I will disagree with a lot of the comments about how yoga will not help your swim/bike/run. I do Functional Movement Screening as part of my bike fit process and as a standalone service. FMS is not perfect, but it's interesting. The basic premise is that for us to be able to perform to our potential and avoid injury, we need to be able to move well.
As athletes, we tend to ask ourselves "what can I do to be better at my sport?", and the first and most obvious answer is to train specifically for it - to get stronger through specificity. To perform well as a human, we have to have an appropriate amount of flexibility, stability, and strength, and strength is dependent on a solid base of stability and flexibility. Swim, bike, and run can be time-consuming and being able to do any kind of cross-training becomes a matter of time management and if time spent doing something else is going to get you the same gains that you can get by focusing on sport-specific training. Will 1 hour of yoga be as effective as 1 hour of cycling? That depends on what is limiting you. In other words, what is your "glass ceiling"?
When I do Functional Movement Screening for someone, I can usually uncover some interesting limitations and get a better understanding of their human performance profile - maybe they are strong as an ox but stiff as a board. Maybe they are flexible, but instable. I see a lot of overuse injuries, especially with triathletes. Often, we will identify something they knew they had (and didn't think it was worth mentioning). With FMS, we can then target those deficiencies with a few corrective exercises that can be done - maybe 5-10 minutes a day a few times a week - that can be used to enhance existing training. Often, people don't want to do it or give it a try a few times and forget about it - "no time! Gotta swim, bike, and run!" I understand that.
With all that said, I've screened and fit a lot of triathletes and cyclists. The best FMS score I've seen is 15 out of 21. I've only seen one of those, and a handful of 14s. The people that scored well have all practiced yoga somewhat regularly. That's just a trend I've noticed. Most of my customers score between 7 and 10 - they move pretty poorly, and are an injury waiting to happen, if they aren't already injured. Most of my customers come to me because they have pain or discomfort on the bike. Usually, they also want to find a way to get faster on the bike, and they have reached that realization because they've plateaued. Sometimes, throwing something different into the mix will help overcome that plateau.
Triathlon can and should be part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Yoga can also be part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. So, I say go for it.
Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador