yoga for cycling
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yoga for cycling
Does anyone have a cycling specific yoga program that targets stretching the muscle groups we use when cycling?
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There are a lot of good cycling-yoga related videos on youtube.com
You can also find some good routines at yogadownload.com. I really like the yoga for back pain routines there as they loosened up my QL, hamstrings and calves
You can also find some good routines at yogadownload.com. I really like the yoga for back pain routines there as they loosened up my QL, hamstrings and calves
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Wife just gave me a small book called "Yoga for Cyclists". By Andria Baldovin, R.Y.T........Now all I need to do is read it...
#4
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No real program for yoga. Yoga is a great exercise for building flexibility, so if you are feeling tight, an overall yoga program would help. I think if you're someone who doesn't have a lot of flexibility, hatha yoga is the place to start. It's a gentler yoga. Or you can try kripalu yoga too- also a gentle yoga. Once you gain some flexibility, a vinyasa yoga is the place to go.
Now, if you want to work on improving flexibility AND core strength simultaneously, pilates is a good route. I prefer classical pilates mat over contemporary pilates (Stott, Winsdor). I also prefer pilates reformer (equipment) or even pilates with equipment, such as a power circle over mat. It is a fantastic way to increase core strength, which I think is essential to cyclists, especially for long distance cyclists, who need so much more core strength.
koffee
Now, if you want to work on improving flexibility AND core strength simultaneously, pilates is a good route. I prefer classical pilates mat over contemporary pilates (Stott, Winsdor). I also prefer pilates reformer (equipment) or even pilates with equipment, such as a power circle over mat. It is a fantastic way to increase core strength, which I think is essential to cyclists, especially for long distance cyclists, who need so much more core strength.
koffee
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I do Bikram yoga 5-7 days a week. Its not cycling specific but is mainly focused on the back. Dont worry though, your legs get a lot out of it. Since it also has no music, no incense, no chanting, no spiritual aspect and is just a 90 min hard yoga workout, it gets a high percentage of males. Its also done in a 40C, 110F degree room.
Jarery
Jarery
#6
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I do Bikram yoga 5-7 days a week. Its not cycling specific but is mainly focused on the back. Dont worry though, your legs get a lot out of it. Since it also has no music, no incense, no chanting, no spiritual aspect and is just a 90 min hard yoga workout, it gets a high percentage of males. Its also done in a 40C, 110F degree room.
Jarery
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Bikram is crap and gimmick. If you want gimmicky yoga, go for it! I guess that's why guys like it so much.
koffee
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Call it a gimmick all you want, it gets people out and doing it who wouldn't previously.
its also probably been responsible for getting more people into yoga in north america than any other yoga.
But keep on hating and insulting, and stay ignorant of it.
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I also feel that Bikram is gimmicky. However, I'm careful not to knock it too much. I've practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa for about 10 years and was much opposed to the idea of copywriting yoga sequences the way that Bikram Choudry has done. The idea of heating the room is a marketing gimmick and is completely unnecessary. I oppose the use of a heated room for yoga because its just so wasteful of energy.
On the other hand, I have practiced heated yoga numerous times and it is a good introduction to yoga in that all the postures are fundamentally what a beginning yoga practitioner needs to learn. You can learn all these postures in any beginner class without the heat, and you'll still get the benefits. I believe Bikram is so popular with men because it gets you to sweat very fast. You won't necessarily get that from an unheated beginners class. But I assure you that practice Asthanga Yoga Primary Series and you will be sweating profusely by halfway through the series (which can take 1.5-2 hours to finish)!
On the other hand, I have practiced heated yoga numerous times and it is a good introduction to yoga in that all the postures are fundamentally what a beginning yoga practitioner needs to learn. You can learn all these postures in any beginner class without the heat, and you'll still get the benefits. I believe Bikram is so popular with men because it gets you to sweat very fast. You won't necessarily get that from an unheated beginners class. But I assure you that practice Asthanga Yoga Primary Series and you will be sweating profusely by halfway through the series (which can take 1.5-2 hours to finish)!
#10
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Wow, its obvious your yoga is working well for your attitude.
Call it a gimmick all you want, it gets people out and doing it who wouldn't previously.
its also probably been responsible for getting more people into yoga in north america than any other yoga.
But keep on hating and insulting, and stay ignorant of it.
Call it a gimmick all you want, it gets people out and doing it who wouldn't previously.
its also probably been responsible for getting more people into yoga in north america than any other yoga.
But keep on hating and insulting, and stay ignorant of it.
I feel sorry for those ignorant folks who really haven't experienced enough yoga and really feel that this gimmicky program is "it" in north america.
