Yoga guide
One small trial has tested yoga in volleyball players, and it counted no injuries. Volleyball's commonest injury is a sprained ankle, and many happen when a blocker lands on another player's foot at the net; the game also wears on the knees through thousands of jumps and on the hitting shoulder through every spike and serve. The protection with evidence comes from balance training after a sprain, a brace or tape, landing technique and the team warm-up, not from yoga.
Yoga can add what the game asks for off court: one-leg balance (the same kind of work as the balance part of those programmes), ankle and hip mobility, a strong trunk, shoulder-blade control for the hitting arm and a calm way to wind down. So it's an addition to your warm-up, strength and jump training, never a replacement.
This guide covers where players get hurt, what prevents it, ankles and landings, jumper's knee, the hitting shoulder and the back, when to stretch and when to hold, a free 25-minute class, and the warning signs that need help.
We found one trial of yoga in volleyball players. In 26 players, 8 yoga sessions added to training improved flexibility, balance, endurance and serving accuracy more than strength exercises did. We could read only its summary, which gives no effect sizes, and it counted no injuries, despite "injury risk" in its title.
The ankle took 54% of sudden injuries in Norway's top two divisions and 25.9% at world events. At those events, almost half of ankle injuries in matches involved contact with another player, often a blocker landing on someone's foot at the net, though training injuries may differ. A sprain in the past 6 months made another about 10 times as likely.
A balance board programme in the team warm-up cut sprains, but only in players who had sprained before. A Norwegian programme of landing technique at the net, awareness and balance boards went with sprains falling by about half, without a comparison group. After a sprain, a brace worn for a year cut repeat sprains more than home training (15% against 27%). Yoga's one-leg poses are the same kind of work as the balance part.
Jumper's knee affected 44.6% of Norwegian national-level players, and nothing has been shown to prevent it. About 60% of college club players had had shoulder problems, attackers and jump servers most; the usual loss of inward turn in the hitting shoulder wasn't linked with them, so shoulder strength comes before more stretch.
Across 25 trials, stretching didn't prevent injuries, while balance and strength training did. Holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle just before explosive work cut performance by about 4.6%, so keep short flowing moves inside the team warm-up and save long holds for after.
Each study counted injuries its own way, so figures from different studies aren't directly comparable.
Few sudden injuries for a team sport: 1.7 injuries per 1,000 hours in Norway's top two divisions, 2.6 in Dutch league players, 3.8 injuries that cost playing time per 1,000 match hours at world events, and 3.1 per 1,000 competition hours in world-class beach players.
At world events: the ankle 25.9%, the knee 15.2%, fingers and thumbs 10.7% and the lower back 8.9%. Beach players' overuse problems were mostly the lower back, knee and shoulder. In elite men asked every week, 31% had a knee problem, 21% a low back problem and 19% a shoulder problem at any one time, and 93% had at least one during a season.
In match data from world events, 47.4% of ankle injuries involved contact with another player, and the authors note the commonest situation is a blocker landing on the foot of an attacker or a team-mate close to the net. In a video study of 24 ankle injuries, 15 were blockers landing on an opponent or team-mate, and the ankle rolled in fast rather than pointing down. Both come from matches only, so training injuries may differ. In US college women, landing on another player caused 21% of match injuries.
In Norway, 79% of ankle injuries were repeats, and 42% of ankles sprained in the previous 6 months went again: a risk 9.8 times that of uninjured ankles.
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Pain just below the kneecap from repeated jumping. It affected 44.6% of Norwegian national-level volleyball players and 14.4% of Dutch non-elite players, the highest of the sports studied in both.
About 60% of 422 college club players had had shoulder problems. Painless wasting of the infraspinatus, a rotator cuff muscle at the back of the shoulder, was found on the hitting side in 12 of 96 top players, in 30% of professional beach players and in 9% to 12% of professionals in a 2021 study, none of them with pain or worse performance.
Spikers arch to hit. In high school players, arching the lower back accounted for nearly 70% of new low back pain.
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In 116 Dutch teams split by region, a balance board programme in the warm-up cut ankle sprains by 0.4 per 1,000 hours of play, but only in players with a previous sprain. Overuse knee injuries rose in players with a previous knee injury, and aiming the programme at players who had sprained before looked the better use of it.
In Norway's top two divisions, an awareness session, coaching on take-off and landing for blocking and attacking, and balance boards for players with repeat sprains went with ankle sprains falling from 0.9 to 0.5 per 1,000 hours over three seasons. It compared seasons, not randomised groups.
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In 384 athletes who had sprained, a brace worn for sport for 12 months cut repeat sprains more than an 8-week home programme (15% against 27%). Norwegian volleyball researchers advise a brace or tape for 6 to 12 months after a sprain.
