Yoga and Cycling

by Nina and Bridget

When I Drive a Flower Bicycle, I Will Have a Good Future
by Yu Youhan

As someone who walks and gardens a lot, I know how valuable it can be to use your yoga practice to balance your body after intense physical activity of a different kind. Our editor, Bridget Frederick, uses her yoga practice to balance her body from all the cycling she does. She has been completely bicycle dependent for the last 5 years, and has experienced her share of body aches as a result of riding 100 miles each week just to get where she needs to be. So she focuses her home practice on the areas that tend to take a beating on the bike (outer hips, shoulders, calves, hamstrings) to keep herself mobile while still commuting daily.

Because Bridget will  leading her third Yoga for Cyclists workshop on Saturday, May 24th, 2-5 pm at The Yoga Room, Berkeley, I thought it would be a good time to interview her about why and how she uses yoga to keep her body in balance.

—Nina

Nina: Why is yoga so beneficial for cyclists?

Bridget: Cyclists use their bodies in particular and repetitive ways while on their bikes. This leads to specific muscle tightness (quads, hamstrings, calves, shoulders), for which I’ve been using yoga poses as well as myofascial release to keep myself mobile while still commuting daily the last five years. Getting off the bike and really exploring these areas in depth, and especially learning a few key poses that you can do for yourself at home can lead to more comfort on and off the bike.



Nina: What are some of your favorite poses or practices for balancing your body after you've been cycling?

Bridget: Cycling tends to have the rider leaning forward (though some upright and recumbent bicycles address this issue) so slouching shoulders lead to tight chest muscles and back strain. I like to lie over a pair of blocks (one along the spine and one under the head on a higher level) for a chest opener, allowing my pectorals and biceps to widen and soften. Once my chest is open, strengthening my back and accessing more core strength is possible.

Outer hips and calves are important areas for me, so I do a lot of Supta Padangusthasana (Reclined Leg Stretch) at home, really focusing on getting some softening and opening in the hip crease of the leg I’m working with.

Pigeon pose is another one that really gets into the outer hip region, as well as the hamstrings. Many standing poses help with stretching out the calves, for example, Virabhadrasana I (Warrior 1) and Parsvottanasana (Pyramid pose). But I also have a whole series of calf stretches I do, sometimes starting off with some myofascial work to ease my calves into those poses.

My yoga practice has grown over the years because it works for me. A deeper understanding of anatomy and the connectedness of all parts of the body have made injuries much less frightening. I feel more in control of what's going on in my body and more able to address particular aches and pains, as well as support my dedication to being bicycle dependent.

Bridget's Yoga for Cyclists workshop is:
Saturday, May 24th, 2014 // 2-5 pm
The Yoga Room
2530 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA
$55.00
email bridget.frederick@gmail.com for more information

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Happy, Healthy Knees!

by Baxter

Since we started this blog in September, we have covered quite a bit of territory. Yet when I went back to look through our archives today, I was surprised that I had not dedicated a post to the subject of our knees! Our knees are one of the body’s most amazing architectural feats, allowing us to stand upright each morning, walk, run, jump and participate in life’s many and varied activities. And at the same time, the human knee, by virtue of the immense loads and stresses it endures each day, is also subject to the slow wear and tear of aging as well as the sudden vulnerability to injury, which many of us have encountered in our lives.

My own knees have allowed me to run races, bike long distances, climb mountains and hike incredible valleys, play basketball, baseball, tennis and a myriad other sports over the years, and for the most part have done a commendable job. But I have also suffered periodic flares of pain and swelling, especially in my left knee, stemming from an initial twisting incident on an icy ski run back in my thirties. X-rays show evidence of narrowing of the medial side of the joint, which implies I may have done some damage to the medial meniscus, the spongy cartilage pad designed to cushion the femur and tibia bones as they stack one on the other. And I have a family history of arthritis in hips and knees on my mom’s side of the family. Mom had both knees replaced in her seventies.

Yoga, especially hatha yoga, with its contemporary emphasis on yoga postures, can be both a blessing and a possible curse to your knees. As always, a mindful approach to your practice will help you tip the scales towards the blessing side. In fact, I have found that patient attention to my yoga poses following a flare of knee pain that was unrelated to my yoga practice allowed me to gradually calm and resolve the pain, and reclaim my full range of motion of the joint.

There’s a lot we could say about knees, but today I just want to start out our exploration of knees by considering how your yoga practice can ensure healthier, happier knees for you, especially for the athletes out there who enjoy running and biking. Although the stresses and demands on knees differ with the two activities, yoga’s dual benefits of strengthening and stretching around knee joint can prove helpful for both activities. In addition, the more essential skill of increased concentration and overall mindful awareness that yoga fosters can improve performance and reduce the likelihood of injury while enjoying these sports. And in the unfortunate circumstance of injury resulting from running and biking, yoga can be a part of your rehab program to get you back in action in a timely fashion. On top of all that, a well-rounded, balanced yoga practice can address issues above and below the knees, in the ankles and feet as well as hips and lower back, which can have significant impact on effective running and biking.

A few of my favorite poses and practices for runners and cyclists with a focus on the knee joint include Dynamic Reclined Hip Stretches (see here), Reclined Leg Stretch pose (Supta Padangusthasana), and Sun Salutations, as well as standing poses such as Warrior 1 pose, Triangle pose, Extended Side Angle pose, and Standing Forward Bend. For runners, I like to throw in psoas muscle stretches, such as drop knee lunges and Half Frog pose, from which cyclists can get some benefit as well. For cyclists, due to the tendency to have the spine in forward flexion (rounding forward), I recommend a passive backbend over a roll or block.

In future posts on the knees, I will discuss yoga for arthritis of the knees, as well as how to address certain injuries that can arise in this essential joint! In the meantime, I’m teaching two workshops that may be of interest to those concerned about their knees. In Oakland, I’ll be teaching a workshop at Mountain Yoga called “Knees if you Please,” on Saturday, June 9, from 2 to 5 (see Mountain Yoga for more information). And in Cincinnati, Ohio, I’ll be teaching a workshop at The Yoga Bar for runners and cyclists Saturday,  June 16, from 1 to 3 (see The Yoga Bar for more information).

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