It's very laughable that you can say that it's gotten more people in north america than any other yoga. Do you not know yoga? It's been around for THOUSANDS of years, and long after bikram gimmick yoga is gone, the practice of yoga will still be there- pure and stronger than ever.
koffee
#11
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I also feel that Bikram is gimmicky. However, I'm careful not to knock it too much. I've practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa for about 10 years and was much opposed to the idea of copywriting yoga sequences the way that Bikram Choudry has done. The idea of heating the room is a marketing gimmick and is completely unnecessary. I oppose the use of a heated room for yoga because its just so wasteful of energy.
On the other hand, I have practiced heated yoga numerous times and it is a good introduction to yoga in that all the postures are fundamentally what a beginning yoga practitioner needs to learn. You can learn all these postures in any beginner class without the heat, and you'll still get the benefits. I believe Bikram is so popular with men because it gets you to sweat very fast. You won't necessarily get that from an unheated beginners class. But I assure you that practice Asthanga Yoga Primary Series and you will be sweating profusely by halfway through the series (which can take 1.5-2 hours to finish)!
On the other hand, I have practiced heated yoga numerous times and it is a good introduction to yoga in that all the postures are fundamentally what a beginning yoga practitioner needs to learn. You can learn all these postures in any beginner class without the heat, and you'll still get the benefits. I believe Bikram is so popular with men because it gets you to sweat very fast. You won't necessarily get that from an unheated beginners class. But I assure you that practice Asthanga Yoga Primary Series and you will be sweating profusely by halfway through the series (which can take 1.5-2 hours to finish)!
Our classes are heated, but certainly not to the unsafe levels of bikram. We don't heat past 74 degrees, and we count on the teacher to provide solid, safe, and effective warm ups, gradually building heat in the body- those sun salutations and moon salutations are a perfect means of getting people warmed up once they get through their opening sequence.
I started with Astanga myself- was sweating by the time we hit halfway through the salutations. I don't need some gimmick to warm up my muscles, thanks. I can count on an experienced teacher instructing a thorough and intense yoga class, coupled with one-on-one interaction and correction from the instructor or the assistant. I've gotten so much from that.
koffee
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Bicycling.com sent me an email last week with a yoga for cyclist link.
https://www.bicycling.com/yoga/?cm_mm...ideshow-_-yoga
Our yoga instructor incorporates poses/exercises for the two athletes in our class (me-cyclist, another person-golfer) into the routine. No one seems to mind.
https://www.bicycling.com/yoga/?cm_mm...ideshow-_-yoga
Our yoga instructor incorporates poses/exercises for the two athletes in our class (me-cyclist, another person-golfer) into the routine. No one seems to mind.
__________________
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
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I never knew what Bikram was until a google search later.
I know from experience, the warmer my muscles get, the more I can facilitate a deeper stretch & my muscles feel a lot more longated. Wouldn't the idea of heating the room just accelerate the stretching process?. I would actually feel safer knowing my muscles have reached the highest temp possible to safeguard injury. Keeping the muscles warm enables you to stretch more deeply without injury, surely that is a given?.
I really wish I could get my body into some of them yoga poses. Just looking at the pictures now & my muscles are getting tighter looking at the pictures.
I know from experience, the warmer my muscles get, the more I can facilitate a deeper stretch & my muscles feel a lot more longated. Wouldn't the idea of heating the room just accelerate the stretching process?. I would actually feel safer knowing my muscles have reached the highest temp possible to safeguard injury. Keeping the muscles warm enables you to stretch more deeply without injury, surely that is a given?.
I really wish I could get my body into some of them yoga poses. Just looking at the pictures now & my muscles are getting tighter looking at the pictures.
Last edited by $ick3nin.vend3t; 03-15-10 at 07:39 AM.
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I know from experience, the warmer my muscles get, the more I can facilitate a deeper stretch & my muscles feel a lot more longated. Wouldn't the idea of heating the room just accelerate the stretching process?. I would actually feel safer knowing my muscles have reached the highest temp possible to safeguard injury. Keeping the muscles warm enables you to stretch more deeply without injury, surely that is a given?.
Additionally, using external heat, its easy to feel like your muscles are ready to stretch farther than they really are. Yoga is all about cultivating awareness of your body and mind. The external heat is a distraction and inhibits cultivating awareness. How can you determine where your "real" limitation lies when the heated room is sending your false indications about your true flexibility? This goes straight to the heart of your safety concerns.
If you practice in a heated room, you may stretch further than you really should and end up injuring yourself.
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Are they false indications though?. Or is the fact of the matter the muscles are just at a much higher temperature at which deeper stretches, higher limitations can be performed.
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A fast cycling buddy of mine, even older than I am, tried Bikram with his wife for a while. Twice a week. Except that the more yoga he did, the quicker he got dropped by the fast boys because he wasn't riding while he was yoga-ing. So he quit it and began to return to his former fitness in a few weeks. He liked it, though. But he hated getting dropped more than he liked the yoga. Last fall, he took 45 minutes off the record for his age group in a hill climb time trial. Guess he got it all back.
