On countless occasions I have shared with people that I do Yoga, and I usually get the same response; “Oh, I’ve never tried that” followed by “It’s because I’m not very flexible.” Having always been open to doing and trying new things, I wonder what type of connotation Yoga has to the majority of our society.  Living in a very adventurous, outdoorsy town, where so many of us would benefit from yoga,  I would like to facilitate a more welcoming open-door approach to “the yoga scene” …

Photo from http://www.laimisenergy.com/2011/02/stretching-for-skiers/

So let me compare yoga to something more people, here in Park City, have in common, like  SKIING! After a hard day of skiing, your legs and arms, maybe even your core (if you ski like a hockey player like myself) are SPENT! That’s because of your core. You’re using your transverse, rectus and oblique abdomens which helps your balance and gives you that nice parentheses shape around your belly button.  You’re using your hamstrings and quadriceps, which help bend and stabilize your knee joints. You’re using your gluteus muscles to help move those legs to pump you through that foot deep powder, the strongest muscles in your booty, which are made even stronger by skiing.  AND last but not least,  your feet and ankles, which are so complex that they have both intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. When engaging your dorsiflexion, it draws your toes towards your shins. You may feel this in your calves, which is important to keep your shins to the tongue of your boot and DRIVING your skis.

Even though most of us aren’t thinking about these muscles constantly contracting and extending while we are skiing, we can feel them. We’ve trained our body to move a certain way over bumps, and through powder and crusty tree shots.  For those who have been skiing long enough, this is called muscle memory. Maybe thats why I’m so STOKED about it. I’m a fairly new skier and just learned the proper alignment while constantly having to readjust my posture, which was so awkward for the first couple of months.  Now I’m constantly being told “you need more mileage.” The more you do it correctly, the better and more natural it will come to you!  

So lets switch perceptions here. Let’s apply that short anatomy lesson above to your next stretching routine.  Yoga, from the sanskrit word yuj, can be translated to “yoke”, “bind”, or “unite”.  When I participate in yoga, I like to think of my practice as UNIFYING my mind, body, and spirit.  Holding each pose for one minute.

Photo from http://www.bandhayoga.com/keys_hams.html

Sitting Forward Fold: With both feet out in front (if your hamstrings are tight sit on a pillow) look at your feet. Your second toe should be pointing straight up towards the ceiling, your toes spread and the 3 arches of your feet should be engaged. Now mimic your toes with your torso. Lengthen out your pelvis, side bodies long, shoulder blades squeezed together and hands above your head with your fingers spread palms facing one another. Take a big inhale in and as you exhale slowly, move your chest towards your knees, hands towards your feet. With each inhale, engage those arches in your feet. Lengthen your torso and strengthen your thoracic. Then EXHALE as you move deeper into this stretch, and continue until you can one day suck on your toes (and wouldn’t that be great if it was anatomically possible). 

Try this with all of your stretching, and like skiing, the more you do it the better you will become. Unify your mind to your body, your breath as your guide, and spirit as your motivator.  Narrate what is happening and what you want to happen. I’m promise you, you will learn a lot about yourself, and see the beneficial changes much more quickly!

Stay NAMASTEEZY yogis!

Are you finding yoga on your skiing excursions!?  The temperature drops, the weather leaves you with no visibility, and windburn even with a face mask on, yet I still find myself going outside to go skiing. Even in the wrath of Mother Nature I find myself wanting to get closer to her, stand strong against her howl, just to make myself  believe I can still have an enjoyable time.

It was brought to my attention last week in a yoga class at The Shop in Park City, UT that life is one big contradiction and is made up of a bunch of smaller contradictions. For example, I find that confronting weather head on (with the proper amount of clothing, of course) just to engage ourselves in a sport that may or may not bring you moments of ecstasy is a contradiction to what our body wants; correct me if I’m wrong.  I find that enduring a cold sweat on a 45 min hike to experience a 15 min downhill ride through crusty rocky slabs, then tell yourself and your friends “today was awesome” is a contradiction within a contradiction (hence the really low snow accumulation in Park City, right now.) I find that skiing at a resort to experience the great outdoors to be a huge contradiction. However many contradictions we face day-to-day, they are all worth the experience, these contradictions bring harmony and balance to our lives.

So, I suggest attacking this experience with a fierce pose! So stand up tall, all four corners of your feet press into the ground, legs muscles engaged, side bodies long as you reach your hands, palms facing towards one another towards the sky of opportunity, where there is no limit. Then keeping your back flat slightly bend your knees and reach your arms and torso out in front, coming to a table top. So that your body is an upside down L. Feel your back engaged, your core engaged, your buttocks, and shoulders engaged. Relax your brow and just feel how STRONG you are! Next bend your knees even more and touch your finger tips to the ground, and from here keeping your legs bent where they are,  sweep your arms to the sky and notice your chest lifting as well. Your core is engaged your hamstrings and gluteus all equally engaged. Staying in this posture for a few breathes, maybe even 10, is strengthening fascia around your joints and larger muscles to protect you from any bumps, stumps or sluff that you are going to encounter on your next ski run! Now grab your skis, boots, jacket, and poles and attack those slopes with your fiercest pose, and save the “back seat” for the chair lift!