jogging, or working out will ensure your body stays fit while you get all the action in the game. But if you have difficulty parting ways with your game console, you can take up yoga from the comfort of your living room.

Gear Up!

Yoga is a highly popular form of workout that stresses using the breath to balance the body and calm the mind. Though quite ancient, yoga has come to be trusted as one of the best natural physical fitness and therapy techniques in recent times. To get you started, here are some simple yoga poses to help alleviate stress, relax the body and calm your mind:

Downard Facing Dog
Sitting crouched in one place can stress the shoulders and also cause backache. This asana lengthens the spine and brings strength throughout the body. It also increases blood circulation to the brain and calms the mind, relieving headaches, insomnia, and fatigue.

Warrior Pose
A highly effective asana for people who have sedentary or deskbound jobs, gamers will find this pose quite useful. It relieves stress from the shoulders, increases stamina, and brings balance to the body. It also strengthens and tones the arms, legs, and lower back.

Bridge Pose
Munching while playing against your rival soccer team may be fun, but little or no movement during the gameplay may hinder the digestion process. Use this asana to deal with digestion issues and to relieve your back of tiredness. This pose also helps calm the mind, reduce anxiety, stress, and depression, and further helps in reducing thyroid-related problems.

Superman Pose
If you fancy a chiseled six-pack ab like that of your favorite fighter from Street Fighter, this asana will serve you best! It helps tone the abdomen and lower back while massaging the spine and keeping the back supple—an ideal thing for those long RPG soirées. You can also look forward to better blood circulation with this asana.

Other Useful Poses

• Child’s Pose
• Camel Pose
• Lotus Pose
• Chair Pose
• Tree Pose
• Corpse Pose
• Yoga for eyes

Use your Mana

Unlike the 8-bit games in yesteryear, the feel of today’s games and their characters is very realistic. Virtual reality is so lifelike that it can drastically affect one’s mind and personality. Games that involve simulation, role-playing, sports, and adventure can improve various skills like teamwork, cognitive ability, creativity, and concentration. On the other hand, playing games involving war, bloodshed, and violence may lead to stress, high blood pressure, sudden outbursts of anger, a tendency to act violently, and even trauma.

Yoga poses open the different energy centers in the body and calm the mind, thus keeping stress at bay. Meditating a few minutes daily also helps harmonize the brain and keep a leash over your emotions. It also helps improve concentration and can aid you in better coordination skills while playing an RPG.

Level Up!

With yoga as your guiding light and meditation in your inventory, you can easily improve your game. Practicing yoga and meditation regularly will help you stay fit and calm through gaming competitions and make your mark in the virtual world!