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*****3nin.vend3t, I appreciate your comments, but I don't intend to get into a debate about this. The bottom line is you should practice what feels right for your body. True, you can injure yourself by stretching cold muscles. With Ashtanga yoga, the practice is traditionally performed in the early morning. The sun salutations (up to 20 repetitions) ARE the warm up. I can tell you that the first few repetitions are done with cold muscles, so you do need to take it slow.
But again, the point with all yoga is to awaken your awareness, not to become Gumby. If you approach it with the goal of becoming flexible above all other facets of yoga, you will likely injure yourself regardless of heat/no-heat. It is your responsibility to use your awareness to know where your limitations are. I suppose if you are in tune with this, then it doesn't matter whether the room is hot or cold. But tell me, do most beginners have a refined sense of awareness?
But again, the point with all yoga is to awaken your awareness, not to become Gumby. If you approach it with the goal of becoming flexible above all other facets of yoga, you will likely injure yourself regardless of heat/no-heat. It is your responsibility to use your awareness to know where your limitations are. I suppose if you are in tune with this, then it doesn't matter whether the room is hot or cold. But tell me, do most beginners have a refined sense of awareness?
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My main goal would be increased flexibility, I know of the great benefits it has on health, obviously you do too, but I'm not a practitioner (not yet). Is self-awareness in yoga regarded as being a better quality than flexibility to develop?. Its just that my main aim would be too increase the flexibility (single minded).
Isn't sense of awareness determined in our genetics at birth? Although I'm guessing yoga precises it to a much finer degree?. I would always be constantly aware of my limitations when stretching, not too overstretch.
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*****3nin.vend3t, The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali say nothing about flexibility. There is very little mention of postures, and no descriptions of any stretches. The only thing mentioned of postures is:
YS II:46 STHIRA-SUKHAM ASANAM
Sthira: stead, stable
Sukham: easy, firm, and pleasant
Asanam: posture
On the other hand, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is all about describing different yoga postures.
At it's core, it's about meditation. But as you know, there's this "physical" form of yoga which most of us practice. But its believed that practicing the physical form of yoga leads one towards the more subtle practices of yoga. When I started, my goal was also to become more flexible. I'm quite flexible, but after 10 years, I still cannot get my foot behind my head (maybe another 10 years?). Anyway, you are right that different types of yoga have different paths of focus. For instance there's the yoga of devotion, yoga of service, and yoga of wisdom.
The physical form most of us practice is regarded as part of Hatha or Raja Yoga. This "Raja" yoga has taken on many different forms depending on the lineage of gurus. Ashtanga and Iyengar follow from the Krishnamacharya lineage, while Bikram yoga with the heated room was invented in America. Bikram (the teacher) comes from a different lineage than Krishnamachary. Ok enough of the history lesson.
In the end, the common thread linking all these forms of yoga is the path to Samadhi or Enlightenment. Nowadays, the path starts with Asana (or postures). Actually, it starts with Yama and Niyama (you can research it yourself). So, to answer your question: "Is self-awareness in yoga regarded as being a better quality than flexibility to develop?". The answer is basically yes. Although, I wouldn't use the word "better". Flexibility is just a positive side benefit from practicing asana. The real "prize" is awareness, concentration, and meditation that you eventually develop.
Sorry for the long post, but this is a very interesting topic for me.
YS II:46 STHIRA-SUKHAM ASANAM
Sthira: stead, stable
Sukham: easy, firm, and pleasant
Asanam: posture
On the other hand, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is all about describing different yoga postures.
At it's core, it's about meditation. But as you know, there's this "physical" form of yoga which most of us practice. But its believed that practicing the physical form of yoga leads one towards the more subtle practices of yoga. When I started, my goal was also to become more flexible. I'm quite flexible, but after 10 years, I still cannot get my foot behind my head (maybe another 10 years?). Anyway, you are right that different types of yoga have different paths of focus. For instance there's the yoga of devotion, yoga of service, and yoga of wisdom.
The physical form most of us practice is regarded as part of Hatha or Raja Yoga. This "Raja" yoga has taken on many different forms depending on the lineage of gurus. Ashtanga and Iyengar follow from the Krishnamacharya lineage, while Bikram yoga with the heated room was invented in America. Bikram (the teacher) comes from a different lineage than Krishnamachary. Ok enough of the history lesson.
In the end, the common thread linking all these forms of yoga is the path to Samadhi or Enlightenment. Nowadays, the path starts with Asana (or postures). Actually, it starts with Yama and Niyama (you can research it yourself). So, to answer your question: "Is self-awareness in yoga regarded as being a better quality than flexibility to develop?". The answer is basically yes. Although, I wouldn't use the word "better". Flexibility is just a positive side benefit from practicing asana. The real "prize" is awareness, concentration, and meditation that you eventually develop.