In 672 recreational adults, a 15-minute warm-up twice a week went with about a fifth fewer sudden injuries, a result that became borderline once other factors were allowed for. In 518 youth players, a similar warm-up cut sudden injuries, though not all injuries clearly, and only 44% of teams kept it up fully. Our volleyball guide has a warm-up built on it.
No randomised trial has prevented it. A year of tailored exercises went with half the cases of the year before in elite youth players, in a study without a comparison group, and a flywheel squat trial had no cases in either group.
Neuromuscular (balance and strength) training cut leg injuries in youth sport by about a third, and prevention programmes cut ankle sprains in basketball. Few volleyball studies test prevention: only 7.6% of 131 in a 2026 review.
Yoga's one-leg poses are close to the balance part of these programmes, and its planks to the warm-up's trunk work. Use them on lighter days, alongside the warm-up, a brace after a sprain and landing practice, not instead of them.
Balance training, braces, landing technique and the warm-up carry the evidence. Yoga has one small trial, without injury counts.
In 26 players aged 18 to 26, both groups kept their usual training; one added yoga twice a week for 8 sessions, the other strength exercises. The yoga group improved more in flexibility, balance, endurance and serving accuracy. We could read only the summary: it gives no effect sizes or group sizes and doesn't name the balance test, and it counted no injuries. Our searches found no other yoga trial in volleyball players.
In 45 overhead athletes with rotator cuff pain, 7 of them volleyball players, 8 weeks of shoulder-blade exercises, the same exercises with yoga poses, or yoga poses alone all helped. The combination did best and yoga alone did worst. Our rotator cuff guide rates this trial very low certainty.
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College soccer players doing two yoga classes a week for 10 weeks stood longer on one leg, but they started much lower than the baseball players they were compared with, and the study wasn't randomised.
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Across 25 trials (26,610 people), stretching showed no protective effect, while balance training and strength training did. An earlier review agreed.
Holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle cut performance by 4.6% on average, against 1.1% for shorter holds, and short stretches inside a warm-up followed by dynamic moves had "inconsequential effects".
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Follow your rehab's balance programme first: an 8-week home programme, 3 times a week, cut repeat sprains from 33% to 22% in athletes. Then add one-leg poses on your good leg first, next to a wall, and wear a brace or tape when you play. After a knee injury, keep balance work on the floor rather than a board.
Calf stretches and the knee-to-wall rock are a low-risk way to keep the ankle bending after a sprain. They haven't been shown to prevent sprains or jumper's knee (our reading).
Our yoga for an ankle sprain guide covers when to start, the balance progression and the poses to change.
Chair pose and warrior II practise landing with the knees over the toes, slowly. Holding a shape isn't landing training, so keep the jumps and landings in your warm-up.
Our jumper's knee guide has the loading programme that treats it. In yoga, keep chair pose and goddess shallow, and leave out deep kneeling and hero pose while it's sore.
Rate your knee pain from 0 to 10 during and after exercise. In the pain-monitoring model used in knee trials, 0 to 2 counts as safe, up to 5 as acceptable and above 5 as too much. Aim for 0 to 3 most of the time.
Hitting shoulders turned inwards 8.9 degrees less on average, but that wasn't linked with shoulder problems. Strength for the muscles that turn the arm out and steady the shoulder blade comes first, as our volleyball guide sets out; yoga's prone holds help with that, alongside the guide's band work.
No pose fixes it, and most players kept playing.
It is common in overhead athletes and often painless, but new wasting or weakness should be checked by a clinician.
Keep it for a clear loss of inward turn on one side, measured by a physiotherapist, as our shoulder guides say.
Stop for sharp pain, a feeling that the shoulder is slipping, pins and needles or numbness down the arm, or pain that is still worse by your next session after strengthening.
Stop an exercise, or shrink its range, if you get the feeling the shoulder is about to slip out (editorial).
In 70 high school players, a 4-week warm-up of upper-back mobility, trunk stability and stretches went with new low back pain in 8.8% against 33.3%. One small, short trial; yoga's upper-back rotation and trunk holds are close to its content (our reading).
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Leave out wheel, camel, bow and full cobra if arching hurts, and get it checked:
Back pain that is worse arching back and has lasted more than a couple of weeks can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis): get it checked.
Before practice or a match, do the team warm-up. Save held stretches of 30 seconds or more for after, or for a separate session.
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Once or twice a week, after practice or on a lighter day. In season, keep it short; out of season, a longer class alongside your strength and jump work.
Heat and sun add their own risks, as our volleyball guide explains. A cool, shaded rest after play suits better than a hot class (our suggestion).
