Yoga for BJJ Review by WomenWhoFight

Yoga for BJJ Review by WomenWhoFight

“Yoga for BJJ is an essential part of a sustainable training regime and Sebastian offers the perfect resource.”

WomenWhoFight was founded by Shanti and Marina. It is a resource for women in combat sport sharing expertise from specialists to optimise training. We interview inspiring women including female fighters, coaches and brands that focus on female specific training gear. The aim is to create a space where women can go for answers and find information tailored for them. 

Yoga for BJJ is exactly that. We all know those guys at the gym who do weights and train hard, but haven’t been able to see their toes let alone touch them in years. Yoga for BJJ brings yoga to a relatable level for the BJJ community at large, providing well explained tutorials led by Sebastian Brosche, BJJ Black Belt under Eduardo Rios. His partner Stine Brosche (blue belt) is his yoga teacher and shares some of her own classes on the platform. 

Sebastian has been training for years in Judo and BJJ and eventually began to experience troubling back pain. He took a break from BJJ and explored yoga as a means to recover. When he began training again he was pain free and became known as one of the best Brown Belt competitors in 2015.

Now, we all know Yoga is of benefit, but going to a yoga class where all the occupants can backbend into circles and lie on their legs for a quick cat nap is hardly encouraging. Rather, it is incredibly embarrassing and promotes the desire to try out that loop choke on your neighbour wearing that ‘OM’ hoodie. 

This won’t be found at Yoga for BJJ. Sebastian knows where his audience is coming from and explains everything at an appropriate level focusing on those parts that jiu jitsu practitioners typically struggle with. They have approached teaching yoga in a variety of ways; some videos are just Sebastian, others are him with a student who works through the positions with him. With a video series titled ‘For Rocks’ you know where you stand and are welcomed into the fold. 

The website layout is clear, the videos are recorded to a high level and the sounds quality is great. The recordings film a simple studio with no distractions around Sebastian or Stine as they teach their classes. The profile descriptions share each teacher’s background helping us relate to them and see their journey and expertise. 

I practice Iyengar Yoga so I may not be the typical student using Yoga for BJJ, however for me there is still a place for the classes in my training, particularly the warm up and cool downs. I also want to draw attention to the yoga for rehab taught by Rosi Sexton. For those of you who don’t know she was one of the first females ever to fight MMA way back in 2002, and has since trained as an Osteopath. She offers yoga specifically for injury rehabilitation and it is one of the highlights for me as rehab is often an underappreciated part of injury recovery, probably through lack of knowledge or access. 

On the flip side my boyfriend, also a BJJ guy, started some classes. He raved about the Ten in Ten series which is the 10 days beginner course. He was thrilled to learn poses to repeat and practice later on. In a short space of time he had an improved understanding of his body, learning which areas to keep loose and how to stretch areas that are particularly difficult to access. The length of 15 minutes per session was perfect for him and he found that after doing one he was often keen to do another straight after. The key seemed to be how Sebastian always brought the Yoga back to BJJ, so it felt relevant. My boyfriend has already felt an improvement in his hips and feels much better for it. 

The subscription offers the perfect entry level programme as well as series that progress in difficulty. For example the warm up and cool down sessions go through sequences which are short and memorable and take no more than 10 minutes. When you are training, warming up is often forgotten and stretching is definitely a side thought and Sebastian gives you some easy ways to incorporate yoga into your training. 

Other than the stretching side of Yoga, Marina pointed out how the flow videos help her relax and ease the pain of training. As a regular competitor, Marina is often sore and this platform offers a way to wind down after training and calm her system, good for the nerves as well as the muscles. 

The platform seems designed to take you through to more challenging yoga practices, with Sebastian teaching an Intermediate programme. He is clear about the level they require, advising a level of proficiency at the earlier series. This is wonderful as you can keep developing your practice with this platform and even try Stine’s classes to go deeper and explore more advanced poses. 

Yoga for BJJ is an essential part of a sustainable training regime and Sebastian offers the perfect resource. 

Review by Shanti and Marina from WomenWhoFight.co.uk