Sorry for the long post, but this is a very interesting topic for me.
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Maybe if you stopped insulting long enough to actually comprehend what i wrote you'd understand. I can see why you failed as a moderator. Yes yoga's been around thousands of years, but not in America. Of course that appears beyond your comprehension.
Oh and i'm so impressed you run a full exercise program including yoga...So does the local Y and other gyms in the area. I dont consider them authorities on yoga either, nor do i consider you one.
I never claimed it was better than other yoga, just that it was one type of yoga the original poster may be interested in. Instead of accepting it as a way to get more people into it who then may move on as they gain knowledge, you froth at the mouth and spout insults about it, and myself for mentioning it.
Last edited by Jarery; 03-20-10 at 06:44 PM.
#21
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Dood, you're funny, though. I RUN a full program full of group exercise, including yoga. I've seen firsthand the harm bikram does, and to me, if a program is that unsafe, it's not worth it. But that's why my programming is successful, why people are constantly sending in their resumes, and why our studio is PACKED, even though bikram is being offered around the corner.
I feel sorry for those ignorant folks who really haven't experienced enough yoga and really feel that this gimmicky program is "it" in north america.
It's very laughable that you can say that it's gotten more people in north america than any other yoga. Do you not know yoga? It's been around for THOUSANDS of years, and long after bikram gimmick yoga is gone, the practice of yoga will still be there- pure and stronger than ever.
koffee
I feel sorry for those ignorant folks who really haven't experienced enough yoga and really feel that this gimmicky program is "it" in north america.
It's very laughable that you can say that it's gotten more people in north america than any other yoga. Do you not know yoga? It's been around for THOUSANDS of years, and long after bikram gimmick yoga is gone, the practice of yoga will still be there- pure and stronger than ever.
koffee
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Proponents say the muscles respond better in a warm environment, and that it helps to detoxify.
Risks include overexertion, strains, and dehydration. Some say that people use the room heat as an excuse to not properly warm up muscles.
The detox thing always makes me laugh. Nobody ever talks about specific chemicals, just a build up of toxins, which can presumably be sweated/pissed out.
I've done yoga for 5 or so years. Some instructors are always saying of different poses, "this one helps your digestion" or, "this stretch will make you sleep better" or, "this inversion will make you better at math."
I'm in it for the shoulder and core strength, and the lower body flexibility.
I doubt I'll ever take a Bikram class as I don't know which would kill me first; the suffocating heat, or the boredom of doing the same 26 poses in the same order every time.
Risks include overexertion, strains, and dehydration. Some say that people use the room heat as an excuse to not properly warm up muscles.
The detox thing always makes me laugh. Nobody ever talks about specific chemicals, just a build up of toxins, which can presumably be sweated/pissed out.
I've done yoga for 5 or so years. Some instructors are always saying of different poses, "this one helps your digestion" or, "this stretch will make you sleep better" or, "this inversion will make you better at math."
I'm in it for the shoulder and core strength, and the lower body flexibility.
I doubt I'll ever take a Bikram class as I don't know which would kill me first; the suffocating heat, or the boredom of doing the same 26 poses in the same order every time.
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Proponents say the muscles respond better in a warm environment, and that it helps to detoxify.
Risks include overexertion, strains, and dehydration. Some say that people use the room heat as an excuse to not properly warm up muscles.
The detox thing always makes me laugh. Nobody ever talks about specific chemicals, just a build up of toxins, which can presumably be sweated/pissed out.
I've done yoga for 5 or so years. Some instructors are always saying of different poses, "this one helps your digestion" or, "this stretch will make you sleep better" or, "this inversion will make you better at math."
I'm in it for the shoulder and core strength, and the lower body flexibility.
I doubt I'll ever take a Bikram class as I don't know which would kill me first; the suffocating heat, or the boredom of doing the same 26 poses in the same order every time.
Risks include overexertion, strains, and dehydration. Some say that people use the room heat as an excuse to not properly warm up muscles.
The detox thing always makes me laugh. Nobody ever talks about specific chemicals, just a build up of toxins, which can presumably be sweated/pissed out.
I've done yoga for 5 or so years. Some instructors are always saying of different poses, "this one helps your digestion" or, "this stretch will make you sleep better" or, "this inversion will make you better at math."
I'm in it for the shoulder and core strength, and the lower body flexibility.
I doubt I'll ever take a Bikram class as I don't know which would kill me first; the suffocating heat, or the boredom of doing the same 26 poses in the same order every time.
or was that Baaaahh!
I'm quite sure Yoga is good for your body and flexibility, but i'd treat all claims about hot rooms, lotions, incense and oils with a lot of skepticism.
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Last edited by rumrunn6; 03-24-10 at 07:56 AM.
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