What my yoga practice contributes to Jiu-Jitsu

A personal reflection on finding balance between strength and softness. 

I see yoga as an essential part of my Jiu-Jitsu journey. In the past — and honestly, still today — I've always been a restless person. When I start something, I tend to go all in, pushing myself obsessively until I reach the edge of what's healthy.

Someone once suggested I try yoga. At first, I didn't think it was for me, but soon I realized it gave me exactly what I was missing: space, breathing, and the ability to slow down. I started with classes, then teacher trainings, and eventually yoga became something I carry into every part of my life.

In yoga, everything revolves around breathing and finding stillness in the pauses — learning to stay present, even when things get uncomfortable. That's something I use directly in Jiu-Jitsu. During a roll, especially when someone controls or pins you, it's easy to feel tension or frustration rising. But if you keep breathing and stay calm, you can continue with your technique and respond with clarity.

It's the same in yoga: you stay in the pose, breathe through discomfort, and learn not to escape, but to stay. Only then can you truly move to the next sequence.

Yoga also helps me physically — keeping my body mobile and balanced, supporting recovery, and strengthening the muscles that Jiu-Jitsu often neglects.

But more than anything, yoga shapes my mindset. Yoga and Jiu-Jitsu may seem like opposites — one soft, the other hard — yet both teach discipline, ego release, and the balance between strength and softness.

Yoga teaches me softness. Jiu-Jitsu teaches me how to face resistance. Together, they bring me balance.

For me, yoga is the gentle path that keeps me from going too far, that helps me focus my energy and stay grounded. It reminds me that real strength isn't just in pushing forward — it's in finding calm within the struggle.