Knee-to-wall rock: 10 slow rocks per side, daily (the move's page). Wall calf stretch and soleus wall stretch: 2 holds of 30 seconds each side, after play; slow calf raise: 2 sets of 10, up for 2 and down for 3, hands on a wall (our yoga for basketball players class).
One-leg stand with a soft knee: 2 holds of 30 seconds each leg, eyes closed once it's easy; tree pose, your foot never pressed into the side of your knee: 3 to 5 breaths each side; warrior III with your hands on a chair at hip height: 3 breaths each side, twice (our yoga for basketball players class). One-leg reach: 3 rounds of 5 reaches in each direction, each leg (the move's page). Hip airplane, holding a counter: 2 sets of 5 slow turns each leg (the move's page). Injured leg second, next to a wall, after a sprain.
Chair pose with your knees over your toes and weight through the whole foot: 2 holds of 30 seconds, kept shallow with a sore knee tendon; side plank on your forearm, knees down to start: 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each side; single-leg bridge: 8 each side (our yoga for basketball players class). Forearm plank: 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds (our yoga for footballers class).
Prone Y-T-W raises: 5 of each shape; locust with your arms forward, a little off the floor: 2 holds of 5 breaths; scapular push-up, on a wall if a finger or wrist is sore: 2 sets of 10; thread the needle: 30 to 45 seconds each side (our yoga for tennis players class). Thoracic rotation: 6 rotations per side, moving with the breath (the move's page). Band external rotation: 2 sets of 15 to 30 seconds each arm (our volleyball warm-up).
3D demoProne Y-T-W raisesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoLocust pose (Salabhasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoThoracic rotationBeginner · No equipment
3D demoThread the needle (Parivrtta Balasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor pointCat-cow: 8 waves, slower than feels natural (the move's page). Bird dog: 2 sets of 6 each side with 5-second holds (our volleyball injury prevention routine). Slow breathing: 2 minutes, in for about 4 and out for about 6; strap hamstring stretch to a mild pull: 45 seconds each side (our yoga for basketball players class). Legs up the wall: 2 to 5 minutes (our editorial starting point; its caution lists who should skip it).
Our suggestions, agreeing with our yoga for basketball players and tennis players guides.
Holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle: keep them for after, and use the team warm-up before.
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One-leg poses on the injured leg second, next to a wall; balance on the floor, not a board, if you've had a knee injury; and a brace or tape when you play.
Downward dog, plank and side plank on your forearms, and leave out crow and hand binds until they settle.
Leave out wheel, camel, bow and full cobra until it's been checked.
Not needed for volleyball; leave them out with a sore neck, finger or shoulder.
If you're hypermobile, don't use mobility work to push further: the NHS says "do not overextend your joints just because you can". See a GP if you think you have joint hypermobility syndrome: for example, your joints keep dislocating, or you keep getting sprains, strains, pain or stiffness.
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You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
Before every practice and match: the 15-minute volleyball warm-up. After practice or on a lighter day, once or twice a week: our 25-minute off-court yoga class for ankles, one-leg balance, landing shapes and the hitting shoulder; its structure is our editorial choice. The prevention routine has the balance board and shoulder work from the trials, the basketball and tennis classes are close alternatives, and the foot and ankle routine suits the weeks after a sprain.
A 25-minute off-court yoga class for volleyball players: ankle bend, one-leg balance, landing shapes, the hitting shoulder and the upper back, then rest.
25 minBeginner16 movesA wallA 15-minute volleyball warm-up: skips, shuffles and zig-zag runs, planks, one-leg balance, landings, Nordics and lunges, band shoulder work and block jumps.
15 minBeginner13 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 30-minute volleyball routine: balance board work for ankles, the five-part Shoulder Control programme, Nordics, lunges and calf raises, and trunk work.
30 minBeginner13 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 25-minute off-court yoga class for basketball players: ankle and calf mobility, one-leg balance, landing shapes, side planks, hips and a slow-breathing finish.
25 minBeginner16 movesA wallTwenty-five minutes of yoga for tennis and padel players: rotation both ways, shoulder blades, hips, one-leg balance and forearms, for non-match days.
25 minBeginner19 movesA wallA 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 45-minute restorative yoga sequence: five fully supported poses held for 4 to 10 minutes each, with slow breathing and a long final rest.
45 minBeginner6 movesFirm cushion, A wallThese are the warning signs from our sport and yoga guides, word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999.
Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin has turned blue or grey or is cold. Get help from NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre if you can't put any weight on it or walk more than a few steps.
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Go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you've injured your knee and it has changed shape, it becomes very swollen very quickly, you felt a pop or snap, you can see bone sticking out, or it's bleeding heavily. Don't drive yourself: ask someone to take you, or call 999 if the pain means you can't move your leg to get there.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: you cannot move the knee or put any weight on it, or it is very painful, badly swollen or has changed shape, or it locks, gives way or clicks painfully. A pop, quick swelling and a knee that gives way point to an ACL injury: our ACL injury guide says what to do.
