You stand on the edge, poised and ready, jaw set, sweat beading across your brow, concentrating as if your life depends on what comes next. Your muscles are tense, your toes grip the ground below – and then you hear a firm but gentle voice from behind: “Breathe.” Exhaling, your entire body relaxes as you bend your knees and float back.
No, it’s not B.A.S.E. jumping. It’s yoga – the newest (and oldest) cross-training tool for the outdoor athlete.
Yoga Defined
Yoga is a psychospiritual practice which utilizes various methods to acheive a sense of liberation, called Samadhi—an abiding sense of peace and tranquility balanced with mental clarity. Most Westerners are by now familiar with hatha yoga, which employs physical activity to create this integration of mind, body and spirit. Through practicing asanas, or postures, the practitioner gains physical strength, balance and flexibility. The term “hatha yoga” is a generic label that can be applied to all forms of yoga that employ physical effort as a means of personal development. Classes can range from mild to intense.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior, professional athlete or rank amateur, a regular yoga practice can dramatically improve both your physical and mental health, increase performance and assist in injury recovery and prevention.
Who Doesn’t Do Yoga?
Yoga was first introduced in the U.S. in the mid-1900s as a stretching and relaxation program, appealing mostly to seekers of spiritual enlightenment. What many people still don’t realize is that yoga can be a rigorous discipline, challenging even the most accomplished endurance athlete.
The image of a loincloth-clad yogi sitting with eyes closed and legs twisted up in the lotus position persists today, though it is gradually being replaced by one of toned bodies in body-hugging fabrics powering through an intense mind-body workout.
Recent estimates place the number of U.S. citizens currently practicing yoga at around 28 million, nearly 10 percent of our national population. In a 2003 poll, Yoga Journal, the leading yoga lifestyle publication, found that nearly 100 million people have at least a “casual interest in the practice of yoga.” And while three quarters of all yoga practitioners are women, ages 25-54, more men are entering the mix. Many athletes who begin yoga for stretching or relaxation find themselves surprised at how much yoga offers.
Jolene Spear, a Portland-based fitness instructor and competitive runner began getting serious about yoga after finishing the Hood to Coast Relay in 2002, running roughly an eight-minute mile.
“I didn’t train as much during the winter, but I did more yoga,” said Spear. “The following spring when I began running again, my pace was faster, my stride longer and my gait had smoothed out. My flexibility increased from the yoga, but the biggest change was that I was more comfortable and relaxed in my body and truly grateful for what I was able to do.”
The Benefits of Yoga
By undertaking a regular, consistent practice of two or more times per week, the yoga student increases body awareness and learns a cross-training tool that improves athletic performance while minimizing the risk of injury. Some benefits of yoga are:
1. Relaxed, Deep Breathing
Deep, abdominal breathing relaxes the nervous system, reduces performance anxiety and helps improve coordination and concentration. Yoga teaches different breathing techniques, called pranayama, which re-educate the respiratory system. A stronger respiratory system oxygenates muscles better and helps exchange carbon dioxide, improving recovery ability.
2. Improved Range of Motion
Hard training, injuries, genetics and lifestyle all contribute to range of motion restrictions. A good yoga program will target weak areas with strengthening work, open tight areas with flexibility training,and encourage overall deep relaxation.
3. Core Strength
Through slow, controlled movement into and out of the postures, yoga builds a strong core, strengthening abdominal and back muscles.
4. Strength Without Bulk
By using your own body weight as resistance, yoga builds balanced muscle strength without adding bulk.
5. Better Balance
A key component of a typical yoga practice is balancing work, which can help correct musculoskeletal problems, improve posture and ease joint pain.
6. Peace of Mind
Beyond the obvious physical benefits, yoga trains the mind for greater clarity, focus, and improved mental attitude and mood. Yoga teaches us to accept defeat with equanimity and to meet another day with renewed vigor.
While the physical movement attracts many people to yoga, it’s the low-cost psychological benefits which keep them interested. Yoga works in two directions at once: Change the body and you change the mind, change the mind and you change the body. Remember, yoga is a mind-body “work-in,” not just a workout.
Something for Every “Body”
Whether you’re interested in yoga as a serious cross-training tool during your off-season, or as a solution to the dreary winter blues, there is a type of yoga out there for everyone (see sidebar). The best way to find the right yoga for you is to try several different styles and find one that you enjoy.
Next, look for an experienced teacher with whom you want to work. Once you find ateacher you like, be consistent. Regular, frequent practice is far better than occasional intense bursts of yoga.
If you want to address specific needs through yoga, such as injury rehabilitation, you might want to work with a teacher privately, doing one-on-one training sessions. Though private training is more costly than public group classes, it is often more efficient, especially if you have limited time for yoga.
Whether you do group classes or work privately with a teacher, just remember
one thing: Breathe.
— Uma Kleppinger is a Portland-based yoga instructor who
teaches group and private sessions (www.umakleppinger.com).
Further Reading
Ashtanga Yoga by David Swenson,
Ashtanga Yoga Productions, 1999.
The Runner’s Yoga Book: A Balanced Approach to Fitness
by Jean Couch, Rodmell Press, 1990.
Yoga Journal’s Yoga Basics by Mara Carrico and the editors of Yoga Journal,
Owl Books,1997.
The Hottest (and Coolest) Yoga Around
Anusara
This relatively new school of yoga was started in 1997; it is hatha yoga with a Tantric philosophy. The emphasis of the school is on a set of “universal” alignment principles that can be applied to almost any pose. Attainable bliss and joy in practice and everyday life are an important aspect of the underlying philosophy of this school.
Ashtanga
Ashtanga synchronizes breathing and movement, and follows a specific sequence of poses. Though physically vigorous and mentally challenging, through repetition students create a dynamic, graceful and deeply relaxing practice. Ashtanga promises upper body and core strength, improved stamina and mental training.
Bikram
Named after its founder, Bikram Choudhury, this style offers 26 poses performed in a room heated to over 100 degrees which allows for deeper stretching and maximum detox through profuse sweating. “Hot Yoga” is based on Bikram, though only Choudhury can give the seal of approval to teach his system.
Iyengar
With an exacting focus on alignment and muscle control, poses are broken down in minute detail. Props – such as blocks, straps and blankets – are used to support and deepen the poses. Exceptionally well-trained, Iyengar teachers are a great choice for beginners, or those working with injury or physical restrictions.
Yin
Yin yoga is the polar opposite of most other forms practiced today. Mostly seated stretches are held for extended periods, stimulating growth in connective tissues – specifically ligaments, myofascial tissue and joint mobility. Gentle but also intensely transformative, yin yoga is a quiet meditative practice.
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