Yoga for cyclists

i can never get my hands to grip the ground sufficiently for it

could be simply slippy carpet. heres where mats come in, wood or other floor surfaces.
also, spreading the fingers out and getting as much of the hand pushing into the floor as you can.

Posture of the day-Downward-facing dog. For cyclists this is a brilliant posture

Yes, we do that one all the time.

these cartoons are pretty funny:-
http://ashtanganews.com/2007/11/05/yoga-comics-the-adventures-of-yoga-boy/

greetings all and pastry lover in particular!

Ta for pose of the day *m.f! Indeed, this is a great one. Lots of variations too to make it even more effective for cyclists. For example, getting one leg up the wall. That way you get all the adho mukha benefits as well as the added benefits of quadricep and hip flexor attention.

Having difficulty finding stability through the hands in adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog) is common. Often (but not always) to do with channeling too much weight into the hands. The idea is to send the weight back up through the sitting bones and into the legs by pushing into the hands. 'But my hands can't grip' I hear you say! This is a bit chicken and egg for a while until the strength and direction settle into your understanding of the pose. Suggestions - either as *m.f suggested, find yourself a stickier surface where your hands won't slip. If you do have a mat, hold the sides of it with your fingers. If no mat or sticky surface available, do it against a wall - hands on floor with thumb pointing inwards and first finger pointing outwards (sides of thumb and finger will be against the wall).

You mentioned lower back pain a wee while ago. Many postures that can help with this. Depending on what the lower back pain is due to, instant alleviation can be found in the bolster! Do you have one? For anyone with post ride back lower back pain, these are a godsend in terms of pain relief! You can place them anywhere in the back, for example, lengthways under the back with sacrum on floor and feet in baddha konasana (soles of feet together with heels drawn in towards groin). For long-term more permanent pain relief: any mild twists such as Parivrtta Siddhasana (cross-legged twist), standing forward bends such as Uttanasana (you can rest your head and arms on a chair for a milder version), any back-bends - again, if you want to start gently - Setu Bandhasana with a block under the sacrum is a good one. Balasana (child'ds pose) always very restorative. Supta Padangusthasana is a great one for leg and lower back connection. Again, do with a strap if you want to start gently. Lastly, Viparita Karani is a great final pose (lying in corpse pose with your legs against the wall) especially again if you can place a bolster under your buttocks.

Happy lower back practice!

could be simply slippy carpet. heres where mats come in, wood or other floor surfaces.
also, spreading the fingers out and getting as much of the hand pushing into the floor as you can.

i do spread my fingers out. i use a (camping) mat, and have a wooden floor. neither is grippy.

textured rubber mat would be better i think

textured rubber mat definitely better than a camping mat.

Greetings all,

Have been away in the beautiful lands in and around Lowther (near Penrith) nowhere near a phone line let alone internet, hence absence! 'Twas glorious I must say, despite wetness and challenge - had my first ever mountain biking experience (crikey!) as well as a valiant attempt at 'the struggle'! Anyone else succeeded on this one? Anyhoo, I'd recommend the area to anyone - some jaw-droppingly beautiful routes...

For those of you interested in the yoga for cyclists class, the new 7 week course starts tomorrow (further details atthe top of this thread). Look forward to maybe meeting some of you then!

enjoy your practice.

http://www.serradinho.com/Blog/funny-yoga-for-drunks.htm

gave me a laugh! its all about the realaxing after all, Rich S used to say about his India practice, "and then we have a lie down, oh, and then we have another lie down"then he is the worlds laziest person. Hi Rich!

beautiful image *m.f!

certainly plenty of room for comedy in yoga! Edward Clark's 'Kill the Guru' pretty funny...

hey,
yeah its a good luck thing. need to get some friends to bring back more stickers though..... run out.
how did new class go last night? anyone from here benefitted from joining?
joke.
did you hear about the Buddhist vacuum cleaner?

comes with no attachments.

'allo *m.f et al,

class last week good methinks, at least one lfgss member turned up, possibly three...

What with winter making its presence abundantly clear, this course is particularly addressing core strength. Bring on Navasana!

Navasana:-good call Bogue. This is another posture that will change and improve as the inner strength gained from practising the yoga grows.
I like to turn this into a vinyasa by using it and variations as the warm up of an evening session. The vinyasa is a roll forward to squat, jump through to chaturanga dandasana, up dog, down dog then jump through to variations.
Shiva Power.
YouTube- Om Namah Shivaya

where have all the yogis gone?
how is the class now the 6 weeks have nearly gone?

imperative this time of year to keep up the classes, create that heat, work on the flexibility, repair the body + stay happy.

Bogue- enjoyed this p.m sequence yesterday after warm and wanted to share it with you or others, afternoon practice I cant wait to get inverted,
here you go, starting lying on back

1. supta padangusthasana + variations warming up.
   
2. urdhva prasarita padasana.
   
3. roll up into navasana holding feet.
   
4. roll back to halasana/ supta konasana.
   
5. roll up to navasana legs wide.
   
6. roll back to halasana.
   
7. up to salamba sarvangasana hands interlocked behind.
   
8. roll back to parsva halansana.
   
9. up to salamba sarvangasana.
   
10. roll to baddha konasana face back.
    
11. navasana- free hands.
    
12. roll back to halasana/up to salamba sarvangasana and eka pada sarvangasana (both sides)
    
13. roll to matsyasana.
    
14. navasana- free hands.
    
15. roll back to halasana/ up to niralamba salamba sarvangasana.
    
16. roll to ustrasana.
    
17. navasana-free hands.
    
18. roll back to halasana/ up to eka pada setu bandha sarvangasana (both sides)
    
19. roll to setu bandhasana.
    
20. navasana-free hands.
    
21. roll back to halsana/ karna pidasana
    22.up to salamba sarvangasana/ setu bandha sarvangasana/
    urdhva dhanurasana.
    
22. come down on back and rest with feet together.
    a lovely flowing sequence.
    you can then do whatever headstand/ down dog variations you like to complement the front side.
    

Impressive. How were you even able to remember them all precisely?

I do hope that I get to the Sanskrit-learning stage in yoga at some point. :)

to be honest Oliver, I often just start and then let the practice evolve as I feel into where the body needs to move into,
it just struck me that this sequence, essentially built around the 5 times navasana that appears in strict ashtanga was a complete p.m type practice- I wrote it all down immediately after I did it.

Very good, definitely. I haven't even made it to yoga for three weeks running, for various reasons that I wish hadn't arisen. I really need to up my game.

Is it possible to attend these classes on the day or do you have to book in for an x week course?

Greetings all,

Hope this finds you healthy and content...

Apologies for general absence - teaching lots of yoga at the moment!

El Chris - both are possible. The next course begins on 7th January. Hope to see you then!

Oliver, bon voyage today and hope you can manage to squeeze in some home practice over the festive zone!

*m.f - Course going well, last session tonight - will be focussing on the more strengthening back bends.

Indeed, that does look like a lovely sequence, will try it! I must say inversions and balances of all kinds are my favourite postures and my favourite for post-practice rides! So effective for getting the body well aligned. Am working with an ironman athlete at the moment who is keen to work on symmetry. Both balances and inversions are ideal - the student is both able to immediately identify and work on their body's asymmetries. Very useful!

cool. so this will resume every Thursday from 8.15 – 9.30pm in the new year, every week?

Indeed it will Dr. Sludge!

Happy New Year all, may 2010 be a good'n...

Every Thursday? No breaks in between courses?