Same day: a sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone. Go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: after a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, you cannot move your arm, or your shoulder is painful, bruised or swollen. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): sudden weakness lifting the arm after an injury or fall. A rotator cuff tear caused by an injury needs urgent referral to a shoulder specialist. After a dislocation in anyone over 40, the rotator cuff should be checked: about 40% have a tear.
Call 999 if someone has hit their head and has been knocked out and hasn't woken up, can't stay awake or keep their eyes open, has a fit, has fallen from a height of more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, has problems with their vision or hearing, has clear fluid coming from their ears or nose, has new numbness or weakness, has problems with walking, balance, understanding, speaking or writing, hit their head at high speed, or their behaviour has changed. Get help from NHS 111 if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood. If you're told to go to A&E (accident and emergency), don't drive yourself there if you have hit your head.
With a suspected concussion, if in doubt, sit them out. The UK's grassroots guidelines say no sport for at least 24 hours, get checked by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 within 24 hours, follow a staged return, and no competition before day 21; if symptoms last beyond 28 days, stay out of sport and see a doctor. Yoga waits too: gentle breathing fits the early, light-activity stages, and no head-down poses or inversions until you're cleared (our reading). Our concussion guide has the stages.
Volleyball England's own guidelines follow the same principles; our volleyball guide sets them out.
Go to A&E if a finger points at an odd angle, looks blue or feels numb, or is cut with bone showing. Get help from NHS 111 if it's painful, swollen and bruised, or stiff and difficult to move. A fingertip that won't straighten needs same-day advice, as our mallet finger guide explains.
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Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
No trial has counted sprains after yoga. Balance training after a sprain, a brace or tape and landing technique have the evidence; yoga's one-leg poses can add to them.
Stretching showed no protective effect across 25 trials, and long holds just before explosive work cost about 4.6% of performance.
The usual loss of inward turn wasn't linked with shoulder problems in 422 players. Strength for the shoulder blade and the muscles that turn the arm out comes first.
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Stretching doesn't prevent injuries, and the NHS tells hypermobile people not to overextend their joints. Aim for control in the range you have.
The one volleyball yoga trial reported jump changes only within the yoga group, in a summary without numbers. Jump and strength training raise jump height, as our volleyball guide explains.
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It can add one-leg balance, ankle and hip mobility, trunk strength, upper-back rotation and a calm cool-down. One small trial found more gain in flexibility, balance and serving accuracy with yoga than with strength exercises, but it didn't count injuries. Use yoga alongside the team warm-up and strength training, not instead.
That hasn't been shown. Balance training cut sprains in players who had sprained before, and a brace after a sprain cut repeat sprains. Yoga's one-leg poses are similar to the balance part, so they can sit beside them.
For ankles, the knee-to-wall rock and calf stretches; for balance, tree, warrior III and one-leg reaches; for landings and the trunk, chair pose and side plank; for the hitting shoulder, prone Y-T-W raises and locust. Our 25-minute class puts them together.
After practice or on lighter days for held poses. Before play, do the team warm-up: holds of 60 seconds or more just before explosive work cut performance by about 4.6%.
It hasn't been tested, and nothing has been shown to prevent jumper's knee. The loading programme in our jumper's knee guide is the treatment; in yoga, keep chair pose shallow, skip deep kneeling, and keep knee pain within the knee pain rule.
Attackers and jump servers report the most shoulder problems. Strength for the muscles that turn the arm out and steady the shoulder blade comes first; yoga's prone holds help with that, but in overhead athletes with rotator cuff pain, yoga poses alone did worst of three programmes.
Usually not. Hitters often turn the arm in less on that side, but in 422 players that wasn't linked with shoulder problems. Our shoulder guides keep the sleeper stretch for a clear loss on one side, measured by a physiotherapist.
Leave out deep backbends such as wheel, camel and bow until it's checked: back pain that is worse arching and lasts more than a couple of weeks can be a stress fracture in a young player. Upper-back rotation and trunk holds were part of a warm-up that cut back pain in high school players.
There's no good evidence it does: the one volleyball yoga trial reported jump changes only within the yoga group. Jump and strength training raise jump height, as our volleyball guide explains.
Once or twice a week after practice or on a lighter day is a reasonable start (our editorial suggestion). Do the team warm-up before every session as well.
Once your rehab has started: balance training after a sprain cut repeat sprains from 33% to 22%. Start one-leg poses on the good leg next to a wall, keep a brace or tape for play, and see our yoga for an ankle sprain guide.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
